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Too few minority ethnic clergy but more in training

26 June 2006

The minority ethnic population is under-represented among the clergy of the Church of England, a survey has revealed, but efforts to attract more people from minority ethnic backgrounds to train for the priesthood and other vocations are bearing fruit. Only 2.2 per cent of clergy were from minority ethnic backgrounds in 2005, compared with 7.9 per cent of the working population in the 2001 census and 3.2 per cent of electoral roll members in 2002.

Minority ethnic candidates accounted for 4.7 per cent of all those recommended for training in 2005 - and the total was the greatest this decade at 578. Twenty-seven of those recommended for ordination training in 2005 were from minority ethnic backgrounds, up from 8 in 2003 and 17 in 2004.

The Clergy Diversity Audit, issued to the General Synod today, provides an important base line for the Church nationally and dioceses individually to assess the progress they are making in developing ethnic diversity among the clergy of the Church. It found proportionately fewer people of Black and Black British backgrounds among the clergy than among the population or on Church electoral rolls. It showed that, while Black and Black British people account for 2.3 per cent of both the population and the electoral rolls, they account for 0.9 per cent of its clergy.

Other ethnic groupings, as used in the government census, are more comparable. Chinese/other ethnic groups account for 0.9 per cent of the population and for 0.2 per cent of both the electoral roll and the clergy. Those of Dual Heritage, the term preferred to ‘Mixed’ as used in the government census, make up 1.3 per cent of the population and a significantly higher proportion of the clergy, 0.7 per cent, than the electoral roll, 0.4 per cent. Those of Asian/Asian British background make up 4.6 per cent of the population but 0.3 per cent of the electoral roll and 0.4 per cent of the clergy.

Figures for the clergy come from a survey in 2005 to which 86 per cent of 12,328 clergy (not including retired clergy) responded. Electoral roll figures are taken from a survey in 2002 to which 43 per cent of 1,210,000 members replied.

The London area has the highest proportion of Church of England worshippers from a minority ethnic background, with 18.6 per cent in London Diocese, compared with 31.8 per cent of the population, and 18.2 per cent in Southwark Diocese, compared with 24.7 per cent of the population. These dioceses, along with Chelmsford Diocese, have the highest proportions of clergy from a minority ethnic background at 5.9, 6.8 and 6.1 per cent respectively.

“If mission and evangelism is going to be at the heart of the church’s ministry,” says the Revd Rose Hudson-Wilkin, who chairs the Archbishops Council’s Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC), “then the church must take seriously the need to value and equip all its membership both lay and ordained, black and white, old and young for this ministry. It is interesting to note that minority ethnic clergy were generally younger than their white counterparts, bearing in mind the view that younger clergy brought more energy and vitality to the life of the church.”

 

Encouraging vocations

The Ministry Division of the Archbishops’ Council and the Committee for Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns (CMEAC) have been encouraging minority ethnic vocations:

· In 2004, a consultation was set up in Birmingham to persuade clergy to 'talent spot' minority ethnic individuals in their congregations who might be encouraged to consider a vocation and persuade them to attend a weekend vocations conference.

· More than 30 people attended the conference in February 2005 and six of them have since been recommended for ordination training.

· Southwark Diocese has been taking ‘road shows’ to churches with large numbers of minority ethnic worshippers.

· In February this year, following a consultation in the Stepney Episcopal area of London, more than 30 people – mostly of African and Caribbean background from greater London – attended a heavily oversubscribed vocations conference.

Further consultations and conferences are planned in other parts of the country and also a scheme for minority ethnic people to explore their vocations on a six-month placement in a parish.

The full text of the audit report is available at: http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/cmeac

 

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