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They admit that much of that growth has come from congregations that were already theologically aligned with the organization, that it is the result of a membership drive. But the closing quote in this article tells me that the UK is about to have more of what we already have here in the US: meddling in the larger culture.
Two interesting differences from evangelicals in the US. One, this organization, which goes back to the middle 19th century, has always been explicitly about political influence. Two, it is more diverse. For example, a lot more people of color.
Still ... "no matter what the price tag within your culture"? I suppose he means no matter what it costs Christians, but what it ends up meaning is no matter what it imposes outside your in-group.
All I can say to our friends in the UK is, good luck with that.
You had me going there.
When you said 5000 congregations I was intrigued.
I read this initially as 5000 additional entire church congregations.
But looking at the article it's 5000 individual people.
The UK has a population if almost 67 million.
5000 people in a population that size is almost a negligible number.
The article says that the entire evangelical membership in the UK is 23,000. Someone correct my faulty maths, but isn't that just 0.03% of the population?
A recent 'World Value Survey' found that only 49% of Britons said they believed in God.
Whatever the cause of the rise in Evangelicals in the UK, it makes barely a dent compared to the rise in atheism.
The only reason for the rise in numbers, the guy being interviewed (Gavin Calver CEO of the United Kingdom’s Evangelical Alliance) appears to acknowledge, is from the question asked:
Quote:
more Anglican churches would probably join the Evangelical Alliance because of that communion’s debate over blessings for same-sex couples. The Church of England subsequently approved those blessings and began offering them for the first time in December. Have these developments in fact spurred more evangelical Anglican individuals and congregations to join the EA?
So basically people already in the Anglican Church (Church of England) have formed an alliance with the Evangelicals meaning the Evanglical Alliance is forced to acknowledge same sex couple blessings.
This is all in line with the liberal attitudes in the UK as opposed to the right wing evangelicals in the US.
You had me going there.
When you said 5000 congregations I was intrigued.
I read this initially as 5000 additional entire church congregations.
But looking at the article it's 5000 individual people.
The UK has a population if almost 67 million.
5000 people in a population that size is almost a negligible number.
The article says that the entire evangelical membership in the UK is 23,000. Someone correct my faulty maths, but isn't that just 0.03% of the population?
A recent 'World Value Survey' found that only 49% of Britons said they believed in God.
Whatever the cause of the rise in Evangelicals in the UK, it makes barely a dent compared to the rise in atheism.
The only reason for the rise in numbers, the guy being interviewed (Gavin Calver CEO of the United Kingdom’s Evangelical Alliance) appears to acknowledge, is from the question asked:
So basically people already in the Anglican Church (Church of England) have formed an alliance with the Evangelicals meaning the Evanglical Alliance is forced to acknowledge same sex couple blessings.
This is all in line with the liberal attitudes in the UK as opposed to the right wing evangelicals in the US.
Hm, the language is confusing ... "more anglican churches will probably join" doesn't sound like individuals are joining.
I agree if they just got 5K new individual members it's a nothing-burger.
And as for the guy claiming to be hanging out at Downing Street, that could mean a lot of different things, from private meetings to consult with the Prime Minister, to attending some event that panders to rank and file political supporters. The owner of my former client's company was thrilled that he had visited the Trump White House but it was just some promotional event for business people who were willing to pay a high ticket prices, it's not like he had some personal pull with the President.
One thing we can say for sure is that if fundamentalists had their way they would be influential in the halls of power, in the culture, and wherever else possible. Since the article mentioned opposition go trans persons specifically I would hope that would not go over well in UK society these days, but after recent progress by these guys in the US, it's not impossible to push things toward the Bad Old Days again.
Hm, the language is confusing ... "more anglican churches will probably join" doesn't sound like individuals are joining.
I agree if they just got 5K new individual members it's a nothing-burger.
And as for the guy claiming to be hanging out at Downing Street, that could mean a lot of different things, from private meetings to consult with the Prime Minister, to attending some event that panders to rank and file political supporters. The owner of my former client's company was thrilled that he had visited the Trump White House but it was just some promotional event for business people who were willing to pay a high ticket prices, it's not like he had some personal pull with the President.
