Elaine Graham Grosvenor Research Professor of Practical Theology University of Chester Is the world we inhabit more or less religious than it used to be Do we witness a decline redeployment or renaissance ID: 755981
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Slide1
What are the implications of the changing place of religion in British society for Church foundation HEIs, their leaders and chaplains?
Elaine Graham
Grosvenor Research Professor of Practical Theology
University of ChesterSlide2
‘Is the world we inhabit more, or less, religious than it used to be? Do we witness a decline, redeployment or renaissance of religiosity?’ (Zygmunt Bauman, 1988)The Changing Place of Religion …?Slide3
The Evidence: 1. Religious Decline YouGov Poll 2011: 55% of adults identified as Christian and 5% of other faiths; 40% professed no
religion;
38
% of
18-34s = ‘Christian’; 53
%
‘no religion’
70
%
of over-55s = ‘Christian;
26%
no religion.
(NB. 2001 Census: 72% = ‘Christian’)Slide4
The Evidence: 2. Religious ScepticismYouGov, 2011: 79% agreed with the statement that religion is a cause of much misery and conflict in the world today; 11% disagreed .35% agreed that religion is a force for good in the world, but 45% disagreed. “All in all, these data point to a society in which religion is in-creasingly
in retreat and nominal. With the principal exception of the older age groups, many of those who claim some
religi-ous
allegiance fail to underpin it by a belief in God or to
trans-late
it into regular prayer or attendance at a place of worship. People in general are more inclined to see the negative than the positive aspects of religion, and they certainly want to keep it well out of the political arena.”Slide5
The Evidence: 3. But … Joint Council for Qualifications, Aug 2012:2011-12 candidates sitting A Level RS rose by 3.2%2010-11 increase in candidates was 4.9%.GSCE RS candidates: Up 17.6% in June 2011
Since 2001, entrants have nearly doubled: 221,974
from
119,550. Slide6
The Evidence: 4. In summary
Religious decline
Religious
pluralism
Equality and
Diversity legislation
Faith and the
“Big Society”
Religious Literacy
AHRC Religion & Society Westminster Faith Debates Slide7
Mapping the Trends Buoyancy of numbers amongst Evangelical, Pentecostal ChristiansReligious pluralismNew visibility of religion: global, national, local BUTSteady decline in Christian & Jewish affiliation and membershipScepticism, atheism and secularismThe gap between an increasingly secular majority and a heterogenous religious
minority - with
implications for social cohesion.Slide8
The Paradoxes of Public Religion‘Britain now finds itself in a situation in which old and new forms of commitment, power and organ-ization co-exist and compete with one another … why Britain can be religious and secular; … why the majority of the population call themselves Christian but are hostile or indifferent to many aspects of religion; why governments embrace ‘faith’ but are suspicious of ‘religion’; why public debate swings between ‘multiculturalism’ and ‘in-
tegration
’; why religion is viewed as both radical and
conservative
; why we build multi-faith spaces … but can no longer speak of God in public.’
(Linda
Woodhead
,
2012)Slide9
What’s going on?‘Desecularization’? ‘Revival’? ‘Deprivatization’ of religion?Co-existence of secularizing and sacralising trends: the irresistible force of faith meets the immovable object of religious scepticismTalk of the ‘post-secular’ (Jurgen Habermas)
Problematic
issues for public religion:
law
, politics, welfare;
competing
hierarchies of equality;
freedom
of speechSlide10
Issues for HEIsConvergence of global, national, local pressures on cultural identities, political controversies and community cohesionFrom religious ‘belief’ and ‘practice’ to ‘identity’Academic freedom – secular liberties vs religious sensibilities Academic interest in religion and spirituality independent of personal commitment; individual quest for faith independent of prior socialization, knowledge or upbringingSlide11
What about Church foundation HEIs?Mission and identity – greater latitude but con-tinued resistance to ‘doing God’Image and outreach – the “public theology” of Church foundation HEIsGovernance and
leadership
Student
experience – identity, belief, vocation, values
Curriculum –
especially the gulf in
‘religious
literacy
’
Chaplaincy provision and priorities
– especially for “Generation SBNR” Slide12
Some QuestionsHow can Church foundation HEIs articulate an apologia for their Christian roots and evolving mission in a ‘post-secular’ society? How should the faith-based ethos of a Church HEI be embodied in its governance and leadership?What would it mean to promote ‘
religious literacy’
within an institution? (cf. Goldsmiths/Cambridge project)
W
hat
are the patterns and trends of religious affiliation and spiritual quest
- and
what relationship do they bear to organized religion and institutional chaplaincy?
How do these trends manifest themselves for you; how do local, national, global factors impinge?