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Research Summary

Schools were linked to a selected and trained faith practitioner for an extended period of time, enabling an ongoing relationship to develop. The extended connection allowed for greater depth of dialogue, and thus, improved learning about the religion and culture of the faith in question. Schools reported that the project had reinvigorated their Religious Education and provided valuable professional development for staff.

Researchers

Mark Plater
Funding by All Saints Educational Foundation

Research Institution

Bishop Grosseteste University, Lincoln

What is this about?

Usually when schools have faith visitors (or make visits to places of worship) this is for a one-off, brief experience, and does not provide time for pupils and faith practitioners to get to know each other and to feel fully relaxed in discussing the complexity of issues that might be explored. Creating opportunity for longer term connections, it was hoped that genuine friendships might develop, enabling a much deeper level of connection and understanding.

What was done?

Funding was obtained to support six schools in a pilot programme, providing funds to release classroom practitioners for training events, and other project expenses. Faith practitioners from the selected religions were then identified, police checked, and trained by the Leicester based St Philip’s interfaith centre before being introduced to the relevant schools. Schools were then free to develop activities with their selected faith practitioner as appropriate to their needs.

Main findings and outputs

Two participating schools were unable to proceed with the programme for various reasons, but all of the others benefitted enormously from the programme, claiming that it had, strengthened teacher confidence in teaching about that religion, broken down stereotypes and assumptions, and given RE teaching an increased profile in the school.
Ongoing reports were provided on progress at three points during the programme, and a final report summarises the main outputs and overall impact.

Relevance to RE

First hand experience of dialogue with people from faith traditions is vital in order to make RE come alive and feel relevant and meaningful. However, there are benefits in developing long term dialogue relationships with a person of faith, rather than in brief encounters such as are usually organised (one-off speakers, or short visits to places of worship), helpful though these are.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This was a small-scale pilot study, and hoped-for further funding to expand the project is still being sought. Also, the project was interrupted by Covid and lockdowns, and some schools giving greater emphasis to Core subjects during the time that the study was in flow.

Find out more

https://bgro.repository.guildhe.ac.uk/id/eprint/884/

Research Summary

The pandemic has shown how important religious ritual is for communities; for the social, psychological and cultural health of individuals. Some loss has not yet been adequately mourned, and addressing this will need to be a priority. The phenomenon of online worship has been significant, and thought will need to be given to serving the extended or invisible community that religious rituals actually engage. ‘In many ways, the digitisation of religious life has shifted patterns of religious authority and power.’ (page 114) Still, not all religious rituals can be moved online. These are some of the research’s closing reflections: its four main findings are given below, under Main findings and outputs.

Researchers

Dr Joshua Edelman, Prof Alana Vincent, Dr Eleanor O’Keeffe, Dr Paulina Kolata, Dr Mark A. Minott, Dr Katja Steurzenhofecker, Dr Jennie Bailey, Dr Charles Roding Pemberton, Dr David Lowe

Research Institution

Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Chester

What is this about?

The report’s Executive Summary provides a clear introduction to the aims and context of the research undertaken. The focus was on how religious practice in Britain adapted to the lockdown situation. From page 7:
‘The project ran from August 2020 to September 2021, with the aim of documenting and analysing changes to British communal religious life during the Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns, and of providing best practice recommendations for religious communities adapting their practice to address similar crisis situations in the future. Particular effort has been made to include data that reflects, to the extent possible, the geographic and religious diversity of Britain, by focussing on questions of religious practice rather than on theological questions or issues of belief which are specific to faith traditions.’

What was done?

There were three research methods.

1. A large-scale survey of religious leaders and congregants about their experiences of rituals both before and during the pandemic.
2. Fifteen case studies—based on interviews, digital ethnography, social and broadcast media analysis, and other methods.
3. Action research carried out by clergy and other professionals with practical experience of conducting ritual during the pandemic, who
   respond to and comment on the data, and reflect personally on their experiences.

Main findings and outputs

1. During the pandemic, the experience of ritual worsened. They were perceived as less meaningful, less communal, less spiritual, and less effective.
2. Human connection means more to people than other factors. They prefer forms of online worship that are interactive over those that deliver a ‘better’ audio and visual quality.
3. While online practice could make some rituals feel distant, the ability of worshippers to join communities far from their homes has nevertheless been a positive development likely to continue. However, the overall dissatisfaction with online worship suggests a limit. Some form of online-offline hybrid seems likely to be the way forward.
4. Participants in larger communities found their experience of rituals during the pandemic to be less positive than was the case for smaller communities. This suggests that smaller communities were better able to maintain a sense of togetherness and mutual support through their rituals during this crisis, and that their convivial, small nature was a source of resilience rather than a weakness.

