Resources:

• Religion, Belief and Faith identities UAL website
• Religion in Britain: Challenges for Higher Education
• Kwame Anthony Appiah Reith lecture on Creed
• SoN Terms of Reference: Faith

At the time of writing this blog post, I am currently exhibiting some images that are part of a series of photographic work exploring the ways in which the Bible was used as a tool to enslave African during the Transatlantic Slave Trade; Rebellion – focuses on texts that were removed from the ‘Slave Bible’, Stockholm – explores the connection and affinity people have towards something that was used against them & Justification – focuses on the texts that were used to justify and enforce slavery.

As someone who no longer practices any particular religion, but at the same time coming from a very ‘involved’ Christian upbringing, the feedback has been mixed and very interesting. I am yet to encounter anyone who has taken offense to the images, but what it has highlighted for me is the way people look at religion and interpret their relationship with faith and spirituality. It has opened up conversations that I hadn’t actually considered, one being that although the images portray a Bible, the shackles could suggest being restricted or chained to the dogma and rhetoric of any of the religions, not just Christianity.

As a student and an academic, I encounter religious diversity on many different levels. Some are more liberal than others and the perceptions of people who belong to the same faith can vary greatly. The Religion, Belief & Faith identities website has an interesting collection of resources that can be used to address religion, belief and faith within a HE setting. I see myself as very open when it comes to different beliefs and faiths, however, I have have never been in a situation where I have had to address or diffuse religious tension amongst colleagues or students, so I found the resources and case studies on the website interesting and definitely something I could put to use in my own teaching practice. I would be particularly interested to adapt the Pen Portraits icebreaker activity in some way as it appeals to students common interests and opens up avenues for deeper conversation, but in a much more organic and relaxed way.

In the stimulus paper ‘Religion In Britain: Challenges For Higher Education’ Professor Tariq Modood states:

“The growth in student numbers and increased recruitment of international students brings many students who are adherents of non-Western faiths. In this respect we must ask what the implications are for higher education? What cultural assumptions can no longer be made? Finally, we might ask, where do atheists fit in campus life? Taken together, these questions and issues raise implications that need careful consideration by staff and students.”

There is an inherent need for better understanding of different beliefs, especially within Higher Education. Religion and faith can be very passionate and emotive topics – there can be a very fine line between an expression of opinion and outright offending someone.  It’s a conversation that I think would pose somewhat of a challenge to address within a classroom setting, however, I feel that with the use of resources such as the discussions found on the Watch & Listen page of the Religion, Belief & Faith identities website, the conversation can be steered towards a more creative approach and an appreciation of how religion has impacted and influenced art from both a historical and modern perspective.

One example of this is something that I am currently exploring in my own practice which is the relationship between religion and gender – specifically focusing on the misogyny that is found in many western and Abrahamic religions and how women are depicted in those religions. In her paper for Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Diane Apostolos-Cappadona writes in ‘Women in Religious Art’: 

‘Despite the fact that all world religions have either a positive or negative attitude toward images, it is the misogyny and patriarchy of many religious traditions that has resulted in either the suppression or destruction of images of women in religious art.’

It has been an interesting experience to explore how women are depicted and described in both religious art and religious texts.  As an exploration activity, it would be interesting to show images of women depicted by monotheistic and polytheistic faiths and gather feedback on what other people’s perceptions are of those images and what has influences those perceptions/assumptions. Certain images definitely promote virtue, virginity, subservience and purity, while others show sexuality, fertility, and images of the divine matriarch/goddess and some do not contain any human depictions at all. In my past career I used to create bespoke designs for the palaces and royal residences of the Saudi royal family, so i am very much aware of the restrictions involved in creating artwork for Muslim clients. A lot of my work involved researching Arabic designs and merging them with more contemporary art, but the persistent clause in all my work was that there was to be no depiction of humans or animals (apart from horses). The erasure of the human form from my art work was something that I didn’t really think much about at the time – I simply followed instructions in order to keep my job. However, seeing work by artists such as Sooraya Graham breaking barriers and depicting not only a human form, but a female one AND holding a bra, has led me to want to explore the depiction of women in religions outside of my own lived experience.

Religion in Britain: Challenges for Higher Education

In the stimulus paper, Modood & Calhoun both highlight the fact that although Britain is seemingly a Christian country, the actual participation in religion is quite low. We love the idea of ‘Christian values’ and the pomp and splendour that comes with incorporating religion into public ceremonies (such as Armistice Day, weddings etc…) but when it comes to actually acting upon those values publicly as a nation, we struggle. Would the separation of church and state be such a bad thing? Through my own experiences with churches, I have found that they seem to operate more like businesses than centres of faith, with the church being financially dependent on state funding and the state being able to call in those good old Christian values to back up whatever new policy they need to implement (usually something anti-muslim).

Religion can be used as an advocate for multiculturalism as well as a tool for division. I think that within HE, students have the opportunity to interact with people from various faiths and beliefs, but in a way that can be used to encourage more understanding of other religions. And I use the word ‘understanding’ instead of ‘tolerance’ because I don’t believe that any one religion is more valid or acceptable than another, therefore it should require understanding rather than tolerance. Calhoun states that “public engagement with religion – including in universities – offers opportunities for both learning and achieving the public good.” Universities are seen as places where One can go to expand the mind and explore free speech. One question this raises for me is, how can universities encourage free speech around topics like religion and faith in such a way so as not to cause division or offence? Are there more creative ways that can be explored where students of different faiths can come together and share experiences in a safe environment?

Kwame Anthony Appiah Reith lecture on Creed

This was a really interesting lecture to listen to and made me think about the reasoning behind a lot of religious traditions and rituals. I grew up in a Christian (Seventh-day Adventist) household, but my parents weren’t strict and both have always been very liberal and encouraged me to ask questions rather than just follow the crowd. It seems to me (as it always has) that a lot of the traditions in Christianity in particular are based on interpretation. To paraphrase Kwame Reith, the rules and regulations that are stated in religious texts were most probably based on the time at which they were written. My question is – are religious texts even relevant to us today? I do understand that they can be used as an overall rough guide to being a good human i.e. don’t steal or kill, love thy neighbour etc… but the fact is, people will take from religion what they feel is necessary for whatever agenda they have. Many choose to read sections of these texts in isolation rather than in the context of a wider narrative. Having read the Bible cover-to-cover, I can attest to there being several contradictions, many of which I have argued about questioned with church leaders only to be given even more conflicting advice about how the messages should be interpreted. My overall stance on religion is this: Do you. Believe whatever you want to believe. Just don’t be an arsehole about it.