The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) have announced today that a further £4 million has been awarded to the Religion and Society Research Programme to focus research on a better understanding of religion and youth in modern British society.

To a greater extent than previous generations, young people in western societies are unlikely to have grown up in or been socialised into one particular religious tradition. They are likely to have come into contact with a wider range of religious, non-religious and secular influences than their parents and grandparents. With regard to religion, they are likely to be aware of a range of influences, ranging from alternative forms of spirituality to the world's major religious traditions.

For the current generation of teenagers and young adults the issue of religious identity is therefore encountered in new ways. Religious and secular identity is no longer straightforwardly ascribed but involves choice and negotiation. Young people may be religious in quite different ways from their parents and grandparents, as religion becomes a powerful force in the creation of new forms of identity. Thus some young people are becoming more religious than their parents as they forge forms of identity which resist or creatively reconstruct existing forms of 'British' identity, and remain open to transnational commitments. Religion is also playing an important role for young people in the reconstruction of gendered identities and sexuality; in education, employment and class mobility; and in fostering new forms of activism and ethical and political commitment. At the same time, apparently non-religious forms of culture and commitment vie for attention as never before.

This strategic initiative will commission research related to teenagers and young adults aged 13-25.

It will ensure that the topic of religion and youth in the UK is not considered in isolation, but in relation to wider cultural, social, historical and international contexts. In addition the contexts of religious indifference, secularisation, and active secularity/opposition to religion will be looked at.

Professor Linda Woodhead, Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at Lancaster University as well as Programme Director of the Religion and Society Research Programme, said: "The religious situation is changing so rapidly that it is vital we know what sort of commitments young people are making, and what factors influence them. This initiative could not come at a better time. It will allow scholars from a range of disciplines to work together, to get alongside young men and women, and to replace speculation with hard evidence."

This extra £4m means that in the next five years over £12m will be invested into the ongoing AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Research Programme to explore the current developments concerning questions of belief, human culture, society and religion in the UK.

This strategic research programme will make important contributions to our understanding of religion, society and youth in the short-term by funding workshops and small projects, and in the longer term by supporting large collaborative projects and research networks.

AHRC Chief Executive Professor Philip Esler said "In the context of the Religion and Society programme it became apparent to the AHRC and the ESRC that the area of youth was key to current debate and, in response to interactions with stakeholders and after identifying trends in applications to the first phase of funding, the research councils agreed to add a further £4m to the programme and run a specific call under the area of religion, society and youth."

For further information on this research programme please go to: http://ahrcinternalweb/FundingOpportunities/Pages/ReligionandSociety.aspx

Arts and Humanities Research Council: Emi Spinner Tel: 0117 987 6773 or e-mail: e.spinner@ahrc.ac.uk.

Economic and Social Research Council: Alexandra Saxon Tel: 01793 413032 e-mail: alexandra.saxon@esrc.ac.uk.

AHRC and ESRC 'Religion and Society Research Programme': The Religion and Society Research Programme is a collaborative programme between the AHRC and the ESRC. It aims to stimulate work across the arts and humanities and social sciences communities, concerning questions of belief, human culture, society and religion. This is the first UK research programme to foster collaborative endeavours across this wide range of disciplines in order to understand the interrelationships between religion and society. It aims to support projects of the highest quality and international significance. The programme will operate for approximately five and a half years with an initial budget of £8.3m plus a further £4m for the Religion and Society Youth Call.

This 50/50 co-funded programme addresses questions of vital contemporary importance, both on a local and global scale. To appreciate these issues fully it is important to understand them in historical and comparative contexts as well as through the perspectives of gender, age, sexuality, class, economic status, dis/ability and ethnicity. This programme offers a unique opportunity to engage publics, religious groups, policy makers, charities, creative and cultural sectors and others in dialogue about the role of religion in society and it is envisaged that many projects will have outcomes of significance for these groups.

Not only is this generation less involved, overall, in formal religious structures than previous ones, it is also more religiously plural. Religion is still tightly connected to ethnic background, and processes of migration since the Second World War have turned Britain into a multi-faith society as never before. Many young Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus are now the second generation to be born in Britain. For white British youth, religions like Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism may appear part of the existing order of things rather than new arrivals. Christianity is also changing its profile as 'black' churches prove to have greater vitality than 'white' ones.

For further information on this research programme please go to: http://ahrcinternalweb/FundingOpportunities/Pages/ReligionandSociety.aspx

Arts & Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £90 million to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from archaeology and English literature to design and dance. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,500 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. Arts and humanities researchers constitute nearly a quarter of all research-active staff in the higher education sector. The quality and range of research supported by this investment of public funds not only provides social and cultural benefits but also contributes to the economic success of the UK.

Economic and Social Research Council: The ESRC is the UK's largest funding agency for research and postgraduate training relating to social and economic issues. It supports independent, high quality research relevant to business, the public sector and voluntary organisations. The ESRC's planned total expenditure in 2007 - 08 is £181 million. At any one time the ESRC supports over 4,000 researchers and postgraduate students in academic institutions and research policy institutes. More at www.esrcsocietytoday.ac.uk