Faith groups across England are recognised as a major but underused resource in improving public health, according to a new report that calls for stronger partnerships between the NHS and local religious organisations.
The report was produced by the National Academy for Social Prescribing (NASP) and the Good Faith Partnership following a December 2025 roundtable involving 35 NHS leaders, local government representatives, and senior figures from faith organisations.
It argues that faith groups are already providing significant frontline support in areas affected by deprivation, loneliness and poor mental health - issues that are often not solved through medicine alone - but remain insufficiently integrated into formal healthcare systems.
Social prescribing - which connects patients to non-medical community support such as counselling, social groups, debt advice or practical care - has become an increasing focus within NHS policy in recent years and is intended to improve wellbeing while reducing pressure on NHS services.
Since 2019, social prescribing schemes have connected over 5.5 million people with community-based support services.
The report describes faith communities as “trusted anchor institutions” because of their long-standing local presence, volunteer networks, physical infrastructure, and relationships of trust within neighbourhoods.
NASP noted that over half of people in England and Wales identify with a religion, while faith observance is often strongest in areas experiencing higher deprivation and health inequalities.
One participant described faith organisations as remaining committed to communities long after funding disappears, saying: “They’re here from heart conviction rather than cash incentives.”
Christian organisations feature prominently throughout the report.
Broadmead Community Church in Northampton was highlighted for bringing together social prescribing link workers, police, GPs, public health leaders and local faith groups to coordinate neighbourhood support.
The report also pointed to the NHS-funded Night Light Café network in Lincolnshire, organised by Christian charity Acts Trust, which provides out-of-hours mental health support through church venues every day of the week.
Assessments of the programme indicated that every £1 invested generated mental health benefits valued at around seven times that amount.
Another initiative mentioned was the Gather Movement, which works with churches to map wellbeing projects and help healthcare providers connect patients with local support services.
Participants argued that faith communities often address aspects of wellbeing that clinical services alone cannot provide, including belonging, hope, meaning and spiritual care.
One individual quoted in the report said that faith groups “trade in hope, positivity, compassion, and benevolence,” adding that these qualities can significantly benefit mental and social wellbeing.
The report also proposed expanding the role of chaplaincy outside of hospitals through neighbourhood-based spiritual care partnerships linking churches and faith communities with statutory health services.
Covid-19 was repeatedly cited as a time of successful collaboration between healthcare systems and faith groups.
The report noted that churches and other places of worship hosted vaccine clinics, distributed food, provided mental health support and helped counter vaccine hesitancy within local communities.
Despite these examples, the report identified several barriers preventing stronger partnerships.
These included poor awareness within the NHS of local faith-based services, limited understanding of spiritual care, volunteer burnout, fragmented local coordination, challenging funding structures, and what some participants described as “transactional” relationships in which faith organisations are treated as temporary delivery partners rather than equal stakeholders.
The report also warned against treating religious communities as a single homogeneous “faith sector,” stressing the importance of recognising theological, cultural and organisational differences between and within traditions.
Among its recommendations, the report urged health leaders to involve faith communities in neighbourhood health planning from the earliest stages rather than bringing them in later as external partners.
It also called for clearer referral systems between healthcare providers and local faith organisations, improved faith literacy training for NHS staff, and more sustainable long-term funding arrangements instead of relying on short-term pilot projects.
In addition, the report emphasised the importance of building stronger local relationships between social prescribing link workers and faith groups.
It also backed proposals for a £1 billion National Community Health and Wellbeing Fund designed to support long-term partnerships between healthcare systems and community organisations, including churches and faith groups.
Professor Sir Sam Everington, NHS England board member and Provost of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said faith groups were already deeply embedded within communities experiencing the greatest health inequalities.
“If we are serious about prevention and neighbourhood health, we must go beyond clinical care and work with trusted community networks,” he said. “As we shift towards neighbourhood health, the question is no longer whether we work with partners such as faith organisations, but how to do so systematically, at scale and as a core part of the health system.”
Charlotte Osborn-Forde, chief executive of NASP, said “the time to act is now,” adding that the NHS now has an opportunity to connect more effectively with “a vital, existing infrastructure for health and wellbeing.”
She continued: “The partnerships we build today will shape the future of neighbourhood health.”
Similarly, Good Faith Partnership’s lead consultant, Esther Platt said: "We know that when faith communities and the NHS work together intentionally, outcomes improve and people are more able to access the help that they need. Health leaders should see faith organisations not as an add-on, but as core partners in neighbourhood health. We are ready to help make that happen.”
The report concludes that faith communities already possess the “capacity and assets” to improve national wellbeing but says what is now required is “genuine partnership built on principles of reciprocity, sustainable investment, and shared power.”
