The Church and Its Communities: Upper, Middle and Lower Class

Abstract

The Church of England’s internet strapline proclaims it is a ‘Christian presence in every community’. This chapter and the next two examine the Church as aspects of community, refracted through drama. This chapter examines the importance of dramatisations of the Church of England for understanding upper-, middle- and lower-class identities as a prevailing aspect of British television. It examines how television drama has shown the interactions between the Church and the different social groupings that surround it. On the small screen, is the Church really in every community? This chapter examines the church lives of the inner city and the country and its modulations across these communities, moving up and down social classes, in period drama and sitcoms.