Revision guide on Religious attitudes to the rich and poor in
British society
Section 1 – Definitions of relative and absolute poverty; who the rich are and
how they become rich; definitions of elitist and meritocratic; the evidence for
Britain becoming a more elitist society.
1) What do we mean when we say that someone is rich or poor?
When we talk of people who are rich and poor we are often defining these words
relative to the culture that someone is living in. For example, someone who is
considered poor in the U.K. may be considered relatively well off in comparison to
someone living in a Third World country like parts of Africa. A poor person in the U.K.
may very well own a television and a car where as for someone in parts of Africa
these items might be seen as luxury goods. So, relative poverty is always defined in
relation to the society that someone is living in. Relative poverty is therefore
different to absolute poverty.
2) What is the definition of absolute poverty?
Absolute poverty is where people lack the income to buy enough food, warmth and
shelter to keep their family in a good state of health. Few people live in absolute
poverty in the U.K. today, although millions do in other countries.
3) Who are the rich in the U.K. today and how did they become rich?
There are many different ways that people can become rich. Some become rich
through their own hard work and some people inherit wealth. Here are some of the
different ways that people become rich in the U.K. today:
 Some people are born into wealthy families and inherit a lot of money. Some of
these people are aristocrats and have a title like Duke or Lord. The Duke of
Westminster is one of the richest people in this country and is worth £6.75 billion
(thousand million). He owns 300 acres of some of the richest parts of London and
138 000 acres of land in other parts of the U.K. His wealth has been inherited
1
from his father and so the Duke of Westminster is not rich through his own
efforts. Do you think it is right for someone to be so rich when there are so many
poor people in the U.K.?



Some people are very good at speculating on the financial markets. If the
companies that they invest in do well then they can earn a lot of money.
Some people become rich by being very enterprising. For example, James Dyson
has become a multi-millionaire because of his invention of the bag-less vacuum
cleaner.
Some people have a talent that makes them rich. The footballer Wayne Rooney
earns about £140,000 per week which works out at around £3,500 per hour!
Are professional footballers paid too much?


Some people work in high risk/high reward occupations connected with
commerce and finance. These people can earn up to £500,000 a year and are
sometimes known as ‘fat cats’ because their salaries (earnings) are so much
higher than most people’s salaries.
A very few people become rich through being lucky like winning the National
Lottery. The National Lottery has created over a thousand millionaires in the U.K.
4) It seems that there is a huge difference between people who are rich in the U.K. and
those that are poor. Is this fair?
There are conflicting points of view about this. Some people think that it is a good
thing that we have super rich people in this country because it makes life more
exciting and acts as an incentive for people to work harder in life to become rich
themselves. Other people believe that it is immoral that there is such a wide gap
2
between rich and poor in the U.K. today. Approximately 1% of the U.K. population
own 20% of the wealth.
5) Is the U.K. a fair society – do all U.K. citizens have the same opportunities to become
rich if they work hard enough?
Many people today argue that the U.K. is becoming a more elitist society and less of
a meritocratic society.
6) What do the words elitist and meritocratic mean?
An elitist society is a society where if you are born into wealth and privilege then you
your self will become rich and powerful not necessarily because you are talented or
clever but because you have the right background. A meritocratic society is a society
where your background does not matter and you will become successful and have
access to the top jobs purely on the basis of your own talent and hard work. In class
we looked at all the ways that Fulston Manor is a meritocratic school.
7) What evidence is there that the U.K. is becoming a more elitist society?
In class we watched a documentary called Posh and Posher which said that if your
parents can afford to send you to a top public/private school like Eaton or
Westminster (costing between £30,000 - £40,000 a year), then you are far more
likely to have access to a top university like Oxford and Cambridge and from there go
in to the top occupations. For example, most MPs (Members of Parliament), top
business executives, lawyers and High Court Judges went to public/private school.
They in turn send their children to public/private schools and we end up becoming
an elitist society. It is far more likely that someone from Eaton will end up as Prime
Minister than someone from Fulston Manor even if the person from Fulston Manor
is actually more intelligent and could do the job better!
Section 2: The reasons why people are poor in the U.K.; what the
poverty trap is; what the government and charities are doing to help
the poor; arguments for and against the minimum wage.
8) Why are some people poor?
There are many reasons why someone might be poor in the U.K. today including:
 Homelessness. We saw a documentary in class called ‘Britain’s Street Kids’ which
followed the fortunes of four homeless teenagers (most of them were 16). All of
them came from broken homes and had ended up on the streets because they
had been told to leave or because relationships with adults at home were
abusive. One of the teenagers (Robyn) was addicted to heroin and she had
worked as a prostitute to fund her habit. In the U.K. local councils are obliged to
provide accommodation to homeless teenagers up until the age of 18, however,
3
this accommodation is only temporary so young people end up back on the
streets again after a few weeks and have to request accommodation again. With
government cut-backs many young people under 18 are finding it more difficult
finding decent accommodation. Many homeless people over 18 find themselves
trapped into homelessness because they have no fixed address and so they are
unable to find employment. A large percentage of homeless people have drink
and/or drug addiction problems and many suffer from mental illness also.
Charities such as Shelter and Railway Children help
homeless people.





