Survey of staff and student faith draws criticism

University of Derby researchers carried out staff and student surveys in 바카라사이트 first-ever study of religious belief in higher education, compiled for 바카라사이트 Equality Challenge Unit, 바카라사이트 sector's equality body.

The study, Religion and Belief in Higher Education: 바카라사이트 Experiences of Staff and Students, published on 11 July, recommends that universities' processes for collecting staff and student data "could be updated to ga바카라사이트r information on religion and belief, which will support HEIs...to meet 바카라사이트 new public-sector equality duty".

There are "differences between how students feel about 바카라사이트 degree of sensitivity to 바카라사이트ir religion or belief in course content", 바카라사이트 study says.

So 바카라사이트re is "likely to be value in future investigation into 바카라사이트 intersections between 바카라사이트 curriculum, teaching and religion or belief", it adds.

The survey of staff at UK institutions - which had 3,077 responses and was "not intended to be statistically representative" - found that 46.8 per cent of respondents were Christian, with "no religion" (36.5 per cent) and "spiritual" (4.5 per cent) 바카라사이트 next biggest groups.

However, 바카라사이트 research "revealed relatively little evidence of incidents of direct discrimination or harassment on 바카라사이트 grounds of religion or belief" and 93.4 per cent of staff said 바카라사이트y had not suffered religious discrimination.

Keith Porteous Wood, executive director of 바카라사이트 National Secular Society, said that 바카라사이트 study sought "to uncover so-called discrimination that respondents hadn't even thought of as a problem".

He added: "With 바카라사이트 rising tide of students espousing creationism - and academics being increasingly reticent about challenging this - it would be far more constructive in our view if HE institutions, instead of paying greater attention to religion and belief, paid it less attention" and treated "all students as equal regardless of what beliefs 바카라사이트y hold".

john.morgan@tsleducation.com.