Religions/faiths/beliefs have been diminished, problematised and understood as fundamental (Appiah, 2014; Rekis, 2023; Ramadan, 2022). Definitions, interpretations and practices are diverse and contested, within and outside follower communities (Malcolm, 2021; Merry, 2006). Secular beliefs, such as veganism, have been unevenly understood as ‘lifestyle choice’ (McKeown and Dunn, 2021). Categorisations of race, sexuality and gender are culturally constructed (Machery and Faucher, 2004; Liss, 1998; Foucault, 1998 [1976]; Butler, 1999 [1990]) but have been differently understood in relation to choice. Supremacist understanding of race as fixed has been used in discriminatory discourse, while framing queer subjectivity as a lifestyle choice has also justified persecution. Contestation, confusion and prejudice can shape the provision of means to observe belief (McKeowen and Dunn, 2021, Jawad) and surfaces as microaggressions and hidden barriers (Ramadan, 2022).
In ‘Western’ contexts, secular discourses isolate religious belief as regressive in a modernist paradigm (Appiah, 2014; Ramadan, 2022), while elsewhere religion may be immanent in daily life, shaping a worldview (Rekis, 2023). For example, continuous ‘conscious[ness] of the ancestors’ in Ghanaian Asante culture (Appiah, 2014).
Religion can be racialised (Rekis, 2023; Singh, 2016), potentially exacerbating socioeconomic disadvantage. This emanates from historical colonialism (Appiah, 2014), continues to shape contemporary prejudice (Jawad, 2022; Singh, 2016), and influences taxonomic flattening of intersectional complexity (Crenshaw, 1991; UK Equality Act 2010). In universities, this is conducive to ‘epistemic injustice’, academics (or students) potentially being prevented or discouraged from speaking, impoverishing knowledge transfer (Rekis, 2023; Malcolm, 2021). It may relate to awarding gaps, but UAL attainment statistics do not include religion (fig. 1)
Intersections of faith, ethnicity/race and gender can become hypervisible through dress (Rekis, 2023; Ramadan, 2022). This has been associated with barriers, for example, hijab-wearing Muslim women’s participation in sport (Jawad, 2022) and academia (Ramadan, 2023). Alternatively, some hijab-wearing women note smooth career progression facilitated by institutional policy and family support (Ramadan, 2022). Mitigating biases, UAL’s policies were developed through consultation with diverse, representative external bodies (UAL, 2018). The female staff gender bias at UAL (fig. 2) may also dilute gender-based discrimination.
To address barriers, I will communicate the diversity and mutability of religions/beliefs, seeking to induce empathy and respect in class discussion (Merry, 2005), while asking students to critically consider multiple perspectives (Singh, 2016). Tolerance is a low bar, but respect is reciprocal in a context of trust in which different people and worldviews interact (George, 1999).
Socially devalued intersectional identities do not preclude privilege, while less visible factors such as sexuality, can be a locus of tension in ‘identity work’ (Snow and Anderson, 1987, p. 1348; Brown, 2015). I am alert to this in teaching students, because HE contributes to personal development and questioning (D’Emilio, 2013 [1992]).
Hypervisible minority status potentially induces pre-emptive avoidance (Rekis, 2023; Fricker, 2007) and religious students are a minority at UAL (fig. 3). I will sensitively encourage group participation and offer space to discuss lived experience and beliefs, aiming to overcome potential ‘locutionary silencing’ (Langton, 1993) and avoid ‘disengagement and self-quieting’ (Malcolm, 2021, p. 521). In teaching and assessment, I newly account for my secular positionality, understanding faith as integral for some students.
I will include ‘examples of different faiths’ (UAL, 2018, p. 9) in lecture material, ensuring these ‘avoid stereotypes’ and not making students ‘spokespersons’ for a religion or cause (ibid. p. 10). This reduces potential ‘stereotype threat’ (Steele, 2010), which inhibits students fearful of being identified with a ‘controversial’ value system (Malcolm, 2021 p. 529).
Bibliography
Appiah, K. A. (2014) Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question). Youtube [Online]. 16 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY
Brown, A. D. (2015) ‘Identities and identity work in organizations’, International Journal of Management Reviews, 17(1), pp. 20-40
Butler, J. (1999 [1990]) Gender trouble: feminism and the subversion of identity. London: Routledge
Crenshaw, K. (1991) Mapping the margins: intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color, Stanford Law Review, 43(6), pp. 1241-1299
D’Emilio, J. (2013 [1992]) Making trouble: essays on gay history, politics, and the university. London: Routledge
Equality Act 2010, Section 9 ‘Religion or Belief: Explanatory Notes’ [Online]. Accessed at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/notes/division/3/2/1/7
Foucault, M. (1998 [1976]) The will to knowledge: the history of sexuality. Vol. 1. London: Bloomsbury
Fricker, M. (2007) Epistemic injustice: power and the ethics of knowing. Oxford: Oxford University Press
George, R. (1999) ‘Democracy and moral disagreement’, in, S. Macedo (ed.) Deliberative politics: essays on democracy and disagreement. New York: Oxford University Press
Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. [Online]. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/
Langton, R. (1993) ‘Speech acts and unspeakable acts’, Philosophy and Public Affairs, 22, 293–330.
