RELIGION & BELIEF, DISCRIMINATION & EQUALITY: A DECADE OF CHANGE?

To the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Derby, for a "Knowledge Exchange Workshop", part of the University's research project, "Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales: Theory, Policy and Practice (2000-2010)".

This three-year long project builds upon previous research conducted by the university for the Home Office in 1999-2001 (published as Religious Discrimination in England and Wales, available to download as a PDF). The aim of the current project is to contribute to a better understanding of the nature and extent of discrimination and unfair treatment on the grounds of religion or belief, including relevant changes over the past decade, and an assessment of the adequacy of policies, practices and laws designed to tackle such unfair treatment.

The project has focused on Blackburn, Cardiff, Leicester, the London Borough of Newham (all four of which were included in the original research) and Norwich (which has been added for the current project).

I've blogged about this project a couple of times already, when Dr Sariya Contractor came to the Welcome Centre and interviewed me (14 March 2011) and when I took part in a focus group of local Bahá'ís (11 April 2011).

At this stage of the project, the research team wants to engage with an even wider range of practitioners who identify themselves with the Protected Characteristic of religion or belief, from the voluntary and community sector, from the public, private and legal sectors. We've been invited to this workshop so that the university can share its research findings and provide us with an opportunity to contribute to them in the light of the experience of our organisations and groups.

Today's is the first of five Knowledge Exchange Workshops taking place over the next few months around the country. The others are to be held in Oxford, Manchester, Cardiff and London.

Issues around discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief are sensitive and highly contested, involving matters of individual freedom of conscience and expression in community and public life; the organisation of corporate religious activity and also employer and service provider responsibilities. When interacting with other responsibilities and rights, conflicts between different legally "protected characteristics"  result in questions about their balancing. Many debates turn upon the role of law arising from a decade of change in social context, policy and law.

Revisited research objectives

The project includes revisiting objectives that were first addressed ten years ago:

To assess the evidence of religious discrimination in England and Wales, both actual and perceived.

To describe the patterns shown by this evidence, including:

• its overall scale
• the main victims
• the main perpetrators
• the main ways in which the discrimination manifest

To indicate the extent to which religious discrimination overlaps with racial discrimination

To identify the broad range of policy options available for dealing with religious discrimination

New research questions

In the light of developments during th past decade, the project has also asked:

How far might the pattern of reported expereinece of unfair treatment on the basis of religion (such as type of unfair treatment; frequency and seriousness; groups primarily affected and  sectors of social life) have changed since the 1999-2001 project?

What are the implications of the above for theory, policy and practice in issues of discrimination/equality measures concerned with religion or belief, bearing in mind the:

• impact of the 7/7 bombings and "preventing terrorism"
• policy focus on "Britishness" and "social cohesion"
• impact of legal developments relating to religion
• impact of "belief" within law and policy on "religion and belief"
• relationship with other equalities strands

Some key legal questions have been included: to what extent might the narrowness of religious exemptions in discrimination law have contributed to any reported experience of unfair treatment toward the religious groups and their practices?

To what extent  might the breadth of these exemptions have contributed to any reported experience of unfair treatment on the other grounds (such as gender, race or sexuality) within religious communities?

How much awareness is there of the relevant legislation for protection against religious discrimination? And how much use has been made of these measures?

Over and above the benefits of participating in the event, it was a pleasure to be in the company of my old muckers, Drs Wendi Momen and Naz Ghanea-Hercock.

This project is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council and the Economic and Social Research Council Religion and Society Programme.

Diversity, difference and sexuality

An event in the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Derby this evening co-hosted by Derbyshire Friend and Forum of Faiths for Derby. It's entitled "Diversity, Difference & Sexuality". We're welcomed by Stephen Greasley (Chair of Forum of Faiths for Derby and minister of Peartree Baptist Church) and Melvin Harris (Trustee, Derbyshire Friend). There are a dozen of us here this evening. We split into two groups (the one I'm in is chaired by Stephen, the other by Melvin) and consider these questions:

"Over issues of sexuality there are often very marked differences of opinion within faith communities and the the LGBT communities. There are also differences between the faith communities and the LGBT communities over issues of sexuality. How can we hold differing viewpoints and uphold mutual respect for those differing views at the same time?"

"How do we dispel myths and stereotypes, and spread understanding and education within and between faith communities and the LGBT community?"

"What core values might we all be able to agree upon, that come from our different communities? What would a just and fair society look like?"

I told Stephen about the current year's Faith to Faith programme of public meetings at the St Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art in Glasgow, much of which focuses on faith communities and LGBT issues. He asks me to come forward and say a bit about this to help inform our discussion.

The Multi-Faith Centre has, for the past five years, been working on a Europe-wide project in training and education on faith issues in relation to other topics. Currently they're developing material on "Religion, Gender and Sexuality" - and would like to pilot this with the kind of people who are here tonight.

This is the first event I've attended at the Multi-Faith Centre, although I've been here once before just for a look-around. We're in a lovely tall, airy room and the door is open onto a grassy slope; we can hear kids playing football outside ("Jumpers for goalposts" and all that!)

My iPhone ran out of charge hours ago. I've become over-reliant on it and I haven't bothered to check the train timetables since I couldn't do it on my National Rails app. I ask for a lift to the railway station, without having any idea what times the trains will run. I arrive too late to catch a direct train to Leicester - a trip that can take only 22 minutes on a good day. but tonight I have to travel via Nottingham, with an hour-long wait there, so I don't get home till the stroke of midnight.

I found this a very interesting meeting, not only from the perspective of Leicester Council of Faiths, but also from that of the Regional Equality and Divesity Partnership (REDP). Something like this, which crosses the streams (if you don't mind the Ghostbusters allusion) is right up REDP's street.