Laziness and apathy. Some people are in poverty because they are too lazy to
work. They may become apathetic (not caring) about finding employment
because they can survive on benefits provided by the welfare state. All people in
receipt of unemployment benefits (apart from the disabled) have to be actively
seeking work. If people are too lazy or apathetic to seek work then the benefits
they receive can be reduced or withdrawn.
Unemployment. Some people want to work but find it difficult to obtain work.
They may feel that they are not clever enough to work for qualifications which
would help them find work. There are 2 million people registered as unemployed
in the U.K., around 6% of the population. One in seven children live in a
household with no one at work.
Low wages. Some people do unskilled jobs such as cleaning which pay low
wages.
Debt. Some people get into serious debt by borrowing too much money
sometimes on credit cards. They subsequently find that they can not repay their
debts and the interest that they have to pay for taking out the original loan. This
may see them spiral into further debt and poverty. Some people are so
desperate that they may turn to ‘loan sharks’, these are people who lend money
illegally and charge very high interest for doing so. If loan sharks are not repaid
they frequently use violence or the threat of violence.
Illness. Some people living in poverty may suffer some forms of mental illness
like severe depression where they find it difficult to hold down a job.
4


Gambling. Some people become addicted to gambling. We saw a case study in
class (Panorama – Gambling Online) which highlighted the problem of
compulsive gambling in the U.K. The problem has become worse with the
introduction of online gambling where people can gamble from home at any
time of the day or night. Over a million people in the U.K. regularly gamble online. Sharna Baker became addicted to gambling and stole £460,000 from her
employers to fuel her addiction. This had devastating consequences not only for
her but for her family also. The judge gave her a suspended prison sentence.
Lack of education. Over half of all Britain’s school leavers leave school not
achieving 5 A* - C GCSE grade which will allow them to study A levels and go onto
university. Some of these pupils will not retrain and might end up either
unemployed or in unskilled ‘dead end’ jobs. In class we watched Jamie’s Dream
School which showed some young teenagers who had been ‘educational failures’
giving education a second chance by taking part in Jamie Oliver’s Dream School.
Many of these pupils showed very poor listening skills, exhibited attention
seeking behaviour, became argumentative and tried to disrupt lessons which
might have been a cover up for poor self-esteem. This documentary showed
some of the reasons why some people become educational failures and end up
in poverty.
Please note that due to some of the above reasons many people find
themselves in the poverty trap. The poverty trap is where people who find
themselves poor become trapped into this poverty and find very difficult to
escape from it. It is important that you understand all the different ways that
someone might fall into the poverty trap and all the help that is available from
government and charities to help them escape the poverty trap.
Some people cannot find a way out of
poverty. They are caught in the poverty
trap.
9) What is the government doing to help the poor?
We live in a society which is a welfare state. This means that citizens have to pay tax
from their wages so that local authorities can provide care for those that need it.
This help includes housing benefit, child benefit, tax credits (which reduce the
5
amount of income tax low earners pay) old age pensions, disability and invalidity
benefit and free school meals.
10) What else is being done to help the poor in British society?
Employers by law are not allowed to pay employees over the age of 22 less than
£5.93 per hour – this is known as the minimum wage. For a typical 40 hour week
someone who is paid the minimum wage after income tax and National Insurance
payments can expect to take home about £200 per week. However, not everyone is
in agreement with minimum wage.
11) What are the arguments for and against the minimum wage?
Arguments for:
 It prevents people being paid excessively low wages and so protects the
vulnerable from being exploited (taken advantage of).
 It might prove an incentive in getting people back into work.
Arguments against:


