Key Quotes - Social Issues

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Last update: Wednesday 25th March




Fewer people are marrying that at any time since the reign of Queen Victoria, official figures show. And of those who are tying the knot, more are choosing hotels and historic houses to marry rather than churches, which accounted for only a third of weddings in 2009. The average age at which a woman marries breached 30 for the first time in 2009, a rise of seven years in almost three decades. The figures reflect a long-term decline in marriage, with falls in all parts of the UK.
Social Issues	Salvationist, 9 April 2011



The Scottish Social Attitudes survey found that 69% think it is all right for a couple to live together without getting married, 36% think that people who want to have children ought to get married (down from 54% ten years ago) and only 13% think that sex before marriage is always or mostly wrong. Even among regular churchgoers (who amount to one in eight of the population), only around a half felt that sex before marriage is always or mostly wrong, although 69% believe that people who want to have children should get married.
Social Issues	Life And Work, April 2011



A recent survey revealed that 71 per cent of us now think we are middle class, and that one defining characteristic is the way we drink our coffee. When people were asked what object best symbolised their 'middle-classness', the most frequent response was 'a cafetiere'. Significantly in the poll, no one owned up to being upper class, although most thought David Cameron was.
Social Issues	Daily Mail 24th March 2011



Girls aged 16 are getting drunk more often than their male peers, research reveals today. Rising numbers are knocking back the equivalent of half a bottle of vodka at a time, according to a major study. Over the last decade girls have caught up with boys, and although they consume less than boys at a time, they are getting drunk more frequently. The study at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm found 80 per cent of all 15 to 16year-olds drink regularly, usually downing at least five units at once. The research, based on data on more than 38,370 teenagers from 23 countries, found Britain is one of only two countries in Europe - the other being Norway - where girls drink more often than boys. But girls are less likely to binge drink if they have very close bonds with parents - particularly their mother. Girls who regularly sit down to family meals are less likely to start drinking as they fear breaching their parents' trust. Anna-Karin Danielsson, who reported on the study, said the risk among boys 'is considerably reduced when parents keep an eye on what they get up to'.
Social Issues	Daily Mail March 8th 2011



Humanist attempts to persuade people to tick the ‘no religion box’ on the census form are ‘misconceived and unnecessary’ according to the think tank Theos. The campaign was launched with posters on buses and railway stations. Humanists are annoyed that in the last census 37 million people in England and Wales claimed to be Christian. They attempted to have the question changed on this year’s form and have complained that the Office of National Statistics did not accept their recommendation. Theos point out that the Humanists have failed to acknowledge that the ‘no religion’ option is the first one printed in the questionnaire and that the religious question is the only one that is optional on the census form.
Social Issues	The Church of England Newspaper 19th March 2011



A new survey suggests that more than 80% of 18-25-year-olds believe that monogamous relationships are desirable. The Study found that 83.2% of the sample gave strong support for monogamous relationships rather than polygamous, whether that was within a married or non-married context. However, 39.4% said that monogamy is a good ideal for a partnered relationship, but that it was increasingly difficult to achieve that in the current culture.
Social Issues	Church of England Newspaper - 4th March 2011



Over a third (36%) of Britons would consider taking direct action to influence rules, laws or policies, new research from the public theology think tank Theos reveals. Young people are the key drivers of this trend. One in eight 18-24s said they would consider posting confidential or sensitive material to a website (compared with under 5% of anyone aged over 35). Overall, nearly half (46%) of 18-24s would consider taking some form of direct action.
Social Issues	Theos Think Tank - March 2011



The recession appears to have curbed drinking. From 2008 to 2009, average alcohol intake fell from 17.4 to 16.3 units a week for men and from 9.4 to 8 for women, according to the Office for National Statistics. But Don Shenker, of Alcohol Concern, said drinking would rise again with economic recovery. ‘Government policy should ensure alcohol becomes less affordable permanently, not just in a downturn,’ he said.
Social Issues	Salvationist, 5 February 2011



Telling women they can hold down a top-flight job and raise children themselves is a ‘feminist myth’ and the government should back off expecting the impossible from Britain’s mums, according to a new report published in January. The report, Feminist Myths and Magic medicine, argues that women are free to choose between entering senior career positions and raising children, but they will not be able to achieve both. She believes that policies which seek to promote equality of outcome are pointless: ‘People are confusing equal opportunities with equal outcomes’.
Social Issues	Evangelical's Now February 2011



Prejudice against Muslims has “passed the dinner-table test” and become widely socially acceptable in Britain, according to Conservative Party chairman Baroness Warsi. In a speech designed to stem “the rising tide of anti-religious bigotry”, Baroness Warsi – the first Muslim woman to attend Cabinet – warned that islamophobia was seen by many Britons as normal and uncontroversial. She said: “for far too many people, Islamophobia is seen as a legitimate, even commendable, thing.”
Social Issues	The Sentinel January 21st 2011



At least 60,000 asylum seekers will be lost without trace as the UK Border Agency struggles to clear its backlog of claims, MPs have said. They will be left in limbo as their claims are consigned to a growing pile of applications unlikely to ever be resolved, the Commons Home Affairs Select committee said. Of the 450,000 claims identified in 2006, one in seven “will be concluded on the basis that the UK Border Agency has been unable to trace what has happened to the applicant”, the MPs said.
Social Issues	The Sentinel January 11th 2011



Halcyon Days when communities centred around their Post Office are now closer than ever before as the Church of England reveals new guidance on how to merge Post Offices with churches. But some churchgoers are worried that the plans will turn the dedicated buildings into noisy commercial centres. The merging of Post Offices which are losing approximately £4m a week-has been happening for around 10years but the new guidance will enable hundreds of churches to take up the idea. It is hoped that the space-sharing idea concept will redevelop communities and introduce church life to those with no previous experience of it.
Social Issues	Church of England December 17th 2010



Pope benedict XVI’s recent comments about condoms represented a “normal and traditional” pastoral application of moral theology, according to a theologian who advises the Vatican on doctrinal matters. The Pope’s comments reflect the principle that there can be “intermediary steps toward moral awareness” which allow for some flexibility in how Church teachings are applied, Franciscan Father Maurizio Faggioni said.
Social Issues	The Universe December 12, 2010



Anyone who wants to apply for an allotment in Lincoln will be asked by council officials about their sexual orientation, it was reported in October. Lincoln Council also wants to know the race, religion, gender and disabilities of allotment applicants, in a questionnaire provoking frustration among gardeners. Fred Hyde, 61, said it’s intrusive. He added: ‘Why do they want to know all these details? All these people are doing is trying to grow some fruit and veg’.
Social Issues	Evangelicals Now, December 2010



The British Humanist Association is calling people not to identify themselves as Christians on next year’s census in a campaign launched in October, five months before the next census of England and Wales which is scheduled to take place on March 27. The group hope that their Census Campaign, with the slogan, ‘If you’re not religious, for God’s sake say so!’ will persuade the public to identify themselves as non-religious.
Social Issues	Evangelicals Now, December 2010

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