Why is religion less popular with teenagers today than 100 years ago?
Most people have fallen out of favour with institutions. It’s the same view as with politics – a lot of people distrust politicians too. There’s also been a massive change in attitude and culture. A religious climate is far less important in Britain than it used to be, and it’s in decline, especially with teenagers. We’re much more liberal and rational now than we were, and it seems that most teenagers think there’s no place for religion in the modern world.
Having said that, statistics are very in favour of religion. The incident on 9/11 brought religion to the fore and made people think about it a bit more. In some ways, persecution does the church a lot of good; it’s something we can turn to in hard times.
What are your main roles
within the school?
I’m still new and learning. I focus on building relationships with staff and students, and obviously, the longer I’m here and the more pupils that come through the school, the more important the chaplain will become. Some of the staff are at the age where parents will be dying and they don’t know how to deal it, so I try to talk to them as much as I can.
I also teach Religious Studies and organise official worship at the prep and senior school, which gives me an overview of both schools so I can at as a go-between. I think I help to bridge the gap between management and workers, as there can be quite a lot of tension between the two.
Why did you choose to
become a chaplain?
There are loads of things to do within the ministry: sector ministry; academics; prison; school and industry. I wanted to work with people who don’t go to church every Sunday, so I thought about being a prison or university chaplain. It’s fascinating to see these people’s reactions to me – they have a preconceived idea, a stereotype, of who I am.
School is different to working in a church. There’s less pastoral care involved and the pupils can be very sceptical, even provocative. I help them to decide what they think about religion and other issues.
Have you
always been religious?
Yes. My family were Methodist, so I was what we call a “cradle Methodist”. I’ve always been to church; it seemed natural to me and I’ve never doubted religion. Methodism is far less hierarchal and bureaucratic than other Churches. Everyone is treated the same. There is a president elected each year who then goes back to their original job. There are no wages, just an amount of money to free you up for work.