Some employers might feel that £5.93 per hour is too high so they may employ
less staff so fewer people have to do more for their wages. Some employers
might even be tempted to employ illegal immigrants who will work for less than
the minimum wage.
Some people argue that the minimum wage is too low. Many single mothers who
may be receiving housing benefit and child benefit actually find that they are no
better off working because when they start work some or all of these benefits
may stop.
12) Apart from the minimum wage what else is the government doing to help the poor in
British society?
The Citizen’s Advice Service is a national charity providing free advice on social,
legal, financial and other issues to help lift people out of poverty. The government
also helps to run Connexions.
13) What is Connexions?
Connexions is a government run advice, guidance and support service for young
people between the ages of 13 and 25. Young people can talk to a Connections
advisor and find out how they can find accommodation; obtain careers information
as well as advice on how to beat drug addiction. Connexions can also advise young
people on how they can retrain in higher education so that they can avoid the
prospect of long term employment in ‘dead end’ jobs like the prospect awaiting
some of the young people in the documentary Jamie’s Dream School. Therefore,
Connexions is an important organisation which helps to steer young people away
from poverty.
6
14) Is there anything else that local government can do to help the poor or help people
avoid falling into the poverty trap?
Local authorities can provide social workers to assist individuals and families in need
or at risk of falling apart and/or falling into the poverty trap. Local authorities can
provide support workers or arrange for agency support workers to make regular
visits to the elderly who are finding it difficult to cope on their own. Local authorities
also provide houses or flats for rent which is subsidised through housing benefit if a
person cannot afford it. However, there is only a limited supply of accommodation
and long waiting lists, with people judged to be in most need at the top. The ability
to pay is not considered.
Remember that some people can slip through the net of local authority care and
become long term homeless (particularly if they are over 18). If people do not have a
permanent address and have no money it can be difficult for local authorities to help
them. Apart from short stays in hostels many people who find themselves homeless
find it difficult to get accommodation. Some resort to begging in the streets.
15) What charities are there that help the poor in the U.K.?
 Railway Children is a charity that exists to help vulnerable teenagers, particularly
those that might be homeless. They offer advice to young people about various
ways that they can help themselves and they put pressure on governments to do
more to intervene to prevent young people becoming homeless.
 Shelter is a registered charity in England and Scotland which campaigns to end
homelessness and bad housing. If people are close to being evicted from rented
accommodation or can’t keep up with their mortgage payments then Shelter can
offer them advice and even intervene for them with landlords and mortgage
companies to that they can keep a roof over their heads.
 Help the Aged is a charity focussed on the welfare of senior citizens who might
find that their pensions do not cover living expenses and so experience serious
financial hardship. Old people are particularly vulnerable in the winter when they
might find it difficult to meet heating expenses.
 The Salvation Army are a Christian denomination who do a great deal to help the
poor and homeless. They organise soup kitchens so homeless people can receive
food. They also give homeless people counselling about how they might obtain
accommodation. Because the Salvation Army are Christians they may, if the
homeless people wish to listen, offer spiritual comfort by talking about the
gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ. They would tell the homeless that although
they do not feel valued by society there is a loving and compassionate God who
does value and care for them.
7
The Salvation Army are a Christian denomination
who do much charity work to help the poor in the
U.K.

Gambler’s Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous are two charities who
counsel the victims of gambling and alcohol addiction – two reasons how some
people might fall in to the poverty trap.
Section 3: Arguments for and against the National Lottery
16) What is the National Lottery?
In November 1994, the National Lottery was first introduced into the U.K. whereby
people who bought a £1 lottery ticket stood the chance of becoming millionaires if
the 6 numbers that they predicted came up in the National Lottery draw broadcast
live on a Saturday night. Since then a second draw has been introduced on a
Wednesday night. There is also a European lottery draw which costs £1.50 (2 euros)
to enter and regularly has a jackpot of over £100 million. In addition, people also
face the temptation of buying instant ‘scratch card’ tickets where the majority of
prizes are small and are paid out straight away by the retailer.
17) Was the National Lottery set up just to encourage people to gamble?
No. The National Lottery also raises millions of pounds for ‘good cause’ - for every £1
spent on a lottery ticket, 28p goes to charity. Different charities have to bid for
money from the National Lottery fund and there are strict rules about who can
benefit. The funds from the National Lottery that become available for good causes
is sometimes called the National Lottery Grant. There are four categories of good
cause:
 The arts – for example, painting galleries and opera receive 16.67% of lottery
funding.
 Heritage- for example, the upkeep of important historical buildings like
Canterbury Cathedral also receives 16.67% of lottery funding.
 Sport – for example, to help run special sporting events like the 2012 London
Olympics. This category also receives 16.67% of lottery funding.
8