Relevance to RE

Neither the researchers nor the report have school RE or R&W as a specific focus, but the data are of potential use to teachers in developing courses or lessons about contemporary British lived religion. For example, pupils could be asked to ‘predict’ how communal life in particular traditions could be affected by lockdown; their predictions could then be compared and contrasted with real-life data and accounts; the pupils could reflect on their own prior assumptions and what they have learned about their own positions as well as lived religion, and further questions could then be explored about the meaning and significance of religion in different communities, and how it adapts to different conditions.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The survey is broad, and whilst the case studies might not cover every religious or worldview community represented in the UK, they offer valid accounts of a range of communities.

Find out more

The full report, together with further information about the BRIC-19 research project, can be accessed freely at https://bric19.mmu.ac.uk

Research Summary

This project presents 5 case studies exploring how RE is being re-imagined in schools. It is a showcase of classroom practice which goes some way towards meeting the learning proposed in the new National Entitlement for Religion & Worldviews.
The project builds on the recommendations of the Faiths Unit’s 2015 report RE for Real – The Future of Teaching and Learning about Religion & Belief by providing examples of an emerging shift in RE towards understanding religion and worldviews as dynamic, lived, and interpretable phenomena and concepts.

Researchers

Dr Martha Shaw & Prof Adam Dinham

Research Institution

London South Bank University & Goldsmiths, University of London

What is this about?

This project is based on the premise that there is much brilliant, innovative RE going on all around the country but that it is patchy and could be extended. This project highlights some key examples of innovative practice, which speaks to the new direction proposed for Religion & Worldviews. It is intended to complement debates about change in policy and practice, with evidence of existing new practices from which others can learn.

What was done?

The project has worked with 5 schools to explore examples in practice of aspects of the new National Entitlement. We invited submissions of interest to participate then undertook a series of visits to the schools, in close collaboration with teachers:

Visit 1: Summer Term 2019 (May-June), to discuss the national plan and how the school is already or might respond to it. We worked together during and following this visit to consolidate the potential connections to at least one element of the national entitlement, then to devise a piece of concrete classroom practice in advance of our return visit.

Visit 2: Autumn Term 2019 and Spring term 2020 (September-February), to observe and reflect on the example of teaching and learning which has been identified and developed. The example was developed into a ‘case study’ including a short video and PDF providing a narrative.

Main findings and outputs

The five case studies explore ways of teaching and learning about religion and worldviews as fluid, lived and interpretable phenomena. The focus of each case study is different and relate to:
– Dealing with Controversy
– Multiple interpretations of lived religion
– Whole school lived religion as meaning making
– Encountering worldviews as lived and fluid
– RE Trail as discovery for children and their parents
The case studies can be found here.

Relevance to RE

The case studies are offered as resource for teachers to explore new ways of approaching the study of religion and worldviews in the classroom. Teachers might use these as inspiration to try something new. Teacher educators might also use these as examples of ways to embrace the teaching of religion and worldviews as dynamic, lived and interpretable phenomena and concepts. These examples showcase ways of promoting religion & worldview literacy in the classroom.

Generalisability and potential limitations

These examples are not representative of all the creative and innovative practice that goes on. Neither do they embody the totality of the vision outlined by CORE. Rather, they are intended as examples of some of the exciting ways in which teachers are interpreting innovation in the Religion & Worldviews classroom.

Find out more

Shaw, M (2019) Towards a Religiously Literate curriculum – Religion and Worldview Literacy as an Educational Model, Journal of Beliefs & Values, Journal of Beliefs & Values. Online: Sept. 2019.

https://www.gold.ac.uk/faithsunit/current-projects/reforreal/case-studies/

Research Summary

“Over the centuries, the relationship between science and religion has ranged from conflict and hostility to harmony and collaboration, while various thinkers have argued that the two concepts are inherently at odds and entirely separate. But much recent research and discussion on these issues has taken place in a Western context, primarily through a Christian lens. To better understand the ways in which science relates to religion around the world, Pew Research Center engaged a small group of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists to talk about their perspectives. These one-on-one, in-depth interviews took place in Malaysia and Singapore – two Southeast Asian nations that have made sizable investments in scientific research and development in recent years and that are home to religiously diverse populations.”

