Christians have a long-standing involvement in the care of children, both at home and overseas, with many of those at the forefront of establishing orphanages and residential settings motivated by their faith to take action. However, as the body of research surrounding the benefits of family care for children over institutional care has evolved and grown, education within the UK Church itself has lagged behind. This research project was catalysed to identify the extent to which support from within the UK Church for children overseas has not kept pace with best practice, in order to enable a sea-change in the way that Christians in the UK seek to care for children globally.
The research uncovered that the Church across the UK is disproportionately supporting orphanages and institutionally based care for children around the World, compared to the overall British population.
Among the Key Findings:
- Regular churchgoers are 3 x more likely to have donated to an orphanage than British adults overall.
- 1 in 5 regular churchgoers have visited or volunteered at an orphanage, compared to 1 in 20 British adults.
- The UK Church is donating around £500 million every year to overseas orphanages.
However, the research has also found emerging indications of appetite for change among the Church in the UK and a growing sense of responsibility about the way in which Christians are supporting vulnerable children overseas.
