Theos Think Tank Report

The most recent report from the Christian think tank Theos, Doing Good: A Future for Christianity in the 21st Century by Nick Spencer, makes for very interesting reading. We have long become accustomed to projections of doom about religion in this country, with statistics of declining church attendance against a backdrop of increasing disinterest and even hostility towards religion.

While there certainly has been a decline in attendance figures, the report describes a more encouraging phenomenon, namely evidence of more engaged practice in many Christian communities. In a joint Foreword, Cardinal Vincent Nichols and Archbishop Justin Welby comment that,

“Strange things are happening to Christianity in the United Kingdom. While critics prophesy its imminent demise – as critics have done for several hundred years – Christians across the country are doing what they, too, have done for many hundreds of years: worship, pray, witness, serve. There is nothing, of course, strange about this. What is strange – or at least worthy of greater notice than it usually receives – is that the breadth, depth and intensity of this Christian service is deepening. From personal debt advice to marriage counselling, from foodbanks to street pastors, from rehabilitation to reconciliation, the Church and Christian charities across the country are rolling up their sleeves, struggling on behalf of human dignity, pursuing the common good – and doing it all in the name of Jesus.”

More information on how to order a copy of the report can be found at
http://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/research/all-reports