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Faith communities contribute over £100 million to Welsh economy

Press Release

Wales' First Minister welcomes “groundbreaking” research into the contribution of faith groups 

11 March 2008

Work undertaken by faith groups in Wales contributes the equivalent of over £100 million* to the Welsh economy, according a report launched today.

The report, Faith in Wales: Counting for Communities is the first of its kind in Wales. It  includes statistics of all the main religions in Wales– Christian, Baha’i, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh – and was carried out by Christian group Gweini, working in partnership with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA).

First Minister for Wales Rhodri Morgan said in a forward to the report that he welcomes the “groundbreaking research” and expects it will be of “great importance” for fostering better understanding and awareness of faiths and cultures in Wales.Gweini audit launch

Speaking at today’s launch Social Justice Minister Dr Brian Gibbons said that the report was an important milestone in better understanding the faith communities in Wales.

“I would like to thank all those who were involved in this research since for the first time ever we have estimates for the contribution of faith communities to society in Wales. The detailed evidence will help improve and strengthen interfaith relationships and will foster greater understanding and respect between different faiths.

“The Welsh Assembly Government has a proud record of working with all communities and has long recognised the important contribution made by all the faith communities to life in Wales.”

The report highlights useful areas, such as the extent of volunteering in faith communities, and covers sectors such as youth, tourism, health and the Welsh language.

Rev Elfed Godding, the National Director of the Evangelical Alliance Wales, a founding member of Gweini, said: “One of the messages we want to get across in this report is that faith communities want to work with government to tackle problems in Wales. Faith communities are well placed to provide public services, especially as they are often in touch with hard-to-reach people.

“We believe the information in this report reveals that faith communities are leading the way within certain fields – there is often a lack of statistics in Wales for the voluntary sector, and this will enable us to see what is being done and where the gaps are.”

 

Media Contact:

Elfed Godding
Evangelical Alliance Wales

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

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Last Modified: 12 March 2008

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