One thing we can say for sure is that if fundamentalists had their way they would be influential in the halls of power, in the culture, and wherever else possible. Since the article mentioned opposition go trans persons specifically I would hope that would not go over well in UK society these days, but after recent progress by these guys in the US, it's not impossible to push things toward the Bad Old Days again.
Yeah I mean you can fit 20,000 in Madison Square Garden for a one night Taylor Swift Concert. That's not much under the entire membership of the Evangelical Alliance for the UK.
Again, despite overlap, I'm talking fundamentalists, not evangelicals.
They exist in the Bible Belt primarily. I can't really discuss the evidence because it spills into politics, but if you live in the US you'd have to live under a rock not to be aware of their influence on public policy.
To be clear I don't mean (just) people espousing white supremacy, but nationalists who happen to be white. And by nationalists I mean fascistic leaning if not outright fascist. Usually with a theocratic flavor and a confusion of other notions tossed in, such as that the US is, or ever was, a "Christian nation" to which we need to return. And if you're a nationalist your bogeyman needn't be persons of color, but immigrants, the "woke", or any "outsider" really.
I remember this really weird interview with such a person in Texas near the border, and he was practically weeping when talking about projects he's involved in to provide school lunches in a school full of poor immigrants ... and then he went on to say he's in favor of closed borders and keeping them ruffians out of the country. So I don't think they necessarily feel hatred to outsiders, or they don't connect outsiders with actual people, or ... something.
Sounds like a bunch of political propaganda not based in reality but from a false narrative that doesnt exist, you spilled into politics from jump street lol, dang I hate politics.
Evangelicals experiencing record growth in UK
The article references a number of congregations, but not (as far as I can tell) a number of believers.
Most evangelical congregations in the USA are actually run as businesses, title to the real estate is often in the hands of a pastor who passes it on to children. Often (not always) the congregations are minuscule, they can fit in vacant storefronts and even converted garages. They do provide handy tax breaks for the pastor, some of whom are not leading model Christian lives.
I wonder if this same thing is happening in the UK.
No it doesn't.
I don't understand how people are reading entire congregations.
It's talking about individual members.
Here's what the article says
Quote:
More churches, organizations, and individuals are responding to the call, and after record growth in the past year, the tally of dues-paying individual members recently topped 23,000. The total is a signal of the group’s influence to government officials and societal leaders, allowing the EA to represent evangelicals more effectively in the wider culture.
and then
Quote:
You recently shared that the EA had hoped to recruit 3,000 new individual members during its past fiscal year (which concluded at the end of March), but that membership had actually increased by over 5,000, the fastest growth since the 1990s.
the total number of individual members is only 23,000 and that's AFTER the increase in numbers.
I don't understand how people are reading entire congregations.
It's talking about individual members.
Here's what the article says
and then
the total number of individual members is only 23,000 and that's AFTER the increase in numbers.
I'm afraid I missed what he was doing there, leading with "churches, organizations" and then "individuals" ... implying more significance (a LOT more) than is warranted ... it is actually mostly individuals, even though he listed them last. And of course ... he's trying to puff the significance to gain more influence in government circles. Perhaps it ends up being "more" in a "twice nothing is still nothing" sort of way. Which I am happy that it's the case. The UK has enough problems without some fundamentalist juggernaut coming out of left field to mess things up yet more.
I'm afraid I missed what he was doing there, leading with "churches, organizations" and then "individuals" ... implying more significance (a LOT more) than is warranted ... it is actually mostly individuals, even though he listed them last. And of course ... he's trying to puff the significance to gain more influence in government circles. Perhaps it ends up being "more" in a "twice nothing is still nothing" sort of way. Which I am happy that it's the case. The UK has enough problems without some fundamentalist juggernaut coming out of left field to mess things up yet more.
UK is kinda weird when it comes Christian's arent they? I sure watched them put street preachers in jail like the government is totally against Christianity, I mean, it would appear that they need some kind of Christian Revolution in the UK
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Growth from 18000 to 23000 is about 28% growth rate which is fast. But the total number is not significant in the population at large.