An Inclusive Church does not discriminate, on any level, on the grounds of economic power.
Churches can be places offering a huge amount of service and support to those who live with economic poverty. At the same time, some living in poverty often experience exclusion from faith communities, there are things that churches could do better to ensure this doesn’t happen.
A recent research study found both pragmatic difficulties and more religious difficulties for participation in churches, named by people living in poverty, as well as by (voluntary and professional) caregivers. Pragmatic difficulties are, for example, lack of transport, or available time (in relation to working hours on Saturday/Sunday). More religious-related difficulties concern the doubts about God in relation to their own suffering, aspects of the moral teachings of the church and questions about the Eucharist itself, experienced in a non-satisfactory way (ref https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/3435/8756 ).
Resources for Poverty Inclusivity
- https://www.inclusive-church.org/poverty
- People living in poverty and their relationship to local church communities: https://hts.org.za/index.php/hts/article/view/3435/8756