Notes to editors:
The report was formally launched at the Brazz Restaurant, the Wales Millennium Centre (adjacent to the National Assembly for Wales) at 12.30pm on 11 March, with a lunch followed by speeches (1.05pm) and a press conference at 2.05pm. The keynote address was given by the Minister for Social Justice, Brian Gibbons AM.
The survey achieved an exceptional response rate of just over 49 percent, with almost a third of the replies in the Welsh language. For full details of the report see
www.gweini.org.uk
* Economic contribution - The methods used draw on those used in other studies, notably the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA) studies, where the economic impact analysis was carried out by DTZ.
[1] The contribution is calculated as the sum of the values of four components:
·Accommodation provided in faith community buildings
“Faith tourism”
Voluntary work
Paid work
Other findings from the survey include:
Many faith communities are working in areas of emerging need such as employment training, alcohol and drug awareness, and debt counselling. Projects tackling these problems are particularly needed in many urban areas now suffering high levels of deprivation. Churches in Wales are particularly concentrated in areas of higher population density and thereby on-hand to deliver these kinds of services. The survey reveals there is one faith community for every 670 in the population, which is double the ratio for Great Britain as a whole.
Many faith communities provide accommodation for the wider community. Over 600 operate purpose-built community centres; 1,800 rent out rooms to outside groups and 1,100 supply accommodation free of charge.
Faith groups – most notably Christian churches – support the Welsh language in a number of ways. Around 140 churches are involved in running Welsh language classes, 250 offer activities for Welsh-speaking people, and up to 450 are involved in Eisteddfodau or other Welsh-language events.
[1]See http://www.faithnorthwest.org.uk/resources/141393/contributiontofaithcommunitiesnov2003.pdf
and http://www.faithnorthwest.org.uk/resources/142208/economicimpactassessment2005.pdf
The Evangelical Alliance, formed in 1846, is the largest body serving evangelical Christians in the UK, and has a membership including denominations, churches, organisations and individuals. The mission of the Evangelical Alliance is to unite evangelicals to present Christ credibly as good news for spiritual and social transformation. According to a Tearfund survey (Churchgoing in the UK, 2007), there are approximately 2 million evangelical Christians in the UK. For more information, go to www.eauk.org
