Life on the Breadline: Theology, Poverty and Politics in an Age of Austerity

Academic theology stands at a crossroads. Will it rise to the challenge and focus its energy on the development of a fieldwork-led theology of liberation that can resource the struggle to make poverty history?

Life on the Breadline represents the first fieldwork-based book by an academic theologian to identify, explore and analyse the spectrum of Christian responses to austerity-age poverty in the UK. Rooted in an interdisciplinary theoretical analysis of multidimensional poverty, political discourse and extensive qualitative research, it develops a groundbreaking theological analysis of the impact of governmental austerity policies since the 2008 financial crash.

In Life on the Breadline, Chris Shannahan identifies and critiques a spectrum of Christian responses to poverty and sows the seeds of a new theology of liberation, demonstrating that the Church faces a Kairos moment in its engagement in the public sphere and its commitment to 'transform structural injustice'.

BLOGPOST: Why do Christians engage with poverty? Q&A with Chris Shannahan on the SCM Press blog here.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: SCM Press
Published: 11/28/2025
ISBN: 9780334063698
Pages: 240
Weight: 0.76lbs
Size: 9.21h x 6.14w x 0.55d