As an atheist, I thought of religious belief as something intensely personal, belonging to an individual’s private sphere. And therefore, not part of the public discourse around education. (Head slapping emoji). My view had been influenced by contemporary western orthodoxy which has sought to separate religious influence from public institutions, including universities. But as with a lot of work in this Inclusive Practice unit, I have had to examine my own preconceptions about the importance of religion, faith and belief, and through this topics readings, I have come to appreciate that something so intrinsic to identity must have a profound effect on students’ lives at university and beyond.
The Stimulus papers (Modood, T. and Calhoun, C. 2015) argues for increased knowledge and understanding of religion among educators to better facilitate students’ learning. Religion plays a central role in numerous cultures, evidenced by the many countries that still retain an official or preferred religion, Britain included. It is because, as Kwame Anthony Appiah posits (Reith lecture, 2016), religions are mutable, transforming through dialogue with the past and intertwined with a peoples’ shared practice and community, that they continue to retain their relevance. Religion features so prominently in certain identities, that it is sometimes conflated to label these ethnic groups. So efforts to become a more inclusive institution cannot be resolved without improving the religious literacy of all within the university.
One implication, then, is that ‘religious literacy’ must not be understood in a narrowly religious way but in a context of wider social divisions and group power relations, especially racism, ethno-religious exclusions and inclusions, and the struggle for multicultural equality.(The Stimulus Papers, 2015)
It touches all parts of the university. ‘Decolonising the Curriculum’ means widening the resources around different religions as well as different cultures. Consideration of religious and spiritual beliefs in moral and ethical debates around free speech, gender and sexual equality, capitalism and inequality are central to an arts education that wishes to ‘create a better world’ (UAL, 2023).
In Interview with Mark Dean, the chaplain at CCW and CSM explains how ‘UAL has a Religion and Belief Champion as well as a Community of Practice focused on religion, belief and faith identities and how these impact on learning and teaching.’ But also how ‘The situation is further complicated by questions of intersectionality and the way identities associated with race, religion, gender, sexuality overlap and sometimes conflict.’ (Higher Power: Religion, Faith, Spirituality and Belief, 2017) Chaplains, as well as being a source of knowledge about religions, are often called upon to give pastoral care to students of their own, as well as of different, religions. Where once a student would have gone to an academic for pastoral care, the commercialization of universities has led to an increase in student numbers and a reduction in contact time where these interactions previously took place. So if the university is genuine in its wish to improve inclusivity, this cannot be outsourced to chaplains. Does there need to be a more integrated approach to improving the knowledge and understanding the importance of religion, intertwined as it is in the social, political and cultural lives of its students?
Bibliography
Modood, T. and Calhoun, C. (2015) Religion in Britain: Challenges for Higher Education, London: Leadership Foundation for Higher Education
Reith Lecture (2016) BBC Radio 4, 22 October, 22:15
UAL (2023) Guiding Policy 3. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/about-ual/strategy-and-governance/strategy/guiding-policy-3 (Accessed: 16 May 2023)
Dean, M. (2017) ‘Interview with Mark Dean’, Shades of Noir, Higher Power: Religion, Faith, Spirituality and Belief, pg 24-25
I am fascinated with the matter around your first paragraph, because it feels that at some point since Victorian times there has been a shift… from christianity as the linchpin that has shaped/oppressed so much around british/colonial/western society, to a time where increasingly no faith or alternate faiths are in favour in the UK… If I had time I’d love to explore all the contributing factors… funny, because I hated history & RE at school!
I too have had some preconceptions challenged by this unit. Growing up in France I also considered religion to be a private matter separate from the public sphere. Although I had first hand experienced of how the acceptance of religious differences made for a more tolerant society (there is far less discrimination against women wearing the veil in England than there is in France where it is band in public spaces) I had never really considered how important it might be to actively improve the knowledge and understanding around religion if we are to create more inclusive, tolerant and caring cultures within the institution.
Hi E-sinn, I have also found the unit to be really opening a lot of things up for me. I think it was mentioned in the session yesterday that we are not expected to become experts on religion. I suppose a chaplain might be a good source of general knowledge on all religions, and otherwise trained in offering support to all. And I agree that an integrative approach to improving religious literacy and wider contexts, intertwined as it is with the social, political, and cultural lives of students as you say, would surely help in the support and understanding we can offer students. I suppose this unit is a good start, and I hope to carry things forward from this too.