Researchers

Courtney Johnson, Cary Lynne Thigpen & Cary Funk

Research Institution

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

What is this about?

• What is the relationship between religion and science – or, more precisely, what are some of the relationships between religion and science?
• What do Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists think about how religion and science relate to one another?
• How are these questions answered within the particular contexts of Malaysia and Singapore, where investment in scientific research and religious diversity are both high?

What was done?

72 individual interviews with Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists were conducted in Malaysia and Singapore between June 17, 2019 and August 8, 2019. This included 24 people in each of the three religious groups, with an equal number in each country. All interviewees said their religion was “very” or “somewhat” important to their lives, but they varied in terms of age, gender, profession and education level.

Main findings and outputs

• There is no single, universally held view of the relationship between science and religion.
• But there are some common patterns and themes within each of the three religious groups.
• Many Muslims expressed the view that Islam and science are basically compatible, acknowledging some differences – such as the theory of evolution conflicting with religious beliefs about the origins and development of human life on Earth.
• Hindus tended to differ from Muslims, describing science and religion as overlapping spheres. As with Muslims, many Hindus maintained that their religion contains elements of science, and that Hinduism long ago identified concepts that were later illuminated by science; many Hindus said that the theory of evolution is encompassed in their religious teachings.
• Buddhists generally described religion and science as two separate spheres. Several talked about their religion as offering guidance on how to live a moral life, while describing science as observable phenomena. Often, they named no areas of scientific research that concerned them for religious reasons. Nor did Buddhists see the theory of evolution as conflicting with their religion.

Relevance to RE

• The data can be used as resources in religion and science topics. The article whose headlines are reported here needs to be viewed in full – it’s detailed, beautifully illustrated and contains much of potential classroom use, e.g. illustrative quotations and statistical tables.
• The interview respondents express personal worldviews. Their words show how their organised worldview membership (Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism) combines with other elements (influence from or attitude towards science). In this way, the material from the article can be used for Religion and Worldviews teaching. It helps to show what Religion and Worldviews teaching could look like.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The researchers recognise the limits of a series of interviews with individuals, and therefore don’t claim that the individuals represent the traditions. Again, however, see the full article. What they do to address the problem is include statistics from other Pew Center global surveys, so you can check the individual accounts with the bigger picture. Overall, it’s an excellent resource.

Find out more

On the Intersection of Science and Religion, Pew Research Center, published August 2020 (see link for open access below)

https://www.pewforum.org/essay/on-the-intersection-of-science-and-religion/

Research Summary

LAR-D provides participating schools with a link faith practitioner from a selected religion, and funds each of them to develop an ongoing dialogue over time, ideally using the RE-searchers pedagogic approach. The project is funded by the All Saints Educational Trust.

Researcher

Mark Plater, 6 participating schools, St Philip’s Centre, Leicester

Research Institution

Bishop Grosseteste University

What is this about?

Does linking a faith practitioner to a school for an extended period of time provide educational benefits above what is gained from single visit opportunities?
In what different ways do schools make use of the RE-searchers pedagogy when given training, but then left to choose or reject it?

What was done?

Schools selected and funded to participate in the programme.
Selected faith practitioners linked with schools (schools chose the religion to be studied).
RE-searchers pedagogy training provided by Rob Freathy as a possible method of engagement.
School-faith practitioner partnerships allowed to develop by mutual agreement over 12 months.

Main findings and outputs

Developing teacher confidence and subject knowledge.
School communities enabled to engage with living religion and alternative cultures.
Study ongoing, but significantly affected by corona-virus shut-down.

Relevance to RE

Note the concept and methodology: an ongoing link with a selected, trained and supported faith practitioner, enabling a friendship relationship to develop over time….
i.e. quality of link rather than quantity.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This is a funded project, with schools being reimbursed for participation.
At present only 6 schools are participating (3 primary/ 3 secondary).
Being partway through, full benefits have not yet been assessed.

Find out more

Update information sheets developed and available from mark.plater@bishopg.ac.uk

https://www.bishopg.ac.uk/bgu-team-win-15000-grant-to-support-new-re-learning-initiative/

Research Summary

Pew Research Center has conducted more than a decade’s worth of global research on religion, including surveys of Muslims in 39 countries, three comprehensive surveys of Muslim Americans, several demographic studies of the world’s major religions (including population growth projections), and a series of surveys that measure how people living in the U.S. and Europe view Muslims and Islam.

Researchers

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

Research Institution

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

What is this about?

