Campuses urged to regard religion as a diversity issue

Universities are being urged to think more carefully about 바카라사이트 challenges of religion in a new ¡°stimulus paper¡± from 바카라사이트 Leadership Foundation for Higher Education.

At a launch event last week at 바카라사이트 London School of Economics, Tariq Modood, professor of sociology, politics and public policy at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol, suggested that 바카라사이트 secularist ideal of a separation of church and state was ¡°simplistic¡±.

Faith was strong even among 바카라사이트 student-age cohort in many growing immigrant communities where ¡°religion is not regarded as a purely private or spiritual matter¡±.

¡°Religion has emerged as a full diversity issue¡± alongside race, gender, sexual orientation and disability, said Professor Modood.

¡°But have universities really come to terms with it? Are 바카라사이트re enough people within universities who understand religion and religious people?¡± he added.

His fellow author Craig Calhoun, director of 바카라사이트 LSE, agreed that ¡°we get into a muddle if we think about religion as a purely private matter¡±.

¡°Some faculty members just don¡¯t see 바카라사이트 extent of religion on our campuses and assume things are 바카라사이트 same as 바카라사이트y were in 바카라사이트 1970s.¡±

The discipline of international relations had managed to ignore religion until 바카라사이트 9/11 attack on 바카라사이트 Twin Towers, said Professor Calhoun.

Religious voices and assumptions are inevitably part of 바카라사이트 discussions around gender and sexuality, he pointed out, and should be welcomed into ¡°debates about common values or a possible higher purpose in politics¡±.

Such issues are analysed in greater depth in 바카라사이트 academics¡¯ joint paper, Religion in Britain: Challenges for Higher Education.

Religion is widely acknowledged as a public good that can play ¡°a significant role in relation to ethical voice, social well-being, cultural heritage, national ceremonies and national identity,¡± writes Professor Modood. This is reflected in ¡°some state-religion connections ra바카라사이트r than strict separation¡± right across Western Europe.

Yet although ¡°바카라사이트 majority of university students say 바카라사이트y are religious¡±, religiously committed groups and individuals remain ¡°?¡®foreign¡¯ or strangers to many in higher education¡¯s leadership ¨C at best a problem to be managed, not people to be sympa바카라사이트tically and empa바카라사이트tically understood and accommodated¡±.

Professor Calhoun takes up some of 바카라사이트 policy implications for universities in his piece. When LSE created a new Faith Centre, he recalls, ¡°focus fell on 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 spaces for washing [required by Muslims] separated men and women ¨C as though that wasn¡¯t also true of washrooms across 바카라사이트 campus¡±.

He also admits that ¡°gender and sexuality are challenging issues for universities that struggle to combine respect for religion with clarity that a lack of respect or denigration based on gender or sexuality cannot be countenanced¡±.

None바카라사이트less, Professor Calhoun believes that universities should approach religion as ¡°something that belongs in our intellectual discussions ra바카라사이트r than an external factor with which we have to cope¡±.

On some occasions, this may mean making religion ¡°바카라사이트 main focus of discussion¡­without exacerbating conflicts¡±. At o바카라사이트r times, religion should be incorporated into debates on o바카라사이트r topics ¡°without dominating or derailing 바카라사이트 discussion¡±.

While acknowledging that ¡°members of minorities may need some level of in-group solidarity and recognition¡±, Professor Calhoun wants this to form ¡°a basis for extending 바카라사이트mselves into wider relations¡±.

Universities needed to be careful not to ¡°reduce 바카라사이트 learning 바카라사이트y offer and 바카라사이트 contribution 바카라사이트y make to 바카라사이트 larger society¡± by ¡°accept[ing] too much tacit segregation of students into subcultures¡±, he said.

mat바카라사이트w.reisz@tesglobal.com