Faith
After watching Appiah’s video, I found it quite challenging to understand the main points he wanted to convey about religion. One of the main concepts was that because religion cannot be accurately and consistently defined, it therefore does not exist. He also said that if religion is not real, we may as well not believe what a person says is true.
The video called Faith: What does it mean to be a young person of faith today? The Interviews with young people, some of them explained that faith forms part of their identity. They feel a sense of community and that believing in a higher power gives them joy and peace (Coventry UK City of Culture, 2021). One girl mentioned that whilst she is not overly spiritual, when we all pray together it brings us closer and creates a sense of community among them. Based on the views from this video, it seem to contradict Appiah has thought that religion cannot be defined. Instead, it informs us that faith forms a part of people’s identity.
In the article, Reki explores how religious identity intersects with other aspects of a person’s identity such as race, gender and class. He identifies a key point that our biases can cause us to make assumptions, in turn cause harm. I agree with his point that it can be often difficult for religious people to share, as it could lead to being scared to face injustice or prejudice.
Jawad’s blog focuses on Muslim women in sports and the challenges that arise from the intersection of faith, culture and sport. She emphasises the importance of creating an environment where Muslim women and girls can participate in sports, without compromising modesty and their beliefs. She advocates for a holistic approach that respect their religious practices.
Singh brings attention to stereotyping if everyone from the same community is viewed as identical, despite the community being diverse. To educate people, he challenges stereotypes wherever he goes. As commendable as this is, I believe it should not be his responsibility. Not everyone has the strength to confront others in the same way. Singh also discusses how he educates his students in the classroom on how to engage and challenge people with empathy, in a constructive manner and not destructive. This is something I would like to incorporate into my teaching practice (Singh, 2016).
Recurring themes:
- Cultural barriers and societal barriers
- Community and diversity.
- Challenging stereotypes.
- Epistemic Injustice and Inequality.
- Inclusive practices.
- Religious Identity.
Teaching context
The UAL’s EDI Report (2022/23) shows a decrease in the percentage of students declaring their religion or belief, from 34% in 2019 to 29% in 2023/24 (Figure 1).
The report details the various declared, undeclared, or undisclosed religions and beliefs (Figures 2 and 3). According to the UAL Active dashboard for the School of Design and Technology, about 57.1% of students declared no religion or belief, while 12.2% preferred not to say. Both data raises question, why this students not disclosing their faith. Is this due to safety concerns, biases, or is it the way the data is collected, barriers in sharing their faith in educational environment, potentially leading to injustice, stereotyping, and prejudice? Are we, as a university, creating an atmosphere that respects and values all aspects of students and staff’s identities, or are we fostering silence around faith and belief?.
At times is challenging to discuss my faith in an educational setting due to timing, space, and the risk of being misunderstood. It is easier to share my Christian faith with staff and my team, but I have rarely shared it in large classroom settings, though occasionally with students in smaller groups when it comes up, especially when it relates to UK public holidays or weekend plans.
I had an experience once with a student asked for my help ideas for a gift for his mother with British heritage to take back home. I asked him what his mother’s interests was and in end found out, we shared a Christian faith. He then decide to buy a liberty print fabric to make her church dress. This interaction gave me a sense of freedom to share an important part of my intersectional identity.
There are some Quiet Spaces across UAL, which are creating a safe place for people to share their faith. (Figure 4)
References
Appiah, K. A (2014) Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question). 16 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=X2et2KO8gcY (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Coventry UK City of Culture (2021) Faith: What does it mean to be a young person of faith today?. September 2021. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDYy0U7WtkM (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women, The London School of Economics and Political Science, 22September 2022. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/ (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Kristin, A. (2023) Why universities should help students build relationships across religion and worldview differences, The London School of Economics and Political Science, 30june 2023. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2023/06/why-universities-should-help-students-build-relationships-across-religion-and-worldview-differences/ (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Kristin, A. (2023) Occasional Papers on Faith in Higher Education’, CUAC, Issue information, pp. 43–61. Available at: https://cuac.anglicancommunion.org/media/153639/Occ-Papers-on-Faith-in-HE-no-1.pdf#page=43 (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Reki, J. (2023). Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Approach, Hypatia, 38 (4), pp. 779–800. Available at: https://philarchive.org/rec/REKRIA (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Trinity University (2016) Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in the Classroom. 1 December. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
The list of illustration includes:
Figure 1. UAL,(2022/23) University of the Arts London – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022.23. [Chart]– Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Figure 2. UAL,(2024) University of the Arts London Active Dashboard – Student profiles: characteristic. [Pie-chart]– Available at: https://dashboards.arts.ac.uk/dashboard/ActiveDashboards/DashboardPage.aspx?dashboardid=5c6bb274-7645-4500-bb75-7e334f68ff24&dashcontextid=638524920468662402 (Accessed: 17 July 2024).