Pew have distilled some key findings from their comprehensive research data into four email mini-lessons, to help interested people develop a better understanding of Muslims and Islam. How differently do Muslims around the globe practice their faith? What do they believe? How are they viewed in public opinion in various Western countries? How much discrimination do they face? Sign up, and you’ll receive an email every other day for about a week. If you want to dig deeper, the emails will offer links to work by the Center that supply more detailed information.

What was done?

Pew’s extensive research findings on Islam from the last decade have been distilled down into a four-email course for those wishing to improve their knowledge and understanding of the faith.

Main findings and outputs

See the course itself, but, for example and to give you a flavour:

With an estimated population of 1.8 billion, Muslims are the world’s second-largest religious group, after Christians. But our surveys have found that about half of Americans – as well as most Western Europeans – say they know little or nothing about Islam.

From lesson 2:

Our survey asked Muslims whether they want sharia, a set of ethical principles based on the Quran and Sunnah (sayings and actions of the prophet), to be the official law of the land in their country. Responses to this question vary widely. Nearly all Muslims in Afghanistan (99%) and most in Iraq (91%) and Pakistan (84%) supported sharia as official law. But in some other countries, especially in Eastern Europe and Central Asia – including Turkey (12%), Kazakhstan (10%) and Azerbaijan (8%) – relatively few favored the implementation of sharia.

Relevance to RE

This course is highly relevant to RE, offering a broadly-based, up-to-date, highly informative subject knowledge boost to teachers. You could also encourage A level students to take it.

Generalisability and potential limitations

Pew Research Center is a major international research generator, and the findings on which this course is based reflect more than a decade’s worth of global research on religion, including surveys of Muslims in 39 countries, three comprehensive surveys of Muslim Americans, several demographic studies of the world’s major religions (including population growth projections), and a series of surveys that measure how people living in the U.S. and Europe view Muslims and Islam.

Find out more

The link to the course, including where to sign up, is https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/19/want-to-know-more-about-muslims-and-islam-weve-got-an-email-course-for-you/

Research Summary

This project, a collaboration between Professor Bob Bowie and Ms Katie Clemmey of the National Institute for Christian Education Research (NICER) and the Centre for Research Evaluation in Muslim Education with Dr. Farid Panjwani at University College London (now renamed the Centre for the Study of Education in Muslim Contexts (CEMC) ), sought to support teachers in seven contrasting secondary schools, teach RE more hermeneutically. It was informed by research that the use of texts in RE classrooms is and has been an ongoing problem for many years that continues with the revised GCSE. It was inspired by the thought that a more hermeneutical approach in the subject might help both the transition to Religion and Worldviews education and also the development of a stronger disciplinary knowledge base. It was grant funded by Culham St Gabriel’s Trust and supported by Bible Society. It was a qualitative study of 7 schools with 10 teachers working to apply hermeneutical techniques to their curricula.

Researchers

Dr Robert Bowie, Farid Panjwani & Katie Clemmey

Research Institution

Canterbury Christ Church University

What is this about?

Should schools help students become good interpreters of religion, worldviews, and sacred texts? Should they help students explore what it means to be a sacred text scholar? This report is for all those interested in teaching sacred texts, in particular, the Bible and texts sacred to Muslims including the Qur’an. This project was part of REsearch 7, a Culham St Gabriel’s initiative. Academic papers about the project will be forthcoming in research journals and monographs. It took place between October 2018 and July 2019.

What was done?

We recruited ten participant teachers from seven secondary schools with diverse pupil population profiles and socio-economic and cultural contexts. Initial telephone interviews were followed by drawing up some plans of the teachers’ ideas about what they might want to test in their classrooms. The teachers were given some CPD about hermeneutics and its application. A CPD day involved an introduction to hermeneutics, sacred text scholarship, and expert guidance on classroom hermeneutics. There was also time for planning discussions. The CPD also involved six online ‘bookclub’ sessions on a group video conferencing system following a set of readings. The participants then planned and taught lessons taking ideas from the CPD and readings and adapting their curricula At the end of the summer term there were in-depth individual interviews of all the participants, carried out by the principle investigators.

