RELIGION, BELIEF, DISCRIMINATION & EQUALITY PROJECT

A meeting in the Welcome Centre this morning with Dr Sariya Contractor (photo above), Project Researcher from the University of Derby on the Religion, Belief, Discrimination and Equality Project, which is being conducted there. She's focusing on Leicester for the next four weeks, at the start of this project. The project is explained in the text below, which is copied from a news release sent out by the university.

Religion, Belief, Discrimination & Equality in England and Wales: Theory, Policy and Practice (2000-2010)

The experiences and views of communities and individuals in Leicester about religion and belief, discrimination and equality are being sought as part of a national research project.

The University of Derby is leading a three-year academic study investigating how attitudes and experiences of different religious and belief groups in England and Wales have evolved since 2000 in the light of changes that have taken place during this period in the law, among religions and in society.

It is working with academics from the University of Oxford and the University of Manchester on the three-year study entitled: Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales, Theory, Policy and Practice, 2000-2010.

Paul Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious Relations at the University of Derby, is the Principal Investigator for the study. The study has been funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and is part of the joint Religion and Society research programme.

University of Derby researcher and colleague, Dr Sariya Contractor, is preparing to visit the neighbourhoods, streets and suburbs of Leicester this month (March). She seek to build up as detailed a picture as possible of local people's experiences and understanding of issues to do with equality and discrimination on the basis of religion or belief to feed into the overall study.

Leicester is the first location in a series of qualitative research studies to take place in key geographic areas. Later in the year, Sariya will visit Cardiff, Blackburn, Newham in London and Norwich.

Sariya said: "This is a major national research project and I will be looking to capture the experiences, views and feelings of a wide range of groups and individuals as part of the work. I will be involved within the community, gauging views and building as comprehensive a picture as is possible."

As well as talking with people from a wide range of religious traditions, communities and groups Sariya will, in each location, be organising a focus group with around a dozen participants who understand themselves to be 'non-religious'. She will also conduct interviews with participants from a variety of civil society, public, private and voluntary sector organisations.

Sariya will be identifying a range of organisations to seek out participants to take part in the research. She is also willing to hear from people living and/or working in Leicester who may themselves be interested in taking part. She can be contacted in Leicester during March, via her email which is S.Contractor@derby.ac.uk

Sariya joined the University of Derby having completed a PhD at the University of Gloucestershire, related to Muslim women being given the opportunity to tell their stories and how these could facilitate inter-community dialogue and social cohesion.

The latest study will build on previous Home Office commissioned research led by Derby (1999-2001) entitled Religious Discrimination in England and Wales which found evidence of unfair treatment especially in education, employment and media, particularly as reported by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus.

The Religion and Society research programme has been supported by the two research councils (AHRC and ESRC) with a contribution over five years of £12.3m to fund research of the highest quality on the interrelationships between religion and society.

The Religion and Society Programme aims to foster collaborative research across the arts, humanities and social sciences; to build capacity in the study of religion; to engage interested parties in academia and beyond; to further understanding of religion in a complex world. The programme started in January 2007 and will end in December 2012.

AHRC Chief Executive Professor Rick Rylance said: "This is a great opportunity to embark on what promises to be a remarkable and illuminating project - and one that is very timely."

Other research approaches being used in the study include a postal questionnaire; a comprehensive review of relevant data from various sources such as the 2001 Census and the Home Office Citizenship Survey; and a series of national seminars to take place next year with key individuals from religion and belief organisations, the law, and the public, private and voluntary sectors.