Health, education, the environment and charities who bid for lottery funding.
This last category receives 50% of lottery funding.
Although the National Lottery is very popular (at least 9 million people take part
every week) not everyone agrees that it is a good thing.
18) What are some of the arguments for and against the National Lottery?
Arguments for:
 Most people do not really see the National Lottery as gambling, it is really just a
bit of fun so people can imagine what their lives would be if they really became
millionaires.
 The National Lottery can be a social institution. Many people are part of lottery
syndicates and can together enjoy the excitement of the weekly lottery.
 The National Lottery since it started in 1994 has channelled hundreds of millions
of pounds into good causes.
Arguments against:




For some people the National Lottery can be an addictive form of gambling.
There are many people who are caught in the poverty trap who spend far more
than they can afford on buying lottery tickets in the dream that all their financial
worries will be blown away in the big win. In actual fact the chances of winning
the lottery are incredibly small - about seventeen million to one.
Much of the money given by the National Lottery Grant goes into things like
opera and art galleries. Some people argue that this sort of funding is elitist;
most people are not interested in such things so it might be argued that poor
people are actually funding the leisure activities of the better off which is unfair.
The section of society which buys most lottery tickets is the working class who
traditionally as a group have the lowest income. Some people argue that with
28p of every lottery ticket going back to the government the National Lottery is
little more than a tax upon those who can least afford.
Some people argue that the National Lottery encourages us to put too much
emphasis on wealth. It encourages the idea that money and wealth can bring real
happiness. For some who win the lottery they discover that buying all the
9