Main findings and outputs

1. The teachers described a sense of agency that hermeneutical tools gave students in activities around the interpretation of sacred text, e.g. asking about what texts meant to the original writers, or how different interpretations of them may be made today.
2. The teachers reported that pupils were positive about engaging with longer extracts of sacred text including students who they had thought would struggle or lack motivation in such activities.
3. Hermeneutical approaches in these cases led to a deeper quality of conversation in lessons about texts.
4. Hermeneutics was seen as a valuable dimension in curriculum design allowing for progression through multi religious study.
5. Almost all of the teachers developed competent hermeneutical lessons, some with excellent examples of student work.
6. From their key stage 3 changes, several teachers thought that hermeneutics would lead to better GCSE responses, particularly in explaining differences within religions. They also felt that a better space for hermeneutics could be included in exams.

Relevance to RE

There is a greater possibility for change and for reform of religious education if the idea of inhabiting the place of a sacred text scholar becomes part of Religion and Worldviews in schools. It offers one pathway to unlocking a disciplinary study of how people find significance and read meaning through worldviews. Students can progress between the study of different worldviews through the scholarly study of sacred texts.

Generalisability and potential limitations

It was a qualitative study focussed on teachers, and did not seek to measure the actual change in students. The participants were self-selecting so probably had an interest in sacred texts. Findings cannot be generalised from this study and further study is needed, though the teacher responses are promising.

Find out more

Teachers and Text: The Findings Report

https://www.canterbury.ac.uk/nicer/hermeneutics/

Research Summary

This research examines the religious agenda of the order of Saint Jerome that ruled the sanctuary of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in Extremadura, Spain, from 1389. Motifs such as dreams and light were used to create a multi-confessional audience for their collection of miracles. There was the construction of a particular image of the Virgin that could appeal to pilgrims of different faiths. It could and did compete with the more important Islamic devotional figures: the Prophet, Sufi masters and charismatic saints.

Researcher

Amanda Valdés Sánchez

Research Institution

Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona

What is this about?

• Images of dreams and light in religious iconography.
• Miracles.
• The Virgin Mary.
• Religious proselytism and conversion.
• Sufism.

What was done?

The research is an investigation into historical and literary sources, to analyse motifs in Catholic iconography and narrative.

Main findings and outputs

• Religious images and narratives have to be seen in historical context. Thus:
  Sometime in the 15th century, a young North African woman of Muslim origin arrived at the town of Guadalupe in Extremadura in order to serve the monastery of the Virgin of Guadalupe, for whose devotion she had made such a long journey. To preserve her memory, the monastic community recorded her story in a series of texts collecting the miracles of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
• The cult of the Virgin of Extremadura had its origin in the miraculous apparition of a Marian image before a shepherd, in the early 14th century, in the mountains of Villuercas near the town of Guadalupe.
• Throughout the texts, the Virgin offers conversion to Muslims and protection to Christians by appearing to them in dreams. This is also a familiar theme in Sufi mysticism, where dreams are vehicles for illumination. The Qur’an and numerous hadiths also record the role of dreams in the revelation of God’s message to Muhammad.
• In many texts, the Virgin appears as a dazzling, luminous vision. The same motif is also associated, in Sufism, with a vision of ecstasy as the act in which the divine light passes through the heart of the mystic.
• The motifs of dreams and light were stressed to attract converts from Islam, and to prevent Christian attraction to Sufism.

Relevance to RE

The research is relevant to RE, as a detailed example of how a historical lens can be needed to picture religion in its diversity and complexity. Relevant images of the Virgin and text excerpts from Islamic sources could be placed side by side, students being asked to identify continuities and speculate on and research explanations.

Generalisability and potential limitations

As indicated above, the research functions as a detailed example. However, the principle of religious phenomena needing to be appreciated in their historical contexts is a general one.

Find out more

The original article is Amanda Valdés Sánchez,“A Desora Desperto y vio una Grand Claridat”: The Role of Dreams and Light in the Construction of a Multi-Confessional Audience of the Miracles of the Virgin of Guadalupe, Religions 2019: 10 (12), 652.

The article is available open-access at https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10120652

Research Summary

There is a new generation of female Islamic authorities in the UK. They are setting up their own institutes and emphasising the importance of drawing from within the Islamic tradition in the British context. They stress their unique ability as women to provide personal and collective guidance that addresses the needs of Muslim women in Britain. But they recognise the limitations of presenting guidance as ‘women’s work’; they sometimes present gender as irrelevant in their work. They are developing and imagining new understandings of Islamic knowledge and leadership. It is a move away from binaries such as liberal/orthodox Islam, or resistance to/compliance with established religion.

Researcher

Giulia Liberatore

Research Institution

University of Edinburgh

What is this about?

• Islam in Britain.
• Authority and leadership in contemporary Islam.
• Islamic knowledge.
• Gender and piety in Islam.
• Experiences of Islam.

