faith

unit two – inclusive practices

blog post 2 (including extended activity)

changes in religious demography

“making the large towns and cities more religious
than the small towns and the countryside, and thus reversing the traditional picture” – (multiculturalism, interculturalisms and the majority – tariq modood)

in modood’s paper, religion in britain, challenges for higher education, he talks about the changing demographic in britain. he states that one of the biggest social changes in britain in the 20th century is that of a decline in religion.

he cites various papers and statistics which demonstrate this trend. he says that it is not that religion is disappearing, but more that there is ‘belief without belonging’, belief in spirituality has remained constant and belief in the soul has increased.

another trend he cites is that of religion being driven by immigration, and not just hindu’s, sikhs, and muslim from the wave of immigration in the 1950’s, but also many from black-led religion, with people from west africa worshiping at the pentecostal churches, and the influx of polish catholic worship.

this is important information to consider when thinking of our teaching practice, to make sure that we are inclusive. we have chaplains within our team who embrace all faiths. it is important to be knowledgeable about the different religious traditions, such as ramadan, and to make allowances, for instance to appreciate that students might be low on energy if they are fasting.

it may also be beneficial to our team to discus students work or research in this area in our supervision meetings so that we can be more educated in current trends in religion within the changing demographic.

two things i learned from the text are:

1), london is the densest population for practicing religion in the uk, reversing the trend of religion being more popular in the cities rather than the country.

2), generally younger people are less likely to be religious than older people, although in some ethnic minority groups the number of young people practicing religion is high, with more muslim young people practicing than elders.

a question I have about the text is, what are the most practiced religions in london? which groups practice these religions? and what areas of london are these religions based? I remember seeing an article in the guardian some years ago with a map of london showing how diverse london is and what areas different groups live, for instance stockwell has a big portuguese population, whilst whitechapel has a big bangladeshi population.

references

1), (no date a) multiculturalism, interculturalisms and the majority – tariq modood. available at: http://www.tariqmodood.com/uploads/1/2/3/9/12392325/030572402e20142e920308.pdf (accessed: 18 May 2023).

2), london school of economics and political science (no date) religion binds people culturally across geographic borders, london school of economics and political science. available at: https://www.lse.ac.uk/news/latest-news-from-lse/2021/i-september-21/religion-binds-people-culturally-across-geographic-borders (accessed: 18 May 2023).

minority identities

this article describes the decline in christian worship during the 20th century and in parallel a decline in doctrine. two things which stood out in the article are:

1), there may be many who describe themselves as christians who do not worship at a church and/or do not feel the need for an outward display of their faith, in terms of eating certain foods or wearing certain dress. for example, there is no longer a need to wear a cross as a practicing christian.

2), that this in contrast to post-immigration minority ethnic groups, ‘who are always more conscious, and made more conscious by others’ of their ‘difference’, of their identity’ (978-1-906627-76-8 religion in britain: challenges for … – tariq modood).

he goes on to say that for most minorities in britain, religion is assumed, and most religious ethnic groups adhere to certain dress – a headscarf perhaps, even if they believe strongly or not, and so a group identity and a sense of belonging persists because of the shared dress code and traditions, regardless of belief or strength of belief.

he poses the question about how the rise in religion, from mainly ethnic minority immigration groups, will impact society after a long decline in religion in britain. my question would be, what are the benefits of religion in minority ethnic groups, and what are the drawbacks from a decline in religion in traditional white british communities?

as a psychotherapist you are taught to bracket your assumptions, but you have to be conscious of what those assumptions are in the first place. i carry out a thorough initial assessment with a new student, which covers all aspects of their life – their history, education, previous psychological support, health, family etc. religion will come up if it is relevant but perhaps it would be both useful and inclusive to include a specific section on religion.

it might also be useful as a team to think about case studies of students with a practicing faith and implications for psychotherapy and counselling, in terms of accessibility and inclusion.

references

1), drummond, r. (no date) improving the evidence on ethnic health disparities, office for national statistics. available at: https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2022/04/13/improving-the-evidence-on-ethnic-health-disparities/ (accessed: 19 may 2023).