material possessions you want does not in fact make you deeply happy but can
actually lead to a Spiritual emptiness.
Many people who win the National Lottery claim that such a sudden increase in
wealth can be difficult to cope with. Because they have been so lucky their
sudden wealth can incite deep jealousy in other people – sometimes even close
family members. We saw a documentary in class which highlighted some of the
problems that lottery winners have encountered.
Section 4: Christian attitudes to the rich and poor in British society including
Christian attitudes to the consumer society
We already know that Christians are people who believe in the sanctity of human life and
believe that God is a compassionate (caring) God. It follows from this that all human life is
intrinsically valuable (valuable within itself not for what it can do). Therefore, for Christians,
people should not be judged on how much money they have – their value lies in the very
fact that they are human beings regardless of how much wealth they have.
From what we have covered so far we can say that generally Christians would agree with
paying income tax which goes to help the poorer members of society because this is a
compassionate thing to do and it demonstrates that the less well off have value and worth.
Christians would support the work that the government does to help the poor and they
would support the work of charities in helping the poor (see all information above). Many
Christians would agree with the minimum wage because it can stop people being exploited
and again gives value and worth to the poorer members of society.
Many Christians may be concerned at the extremes of wealth and poverty in the U.K. today
and feel that a society that encourages people to focus on wealth and become financial fat
cats (through playing the Stock Exchange) is a society that is losing its spirituality.
Some people in the City of London can have very highly
paid jobs in the financial markets and are known as fat cats.
Many Christians might say that such high salaries
encourage people to become greedy and ignore the needs
of the poor.
10
Many Christians might have a problem with someone earning their living as a professional
gambler or owning a betting shop or on-line betting forum. If you are a professional gambler
then you are not contributing to society in any meaningful way like a nurse or someone
running useful business. Rather your whole life is focussed on nothing but money – you are
motivated by greed. If you own a betting shop or on-line betting forum then you are
encouraging greed in other people as well as exploiting vulnerable people who might have a
gambling addiction like Sharna Baker.
19) What are Christian attitudes to wealth and becoming rich?
Although Jesus himself was not rich and for the main part of his ministry (time spent
teaching) spent most of his time with the poor, many Christians would argue that
there is actually nothing wrong with becoming rich, rather it is our attitude to wealth
that is important and how we use it.
20) What should a Christian’s attitude to wealth be?
The Bible makes it very clear that we should not make a false idol out of money and
worship it in place of God. Jesus once told his followers that ‘You cannot serve both
God and money’ (Matthew’s gospel). However, if a Christian is responsible with their
money and becomes rich providing a useful service to the wider community and if
they do not let their wealth take the place of God in their lives then many Christians
would argue that wealth is not damaging within itself. In fact wealth can be very
useful in helping those less fortunate than ourselves.
21) Can you give examples of rich Christians?
Bono is the lead singer with the rock group U2. Through performing with U2 and
earning song royalties from the sale of their music Bono has become a multimillionaire; he is also a deeply committed Christian. Becoming rich has not stopped
Bono from practicing his Christian faith, in fact, through his wealth and fame he has
been able to undertake a lot of charity work for the poor around the world. So
although he is rich he does not make a false idol out of his wealth but rather puts his
wealth to good causes. Former Prime Minister Tony Blair since leaving politics has
also become a millionaire but he is also a practicing Roman Catholic. He donates a
large part of his wealth to CAFOD which is a Roman Catholic charity which helps the
poor.
Millionaire Christian rock star Bono
carrying out charity work with poor
people in Africa
11
22) What is meant by the term consumer society?
Many people believe that we in the U.K. live in a consumer society. A consumer
society is a society which if focussed upon the possession of more and more material
goods. Technology changes so quickly and advertisers place people under pressure
to keep up to date with the latest consumer goods, for example, 3D televisions and
the latest computer consoles. So going out shopping is a major pastime for people
who live in a consumer society.
23) What do Christians believe about the U.K. being a consumer society?
Many Christians feel that the obsession that we have with shopping in our society
does not lead to true happiness. People fill their lives by wanting more and more
consumer items when really what they are doing is filling a God shaped hole in their
lives. Following Jesus’ teaching by putting God at the centre of our lives and showing
other people compassion brings about a far deeper spiritual happiness. Many
Christians believe that shopping has become a sort of false religion for many people
today.
24) What did Jesus teach about wealth?
In Luke Ch.16: 19 – 31 Jesus tells a parable called the Rich Man and Lazarus. It is
about a poor man called Lazarus with sores on his skin who begs in front of a rich
mans house. The rich man showed no compassion and allows the poor man to
suffer. When they both die the rich man goes to Hades (hell) and the poor man goes
to paradise. The rich man pleads for mercy but Abraham (the first Jewish prophet)
tells him that there is no escape from Hades. God’s teaching about love, compassion
and charity had already been given in the Jewish religion so the rich man only had
himself to blame. Through this parable Jesus was making the following points:
 God puts no value on wealth – He is not impressed by it.
 God values spiritual values like love, compassion and charity.
 Wealth can corrupt us and blind us to what is valuable and spiritual. If the power
of wealth blinds us and makes us arrogant and self-centred in this life then there
will ultimately be a judgement by God who can see into everyone’s soul.
On Earth the rich man worshipped his wealth and showed
no compassion to the poor man. After he is judged by God
he realises how foolish he has been.
12
In Mark’s Gospel Jesus meets a rich man who asks Jesus what he must to have
eternal life. Jesus tells him to sell all his material possessions and give the money to
the poor. The rich man is sad because he realises that he loves his wealth so much
that he can’t be parted from it. Jesus tells his disciples that it is harder for a rich man
to enter the Kingdom of Heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a
needle. Most Christians do not interpret this story literally otherwise there would be
no rich Christians which we know that there are. What Jesus is doing is getting the
rich man to reflect on how important his wealth is to him and how he has come to
worship his wealth rather than God. Jesus is also expressing the obligation to all who
are truly close to God to help the poor.
In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says that ....’Where your treasure is, there your heart will
be also’. So if you place wealth above loving your fellow human beings then your
heart will become hard and arrogant (big headed). On the other hand if your
treasure is your loving relationship to your fellow human beings and with God, then
you will have a spiritual richness that is far more valuable than material wealth.
25) What else to Christians believe about wealth?
Christians believe that we should be good stewards of our own wealth (we came
across this word when we looked at the Planet Earth module last year). This means
that we should be good caretakers of our own wealth and use it to help other
people. Many Christians pay tithes to the Church – this is giving one tenth of your
income to the Church. In Matthew’s Gospel Jesus says that ‘Anything that you did
for one of my brothers however humble (unimportant), you also did for me’. This
means by helping the poor and giving to charity we are actually serving Jesus – which
is why the Salvation Army do so much for the homeless by running soup kitchens.
Many of the early Christians used to live in communities where they would share
their wealth rather than have their own possessions.
13