What was done?

The research is part of a larger ethnographic research project on female Islamic authority and guidance in the UK, conducted between April 2015 and October 2019. It involved mapping a broad range of female authorities across the country, analysing their online presence, interviewing over twenty-five female Islamic authorities (scholars, teachers, preachers, as well as authorities providing legal advice or counselling), visiting spaces of learning, attending classes and retreats, speaking to audience members and discussing the topic with male Islamic authorities and other experts in the area.

Main findings and outputs

• Islam is changing.
• There is a new generational of influential, younger, female Islamic authorities in the UK. They are not a cohesive group, they experience different opportunities and situations.
• They have some things in common: teaching in English, teaching in informal spaces, addressing a broad British Muslim audience and sometimes using social media to teach.
• They are known for high levels of scholarship and personal piety.
• They are life guides, addressing issues such as marriage and relationships, though referring to Islamic sources in a ‘traditional’ way. Many young UK Muslims are in need of spiritual guidance, to practice Islam in a ‘western’ context. Women are seen as natural guides, within Islamic tradition.
• These women do not see themselves as ‘liberal’ in contrast to ‘conservative’ teachers. They can be seen as part of an emerging European Islam.

Relevance to RE

This research has high relevance to RE. Teachers can use it to develop their own subject knowledge in line with current research. The research is ground-breaking, illustrates some new and significant themes and provides evidence on the roles of women in Islam that can help teachers to challenge stereotypes. Another particularly valuable point is how distinctions such as ‘liberal’ and conservative’ might not always adequately describe different experiences of Islam in the contemporary world.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This research deliberately illustrates a trend, rather than giving findings that can be generalised across the experiences of Muslims. It gives good detail and analysis on a significant set of changes regarding the transmission of Islam in the UK, however, and readers are encouraged to study the original article, freely available from the link given below.

Find out more

The original article is Giulia Liberatore, Guidance as ‘Women’s Work’: A New Generation of Female Islamic Authorities in Britain, Religions 2019: 10 (11), 601.

The article is available open-access at https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10110601

Research Summary

What does it mean to be a Muslim young woman in Britain today? With which religious and social values do these young women identify? This research tests the idea that Muslim identity involves having particular values, among female adolescents (13 to 15 years of age). The data demonstrate that for these female adolescents, self-identification as Muslim meant a distinctive profile in terms both of religiosity and social values.

Researchers

Ursula McKenna & Leslie Francis

Research Institution

University of Warwick

What is this about?

• What values do young Muslim women in Britain have?
• How can their religiosity be described?
• Do young Muslim women in Britain have a particular profile, in relation to values and religiosity?

What was done?

The young Muslim women participated in a survey conducted across the four nations of the United Kingdom. From the 11,809 participants in the survey, the research compares the responses of 177 female students who self-identified as Muslim with the responses of 1183 female students who self-identified as religiously unaffiliated. Comparisons are drawn across two themes,
religiosity and social values.

Main findings and outputs

• Religious identity is important to young Muslim women in Britain: 84% agreed that this is so, and 88% said that being Muslim was the most important factor in their identity.
• Further, they tend to be surrounded by family and friends who think religion to be important.
• Nearly three quarters regarded themselves as a religious person (71%) but only one quarter regarded themselves as a spiritual person (26%).
• At least three in every five often talked about religion with their mother (66%) and slightly less frequently with their father (49%).
• Studying religion at school had helped 90% to understand people from other religions and 81% to understand people from different racial backgrounds. 78% found learning about different religions in school interesting, and 68% found studying religion at school had shaped their views about religion.
• 89% believed in God, 94% believed in heaven, and 89% believed in hell.
• The majority supported the views that we must respect all religions (94%) and that all religious groups in Britain should have equal rights (90%).
• 82% agreed that having people from different religious backgrounds made their school an interesting place.

Relevance to RE

There are two main ways in which this research is relevant to RE. Firstly, the findings can help teachers to be accurate when teaching about Islam in Britain today. Secondly, they can help teachers to understand the values and views likely to be held by their own female Muslim pupils.

Generalisability and potential limitations

These findings are generalisable, arising from a large survey analysed with high expertise.

Find out more

Ursula McKenna & Leslie J. Francis (2019) Growing up female and Muslim in the UK: an empirical enquiry into the distinctive religious and social values of young Muslims, British Journal of Religious Education, 41:4, 388-401.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2018.1437393 (open access)