'Life on the Breadline: Christianity, Poverty and Politics in the 21st century'

2008/9年的金融危机导致全球经济衰退，2010-15年政府引入了“紧缩时代”，英国的贫困人口比其他七国集团国家增长得都要快。依靠食物银行养家糊口的人数从2008年的2.5万人增加到2017年初的120万人。从2010年到2016年，英国收入低于“生活工资”的人数从340万增加到490万，“零时工”合同的人数增加到90.5万人。截至2017年初，超过30%的英国儿童生活在贫困中，25%的人口生活在燃料匮乏中，露宿街头的人数达到4134人，是2010年的两倍。经济贫困是更广泛的社会排斥的一个方面。然而，该项目将证明，更广泛的社会排斥模式主要是由贫困造成的。面对贫困和不平等的急剧增长，第三部门和以信仰为基础的组织一直站在反对社会排斥的斗争的前沿。自工业革命以来，基督教社区一直参与挑战城市贫困。然而，在“紧缩时代”，由于他们在当地社区的持久关系，他们已经成为越来越重要的参与者。Michael Hoelzl和Keith Ward（2008）将此称为“宗教的新可见性”。这种“新能见度”被看到的一个关键领域与不断上升的贫困和社会不平等水平有关。《生活在贫困线上：21世纪的基督教、贫困和政治》是金融危机以来英国首次对贫困问题进行跨学科的神学分析。它将提高政府决策者和更广泛的社会对基督教参与贫困的范围和影响的认识，丰富社会政策和研究，并在英国城市开展更有效的基于信仰的贫困行动。这个项目将分析基督教参与贫困的性质、范围、程度和影响。将开发六个基督教非政府组织的人种学案例研究，对伯明翰，伦敦和曼彻斯特的120个地区教会领袖进行访谈，并与50多个国家教会领袖参加两次全国贫困咨询，这将使该项目产生迄今为止基督教参与英国贫困的最广泛的证据基础。田野工作将分析两种不同的解决贫困的方法——“关心”和“运动”——以评估“紧缩时代”是否影响了基督教参与贫困的性质和影响，以及支撑它的价值观。该项目将在社会地理学、政治社会学、城市研究、宗教社会学以及城市和政治神学之间开展批判性对话，以打造自2008年金融危机以来英国贫困的第一个基于证据的神学分析。该项目将提高决策者对基督教参与贫困问题的性质、范围和影响的认识，并促进能够为21世纪第三部门参与贫困问题提供资源的理论和神学新模式的发展。通过开发广泛的产出，包括一个摄影展、项目简报和报告、3部动画电影、一个在线研究门户网站、一个“信仰与贫困行动网络”、一个在线MOOC和针对政府决策者和教会领袖的培训课程，以及学术期刊文章、一本合著的书和一次重大会议，该项目将直接影响决策者、社会科学领域的研究人员、神学，政治学和更广泛的社会。

In the wake of the 2008/9 financial crash, resulting global recession and the 'age of austerity' introduced by the 2010-15 government, poverty in the UK rose more dramatically than in any other G7 nation. The number of people relying on foodbanks to feed their families rose from 25,000 in 2008 to 1,200,000 in early 2017. Between 2010 and 2016 the number of people in the UK earning less than a 'living wage' grew from 3,400,000 to 4,900,000 and the number of people on 'zero hours' contracts grew to 905,000. By early 2017 more than 30% of British children were living in poverty, 25% of the population were living in fuel poverty and rough sleeping had grown to 4,134, double the 2010 figure. Economic poverty is one aspect of more wide-ranging social exclusion. However the project will demonstrate that broader patterns of social exclusion are largely driven by poverty. In the face of this dramatic growth in poverty and inequality third sector and faith-based organisations have been in the vanguard of the ongoing struggle against social exclusion.Christian communities have been involved in challenging urban poverty since the industrial revolution. However during the 'age of austerity' they have become increasingly important players as a result of their enduring relationships in local communities. Michael Hoelzl and Keith Ward (2008) refer to this as the 'new visibility of religion'. A key arena within which this 'new visibility' has been seen is in relation to rising levels of poverty and social inequality. 'Life on the Breadline: Christianity, Poverty and Politics in the 21st century' is the first interdisciplinary theological analysis of poverty in the UK since the financial crash. It will increase the awareness of the scope and impact of Christian engagement with poverty amongst government policy-makers and within wider society, enrich social policy and research and enable more effective faith-based action on poverty across urban Britain.This project will analyse the nature, scope, extent and impact of Christian engagement with poverty. Six ethnographic case studies of Christian NGOs will be developed, interviews of 120 regional church leaders in Birmingham, London and Manchester and two National Poverty Consultations with 50+ national church leaders attending will enable the project to generate the most extensive evidence-base to date of Christian engagement with poverty in the UK. Fieldwork will analyse two differing approaches to tackling poverty - 'caring' and 'campaigning' - in order to assess whether the 'age of austerity' has affected the nature and impact of Christian engagement with poverty and the values that underpin it.The project will develop a critical dialogue between social geography, political sociology, urban studies, the sociology of religion and urban and political theology in order to forge the first evidence-based theological analysis of poverty in the UK since the 2008 financial crash. The project will increase the awareness of the nature, scope and impact of Christian engagement with poverty amongst policy-makers and facilitate the development of new models of theory and theology capable of resourcing third sector engagement with poverty in the 21st century. Through the development of a wide range of outputs including a photographic exhibition, project briefs and report, 3 animated films, an online research portal, a 'Faith and Poverty Activism Network', an online MOOC and training sessions for government policymakers and church leaders, alongside academic journal articles, a co-written book and a major conference the project will impact directly on policymakers, researchers within the social sciences, theology and political science and wider society.