Faith leaders urge action on poverty

Leaders of Scotland’s faith communities have united to call for action to ‘loosen the grip of poverty’.

More than one in five people in Scotland are living in poverty and this figure is rising. As Challenge Poverty Week closes, religious representatives from across Scotland have come together to call for more action to tackle poverty.

Issuing a joint statement and standing together in a show of solidarity, Scotland’s faith leaders said: ‘It is not right that so many people are trapped in poverty. We have a moral responsibility to change this. Challenge Poverty Week is a chance to raise our voices and highlight what we can do as a society to loosen the grip of poverty.’

The 15 signatories included the Archbishop Emeritus of the Roman Catholic Church, Mario Conti; Imam at Glasgow Central Mosque, Maulana Habib Ur Rehman; Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Rev Colin Sinclair; Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Revd Mark Strange; chair of the Scottish Ahlul Bayt Society, Shabir Beg; interfaith representative for the Scottish Council of Jewish Communities, Alan Kay; and Hindu priest, Acharya Ji Mishra.

Businesses, schools, football clubs, NGOs, academics, grassroots activists and local authorities were among more than 250 organisations raising their voice as part of 400 events during the week. Many have launched initiatives like breakfast clubs, employability hubs and concessionary travel or have signed up to pay the living wage.

The Most Revd Mark Strange said: ‘I am very aware that across Scotland, many families and individuals are continually living lives of struggle and stress as they find it impossible to reconcile the needs of their children and loved one with the limited resources they can gather.

‘These are people who struggle to find work and those who are working but receive too little income to cover costs, all this in one of the world’s richest countries.’