Liss, J. E. (1998) ‘Diasportic identities: science and politics of race in the work of Franz Boas and W. E. B. Du Bois, 1894-1919’, Cultural Anthropology, 13(2), pp. 127-166
Machery, E. and Faucher, L. (2004) ‘Social construction and the concept of race’, Philosophy of Science, 72(5), pp. 1208-1219
Malcolm, F. (2021) ‘Silencing and Freedom of Speech in UK Higher Education’, British Educational Research Journal, June, 47(3), pp. 520-538
McKeown, P. and Dunn, R. A. (2021) ‘A “life‐style choice” or a philosophical belief?: The argument for veganism and vegetarianism to be a protected philosophical belief and the position in England and Wales’, Liverpool Law Review, 42, pp. 207-241
Merry, M. S. (2005) ‘Should educators accommodate intolerance? Mark Halstead, 1 homosexuality, and the Islamic case’, Journal of Moral Education, 4(1), pp. 19-36
Ramadan, I. (2022) ‘When faith intersects with gender: the challenges and successes in the experiences of Muslim women academics’, Gender and Education, 34(1), pp. 33-48
Rekis, J. (2023) ‘Religious identity and epistemic injustice: an intersectional account’, Hypatia, 38, pp. 779-800
Singh, S. J. (Trinity University) (2016) Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in the Classroom. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk
Snow, D. A. and Anderson, L. (1987) ‘Identity work among the homeless: the verbal construction and avowal of personal identities’, American Journal of Sociology, 92, pp. 1336-1371
Steele, C. M. (2010) Whistling Vivaldi and other clues to how stereotypes affect us. London: Norton
UAL (2018): Religion and belief: supporting inclusion of staff and students in higher education and colleges: Section 3: Student inclusion: access, experience and learning. Accessed 15th May 2025 < https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/assets.creode.advancehe-document-manager/documents/ecu/Religion_and_belief-Section_3-Student_inclusion-access_experience_and_learning_1579783006.pdf >
Figure 1. UAL Undergraduate Attainment by Student Profile Categories
Figure 2. UAL Staff Statistics: Sex [binary gender]
UAL (2021/22) Equality, diversity and inclusion: annual report. [Online]. Accessed at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/?a=389423
Figure 3. UAL Undergraduate Profiles 2024/25: Religion
I continue to be impressed with your ability to so clearly and concisely discuss the subject of the blogs, whilst also elevating the subject with your own knowledge and research. I also couldn’t find any data on attainment and faith and wonder if this in itself points to a lack of inclusive thinking in the data collecting and wonder why this may have been omitted. I particularly like the statement “Tolerance is a low bar, but respect is reciprocal in a context of trust in which different people and worldviews interact” and feel this is wonderful way of framing discussions, especially on subjects that have the potential to cause heated debate in and out of the classroom. I’m really interested to know what you plan to put forward in your intervention as you seem well placed to include multiple intersectional discussion in you’re teaching.
It will be useful to discuss with one another’s how to broach these subjects in a holistic and embedded manner with our cross disciplinary teaching. Some of your sources have already proved useful in the planning and thinking of my own. Thank you for your generously Paul.
Thanks so much Laura-Beth. That’s so kind of you. I’m also so pleased that it’s of use. I tend to go down rabbit holes with these topics and sometimes it’s difficult to know when to stop!
That’s so nice that you picked up that sentence. I found this helpful too because I kept wondering where the lines are drawn. It reminds me of public discussion of BBC presenters’ impartiality. There are particular perspectives in a ‘liberal’ art school environment that are not neutral, and I guess neutrality is impossible. I think I am constantly thinking about sexuality and how understanding and discussion of this is different to that of other aspects of identity.
Aware of public debate about homosexuality and Islam in particualr, I began to think about how I would feel if a student’s views invalidated my identity in their eyes. This led me to try to find articles that discussed this. The majority (there were not many) were by queer Muslim educators discussing their negotiation, as well as more focus on primary schools. This didn’t quite answer my internal questions, but the article you noted did help me to think about the need for bringing all perspectives to the table. I think it noted the particular importance of airing and discussing views we find hardest to deal with.
I guess my initial feelings echo the way trans people frequently and justifiably state their resentment that their identity be regarded as a debate. These are pretty big quesitons when they are about denying existence as well as rights.
I likewise look forward to hearing your thoughts on my intervention proposal and discussing yours. It’s a difficult one, as my work is not practice based, I won’t be able to enact it fully/see the results and I’m an HPL. Because much of my teaching is quite lecture based, I would really like to hear from you and others about the ways you conduct sessions and plan on making your interventions to see what I can borrow in a different context.