Figure 3. UAL,(University of the Arts London – Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022.23. [Chart]– Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf (Accessed: 17 July 2024)
Figure 4. O’Brien, J. (2023) Using Quiet Spaces at UAL . [Pie-chart]– Available at: https://canvas.arts.ac.uk/News/238648/using-quiet-spaces-at-ual (Accessed: 17 July 2024)
Hi Andrea, you raise a very interesting point about why students might not want to disclose their faith within an educational context. Are there any ways that you think the university could create a more inclusive environment?
Hi Amba, thank you for your question. This is something I am still researching about and reading about. However, I started thinking that in addition to what UAL already offers and supports, it would be good to deepen these areas:
• UAL already adds religious holidays to the college calendar. It would be great to see the university create an open space on religious holidays to allow students and staff to share in celebrating those holidays.
• More social events should be held around individual faiths or multi-faith events.
• Permitting Guest speakers, group panel discussions or seminars, where faith experiences are shared to promote understanding and respect among students and staff to create a more cohesive environment. Fostering partnerships with local religious communities so we can add to the support resources available to students and staff.
• Encourage student faith societies and support groups that any staff or student can join.
• Ensure university material, and resources have respectful and accurate representations of faiths
• Faith activities
Hopefully, some of these strategies can be implement in individual spaces and across the universities to foster a better environment that is more inclusive and creates understanding for all.
Here are some resources I am looking into if you want to have a read as well.
https://www.interfaithamerica.org/article/9-actions-colleges-can-take-to-promote-religious-diversity/
https://www.advance-he.ac.uk/guidance/equality-diversity-and-inclusion/creating-inclusive-environment/religion-and-belief
https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/ecu/Religion_and_belief-supporting_inclusion_of_staff_and_students_in_higher_education_and_colleges_1579782722.pdf
Thank you
Andrea
Hi Andrea,
Thanks for your blog post. I was very moved when reading your key takeaways from the video called Faith: What does it mean to be a young person of faith today? (Coventry UK City of Culture, 2021). You say —
“One girl mentioned that whilst she is not overly spiritual, when we all pray together it brings us closer and creates a sense of community among them.”
I find this idea very beautiful. I am an agnostic person, who does not follow any religion; however, I am a strong believer that collectivity and community in the learning environment is the most conducive practice towards intellectual growth and emancipation. In Teaching to Transgress by bell hooks, she asserts some very similar ideas to the girl you have quoted above, speaking a lot about the importance of creating a learning community, where everybody uses their voice and their togetherness towards learning. After reading your own emancipatory experience of sharing your faith with a student, I thought you might like the following quote from the book:
“To teach in a manner that respects and cares for the souls of our students is essential if we are to provide the necessary conditions where learning can most deeply and intimately begin.”
(bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, Routledge, p.13)
I hope you can continue to share with your students and colleagues in this way — to me, through this interaction, you have promoted learning in a very soulful way. There are some more amazing stories on page 21 of the 1994 Routledge edition of Teaching to Transgress, where she begins to theorise about sharing stories further:
“When education is the practice of freedom, students are not the only ones who are asked to share, to confess. […] That empowerment cannot happen if we refuse to be vulnerable while encouraging students to take risks.” (hooks, p.21)
A powerful blog-post.
Warmest regards,
eilis
Hi Eilis
Thank you for your comments and for sharing your own personal views, I do appreciate that.
I am grateful that you have shared the page references to Hooks, especially as this is a book I have wanted to complete reading so I can digest the key themes.
Thank you for your kind and encouraging words and I hope we can continue discussing these topics further.
Kindest regards
Andrea