2), (no date) 978-1-906627-76-8 religion in britain: challenges for … – tariq modood. available at: http://www.tariqmodood.com/uploads/1/2/3/9/12392325/6379_lfhe_stimulus_paper_-_modood_calhoun_32pp.pdf (accessed: 19 may 2023).

religion and dissent in universities

“religiously motivated students are active in efforts to secure harmony among different religious groups, and lead in efforts to promote greater knowledge of religions beyond their own. they often seek to provide public goods on campuses such as neighborhood tutoring, peer counselling and meditation.” – (978-1-906627-76-8 religion in britain: challenges for higher education)

professor craig calhoun discusses dissent in universities. two points that i took from the paper are:

1), the threat of free speech in universities, when it comes to religion. calhoun states that religion historically perpetuated free speech and now there is intolerance, especially towards some religious groups. there is fear in society about extremism in certain religions and extremist preaching. at the same time there is anxiety that banning ‘extremist’ speakers would be a breach of free speech. there is a disproportionate targeting of muslims for being extremists, when in reality this is a small minority.

2), gender is also a focus of dissent in universities. calhoun states that it is often assumed that gender is a social justice and personal identity issue, but the understanding of gender is particularly informed by religion.

an example of this is when the london school of economics designed a new faith center and there was anxiety about the segregated facilities for muslims to wash before prayer. even though this is true for all the washing facilities within the university there was panic that there would lead to more division, and that next there would be the introduction of segregated lecture halls.

he talks about gender bias such as this as not necessarily coming from religious ideology but from customs picked up at some point within a cultural context, and perhaps this will disappear slowly with social change.

my question would be how do we find a way to have healthy conversations about these topics whist still respecting different belief systems? some white british people might be fearful of voicing their concerns about gender separation and gender inequality in religion for fear of causing offense or by sounding right wing or anti-immigration in their views.


references

1), graduation & leaving oxford (no date) university of oxford. available at: https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/graduation (accessed: 19 may 2023).

2), 2), (no date) 978-1-906627-76-8 religion in britain: challenges for … – tariq modood. available at: http://www.tariqmodood.com/uploads/1/2/3/9/12392325/6379_lfhe_stimulus_paper_-_modood_calhoun_32pp.pdf (accessed: 19 may 2023).

kwame anthony appiah reith lecture on creed.

we have to recognise that we merely do not just follow traditions, we create them. count that a burden, and a blessing.” – kwame anthony appiah

in kwame anthony appiah’s reef lecture on creed, he talks about his own heritage, born in london to a white mother from the cotswold’s, and a black father from the gold coast in ghana. theirs’s was the first inter-racial society wedding. he went to boarding schools in ghana and now lives in new york. appitah married his partner as soon as same sex marriage became legal in new york. he lectures in law and philosophy at the university of new york. he discusses intersectionality in terms of his own identity. he says how intersections such as, gender, race, religion, class, and nationality are the things which shape one’s identity.

the reef lecture focusses on creed, as part of identity. he talks about his parents being members of different churches and yet they were both sustained individually by their religion. he says ‘what some counted a burden, they counted a blessing’. (boston.com 2005)

he talks about different religions and questions – what is a matter of custom? and what is a matter of creed? he says that we have been taught to understand religion first and foremost as being about belief, however every religion is made up of three components, what you do – practice, who you do it with – fellowship, and the third, the body of belief. the problem arises when we emphasise belief over the shared practices, and the communities which binds it together.

he talks about views on homosexuality in religion and how homosexuality wasn’t acknowledged, not perhaps because it was thought wrong, but that sex wasn’t talked about, full stop! when it came to religion.

in terms of gender, there is much in the koran which perpetuates the belief that men are superior to women, this is highlighted by those against islam, and also those for islam, who wish this belief to continue. however, there is a lot to contradict this, for example, bangladesh and pakistan have had women prime ministers. the fact is, he says, religious communities shift their views regarding gender over and over again.

