Religion in Britain: Challenges for Higher Education

As an atheist, I struggled to agree with the positions put forward in the paper as I see the practice of religion as a private matter for individuals. This view is shaped by my own background in the Nigerian community which is deeply religious, and places of worship serve as one of the few spaces the Nigerian diaspora can come together. Atheists in African communities form a minority and can feel disconnected to their diasporic community through the exclusion that places of worship present. For me, religion has a complicated history that is entangled with imperialism and ‘civilising missions’ that viewed the practices of Indigenous communities as barbaric whilst holding Euro-centric perspectives as ‘good’ or ‘godly’

As an educator, how do I create a welcoming learning space for students whose faith is central to their identity? Do I think that learning spaces can foster debate around religion?

Like other social identities that might place me as different to some students, I would hope that I would be empathetic in my relations however they choose to express their faith. If a debate on faith is led by a student through their design project, then as a tutor I would engage in such a debate. However, I am not convinced by the position that universities as institutions should be the place where religion is brought to the public sphere as a means of promoting shared citizenship and public values. The paper overlooks the fact that religion is historically and socially complicated and unless it is an integral part of a course actively chosen by its participants, debates would be divisive rather than encouraging the space to respect our differences.

Kwame Anthony Appiah Reith

The lecture draws attention to the fact that scriptures, like languages, have been dynamic and have changed over time. Reflecting again on my own background, my Nigerian family are practicing Muslims, and at times when I have explored Islam as a non-Arabic speaker (non of my family members are), it was always through different interpreters depending on which Quran I had during the different periods. I think this has contributed to my current thinking about religion, which is that like language, religion is a social construct and therefore is malleable rather than a fixed set of ideas. However, I also appreciate that religious people might disagree with this view.

Approaching religion from this perspective as an atheist feels more comfortable as it brings religion as a social practice to the fore suggesting there are shades of grey in how it is practiced. Whilst my view is that the practice of religion is deeply personal, I would want to encourage students to explore these ‘shades of grey’ if they choose religion as an area of exploration in their projects, at the very least as part of a better understanding of their own positions.

Shade of Noir – Interview with William Whitcombe (the chaplain and interfaith advisor for LCF & LCC)

The article by Bridgett Crutchfield resonated with my views on religion, but decided against selecting it as it would only reinforce my beliefs. In the end, I chose William Whitcombe’s article has it offers a perspective that resonates with how I would approach the discussion of faith in the learning environment.

‘Although I identify as a Christian and priest in the Church of England, I don’t expect those I meet and support to have signed on the dotted line when it comes to a belief system: I am here to support the religious, the atheist and the unaligned.’

I can relate to the above as a tutor as far as my role is to support the creative practice of my students. Identities and lived experiences are inextricably linked to the creative outputs of practitioners, and so the learning space must allow for the exploration of diversity of thought and beliefs. Given my own position as an atheist, how I can support students would be by focusing on the process by which the work is being developed and the learning outcomes to be achieved. Whilst there may be opportunities to debate different views on religion and faith, the ultimate focus must be creating a space by which students feel comfortable to explore areas of interests whilst developing their creative practice.

Shades of Noir – The Little Book of Big Case Studies on Faith

Am I that tutor that leaves little room for discussion when it comes to faith identities?

At the beginning of this blog post, I might have answered ‘yes’ cautious that debates around strongly held beliefs would only be divisive. However, at this point in the blog post, I think it would be useful for me to see debates as spaces for seeing from other perspectives, where there can be an empathetic understanding rather than an intellectual understanding. If debates are less about binary positions and ‘changing of minds,’ I think they can be useful for creating openness to difference.