Opportunity Seekers Research Articles

Working-class church attendance declined markedly in the latter part of the nineteenth century, the timing, causes, and nature of which have been extensively debated. This paper contributes to this debate by reworking oral-history evidence collected from elderly people in Lancashire. By distinguishing three contrasting groups among the respondents, the need to recognize major differences among the attitudes of the working classes towards religion and religious institutions is highlighted. The largest group showed loyalty to a single church, being actively involved in church activities and reflecting a sense of ownership of their church. Rejection came sometimes from pressures within the home, but more often from reactions to the clergy. Finally, opportunity seekers took advantage of whatever activities or benefits local churches offered. The overall impression from these recollections was that, for many working-class people, the church played an important part in their lives in the early part of the twentieth century, offering hope, colour and comradeship.