Faith and social prescribing

What is faith-based social prescribing?

Faith-based social prescribing is about connecting people to activities, advice and support provided by faith communities that help improve their health and wellbeing.

This support may be informed by faith principles and teachings, be open to all faiths and none, or be secular and simply take place in a faith setting such as a church, mosque, synagogue, temple or gurdwara.

Through partnerships with social prescribing link workers, community connectors, other health professionals and statutory services, faith organisations increasingly provide pathways into non-clinical, neighbourhood-based care.  

Why faith matters in social prescribing

Over half of the population identify with a religion (Census, 2021). Despite progressive secularisation in the UK overall, some faith communities appear to be growing, including Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism and spiritual identities (Census, 2021; IIFL, 2025).

Faith and spirituality can be important protective factors in people’s health and wellbeing, with some faiths reporting significantly higher satisfaction with their health than those of ‘no religion’ (UKHLS, 2020). In the younger generation, engagement with faith is increasingly driven by a search for better mental health and emotional wellbeing (IIFL, 2025). It follows that faith and spirituality will continue to play an important role in people’s health, wellbeing and relationship to healthcare, particularly during major life changes, periods of ill-health, and end-of-life care.

For many, faith spaces are seen as safe, trusted and welcoming community anchors in a local area. In addition to spiritual care, faith organisations therefore contribute to wellbeing through emotional support, practical help and social opportunities for people of all faiths and none.  Research shows that this ‘anchor’ role is particularly important when reaching people experiencing loneliness and isolation, social and economic disadvantage, and persistent health inequalities (HIAG, 2022; BMJ, 2026).

How faith and health can collaborate

Faith communities and health and care professionals can collaborate with each other in a variety of ways. For example:

Social Prescribing Link Workers and faith leaders can work together to support people in their community. Patients can be referred into faith-based activities by link workers, and faith leaders can support members of their community to access wider health and wellbeing support when they need it.

Local authorities and faith communities can plan and deliver services in partnership. This can happen through interfaith networks, public health programmes and Family Hubs, ensuring people have access to trusted and culturally competent advice and support.

New models of health and care can benefit from faith assets, knowledge and relationships. This includes Neighbourhood Health Centres, Early Support Hubs for 11–25-year-olds, and Women’s Health Hubs. Integrating faith communities into health and care reforms from the outset will help ensure a diverse range of people benefit from the changes.

A group of faith leaders gathered around a table in discussion.

Challenges and opportunities

There are many excellent examples of faith-based social prescribing and collaboration with the health system across the country, some of which are set out in the Theos and Good Faith Partnership report on the role of faith communities in neighbourhood health.

However, research and engagement with faith communities, including our joint roundtable with the Good Faith Partnership, has highlighted a range of challenges. These include limited capacity in statutory services and faith communities, complex systems without a ‘single front door’, lack of data on faith in patient records, the traditional emphasis on health as ‘absence of disease’, and concerns about ‘proselytism’ in the health system or ‘saying the wrong thing’.

With the clear shift towards prevention, neighbourhood health and community-led approaches in the NHS 10 Year Plan, it is vital that faith communities are integrated early and sustainably into new models of health and care. This will help ensure that:

Government and the NHS can achieve the 10 Year Plan ambitions for prevention, tackling health inequalities and reducing pressure on statutory services
Local communities are healthier, more connected and more resilient – a vision set out clearly in the Cohesion Action Plan and Civil Society Covenant
Individuals receive holistic, culturally competent and faith-literate support when they need it – making public services more person-centred.

What we are doing at NASP

Since 2025, NASP has had a dedicated Faith & Social Prescribing programme, with a Strategic Lead for Faith & Social Prescribing funded by the Sir Halley Stewart Trust. The core aims of this work are to strengthen connections between faith communities, assets and the social prescribing system, while building faith literacy and confidence across the social prescribing and wider health and care workforce.

The first year of our programme also reinforced that stronger faith-based social prescribing cannot be achieved through social prescribing alone. It requires wider system-level recognition of faith communities, stronger relationships between faith and health partners, and greater integration of faith into neighbourhood health, prevention and population health. This is why we are:

Convening partners and system leaders from health, government, faith and civil society organisations to identify opportunities for collaboration

Strengthening the evidence base for faith, health and social prescribing to inform policymaking, commissioning and practice

Working with Link Workers and wider health professionals to strengthen training and resources in faith literacy and cultural competency

Sharing common challenges, good practice and resources with international partners, to build a picture of faith integration with social prescribing in different contexts