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Religion and Belief
Below are some useful links to groups both within the University and in the wider
community.
Hi, I'm Denise Cush, Subject Leader for Religions, Philosophies and Ethics and member of the Senior Management Team of the School of Humanities and Cultural Industries, with a number of responsibilities including Widening Participation and Health and Safety. I'm also the University's Diversity Champion for Religion and Belief.
I would be interested to hear about events and information that could be presented and promoted on this website, as well as any issues that I could take to the Equality and Diversity Steering Group. You can email me or phone 01225 875468.
Did you know?
- The recent Equality Act identifies nine 'protected characteristics' of which religion and belief is one. This means that you should not suffer discrimination because of your religion or because you have a secular, humanist or atheist worldview.
- Research undertaken by the university in 2010 for Bath and North East Somerset Council revealed that there are over 250 religious groups in the Bath area, including many different Christian groups, Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá'i, Druid and general Pagan groups, Sai Baba, Family Federation, Spiritualists and a Humanist group.
- Recent research by Derby University (Weller 2011) found that of 3077 university staff and 3935 university students surveyed, 36.5% of staff and 31.5 of students considered themselves to have no religion. 46.8% of staff and 43.8% of students identified themselves as Christian. For the remainder of staff, 4.5% identified themselves as 'spiritual', 2.9% Muslim, 2.1% 'other', 1.7% Hindu, 1.4% Pagan, 1.3% Buddhist, 1.3% Jewish, 0.9% Sikh. Of students, 9.1% identified themselves as Muslim, 4.8% as 'spiritual', 2% as Pagan, 2% as Buddhist, 2% as Hindu, 1.9% as Jewish, 1.8% as 'other' and 0.9% as Sikh. We do not currently know how representative this is, as detailed records are not yet kept, but it is certainly indicative.
- Bath Spa students on the Study of Religions programme all spend one week living with a religious community different from their own background - see www.livingreligion.co.uk
- The Mayor of Bath has a Multi-faith event every February.
Events
Bath Interfaith Group Event - Wednesday 18th April 2012
Giles Mercer: 'Alphege: a great Bathonian, a great Christian, a Man for
all Faiths'
Bath Islamic Centre - 8 Pierrepont Street, Bath
7.30pm
Bath Interfaith Group Event - Wednesday 23rd May 2012
Colin Smith: 'Rudolf Steiner: his Life and Work'
Minerva Centre (cal
315591 for directions)
7.30pm
Bath Interfaith Group Event - 20th June 2012
Alex Schlesinger: 'The History of the Jews in Bristol and Bath'
Combe
Down Primary School, Summer Lane, Combe Down
7.30pm
(Please note: this event has been organised by the Combe Down Historic
Society; admission £1.00 for non-members)
Contact CDHS for details:
rosyprint@care4free.net
Further information
- The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies has produced a series of Faith Guides for Higher Education on the major traditions of Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism. These are currently available to download from www.prs.heacademy.ac.uk/publications/faith_guides.html. If you would like an electronic copy of these guides after 31st December 2011, please contact Denise for an alternative source. A hard copy of each of these guides are available from the HR Learning and Development pages
- A Calendar of Religious Festivals can be obtained from the Shap Working Party on Religions in Education http://www.shapworkingparty.org.uk/
- The BBC Religion Pages also provides a Calendar of Festivals, reliable basic information on religions and beliefs, and of course, items on religions and beliefs in the news http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/
Useful publications and links
Report on Religion and Belief in HE from the University of Derby
Weller, P., Hooley T. and Moore, N. (2011) Religion and Belief in Higher Education: the Experiences of Staff and Students. London: Equality Challenge Unit. Also available from http://www.edu.ac.uk/publications/religion-and-belief-staff-and-students-in-he
Other useful documents and links on Equality and Diversity (Religion and Belief)
- ACAS (2005) Religion or Belief and the workplace: a guide for employers and employees (.pdf)
- Dinham, A. and Jones, S. (2010) Religious literacy leadership in higher education - leadership challenges: case studies
- Interfaith Network for the UK (2007) Building good relations on campus
- Woodhead, L. (2009) 'Religion or Belief': identifying issues and priorities. Equality and Human Rights Commission
- Equality and Human Rights Commission briefing paper (2011) (.pdf) - presents good statistical data about religion or belief in Britain
National links
- British Humanist Association
- Interfaith Network for the UK
- Waller, P. (ed) (2010) Religions in the UK Directory 2007-10 University of Derby
Local links
- Bath Interfaith Group - contact Jane O'Hara, Treasurer: janefohara@blueyonder.co.uk
- Bath Spa University Chaplaincy - Ecumenical Chaplaincy and World Faiths Links
- Faithnet South West - provides a forum for faith communities across the southwest of England to share news of events and opportunities for engaging in community and social action.
Lifeworks - Our Employee Assistance Programme provides confidential advice and support on issues relating to Religion and Belief. You can access the service by going to www.lifeworks.com. Please note that you will need your user ID and password to access the website. If you do not have your membership card please contact HR for the details. Some useful tipsheets and a CD can be accessed from the following links:
- Culture Shock - recognising and coping with culture shock
- Dealing with Discrimination - how to recognise and respond to discrimination
- Working in a Culturally Diverse World - knowing how to work with people who are similar to and different from you