this is a really nice lecture detailing themes around intersectionality, identity, and creed. it also raises questions to counteract stereotypes, prejudices, and understanding around various religions in terms of gender, sexuality and inequality. much is about how religion is interpreted and those interpretations change over time.

in work with students who are raising questions around identity or creed, or who hold prejudicial views due to lack of understanding i might reccommend listening to this podcast.

i would also like to do some work around these themes within our team and ask the chaplains, william and mark to give a talk on different faith groups within the university. appiaht quotes philo of alexandria ‘to be loyal to your god, he said, you may need not revile the gods of others’, (boston.com 2005) which i think is a nice remark. we can all be more inclusive of others beliefs and it doesn’t mean it needs to effect our own beliefs.

appiaht states that ‘religious identities are transformed through history, that is how they survive’. (boston.com 2005)

he ends the lecture on a positive note about the change that we have the power to create. ‘we have to recognise that we merely do not just follow traditions, we create them. count that a burden, and a blessing’. (boston.com 2005)

references

1), (2005) boston.com. available at: http://archive.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/02/06/the_trouble_with_identity?pg=full (accessed: 23 May 2023).

2), The Reith Lectures, Kwame Anthony Appiah – mistaken identities, Creed (2016) BBC Radio 4. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07z43ds (Accessed: 23 May 2023).

3), shades of noire – faith

(higher power: religion, faith, spirituality & belief 2023)

tea meditation leads to contemplation for me. anything can be a dialogue with the divine when you transform it from the mundane to the sacred” – alia youssef

alia youssef is a 27 year old muslim pakistani canadian. she identifies as a nizari ismaili shi’i muslim, and she says that she is ‘a minority within a minority within a minority’. she is doing a masters degree in education of islamic societies and civilizations’, and also teaching. she says it is important for her to be an ally and to always seek consent. she said that she wants ‘to be perceived as that person whose thoughts, words, and actions reflect the Islamic ethos by helping those who exist on the periphery of society and it’s norms’.

I liked reading this article as it made me think about intersectionality in terms of alia being of pakistani- canadian heritage and being a woman in the arts and academia. the strength of alias belief comes through in this article and she wants to use it to help others in need.

I liked what she said about drinking tea being a contemplative practice for her. it made me think about my own spiritual practice of yoga and meditation and how i integrate it into my work with students and how I can bring in more meditation into my teaching practice. when i did a yoga teacher training in india before the pandemic we would start and end every class with a simple mediation and it was so grounding and calming that i thought how great it would be if we did that at the university. this is something i would like to incorporate more into my practice.

references

1), higher power: religion, faith, spirituality & belief (2023) shades of noir. available at: https://shadesofnoir.org.uk/journals/higher-power-religion-faith-spirituality-belief/ (accessed: 23 may 2023).

extended activity: ● read the case study from son ‘the little book of big case studies’ around faith and reflect on it.

“how do i challenge islamophobia in the workspace?”

“oxford dictionary definition of islamophobia: dislike or prejudice against islam or muslims, especially as a political force” (issuu.com, 2015)

the article looks at islamophobia in the workplace beginning by noting the growing tensions in the west, brexit in the uk, and the ban of the headscarf in france and how these tensions mean that our students from muslim backgrounds are experiencing racism every day.

the article cites data showing the increase in abuse against muslims and especially woman and 1 in 10 incidents taking place in education. the article also states research demonstrating that other groups such as sikhs, hindu’s, and people of african heritage, along with south asian communities have been targeted also.

training

it is recommended to complete the inclusive teaching and learning in higher education (elective unit), as a standalone unit or as part of the pgcert.

support

provide a diverse selection of resources, provide newspapers and online publications which are unbiased and encourage students to question the news

references,

1), issuu.com. (2015). shades of noir case study – faith by shades of noir – issuu. [online] available at: https://issuu.com/shadesofnoir/docs/shades_of_noir_case_study_-_faith_.