Multi-culturalism, the 7/7 bombings, the ‘War on Terror’, laws against religious discrimination and migration from new European states have all made UK headlines during the last decade. But what impact have such events and developments had on discrimination on the grounds of religion and belief and upon ways of tackling it?

This is the key focus of a new three year c. £400,000 academic study co-funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) investigating how attitudes and experiences of different religious and non-religious groups in England and Wales have evolved since 1999.

The University of Derby has secured funding from the Religion and Society programme, which is funded by the AHRC and the Economic and Social Research Council, and will include academics from the University of Oxford and the University of Manchester on the three-year study entitled: Religion and Belief, Discrimination and Equality in England and Wales, Theory, Policy and Practice, 2000-2010.

The study, which begins in December, will build on previous research led by Derby and commissioned by the Home Office in 1999 entitled: Religious Discrimination in England and Wales which found evidence of unfair treatment especially in education, employment and media, particularly as reported by Muslims, Sikhs and Hindus.

Paul Weller, Professor of Inter-Religious Relations at the University of Derby, headed the original project and report and will be the Principal Investigator for the new study. He said: “The new project will consider legal and policy developments on religion and human rights in which the category of ‘religious discrimination’ has become more widely accepted, while modified by reference to ‘belief’ and an emerging policy focus on shared values, social cohesion and “Britishness”.

 “Put simply, the work and results of this project will go to the heart of debates about how to move forward with a multi-cultural and multi-faith society, and how challenges of social cohesion can be overcome.”

He will work with Dr Nazila Ghanea, Lecturer in International Human Rights Law and a Fellow of Kellogg College at the University of Oxford, and Dr Kingsley Purdam, Research Fellow in the Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research at the University of Manchester.

You can read more about the project on the University of Derby website.

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Media contact: Jake Gilmore, j.gilmore@ahrc.ac.uk Tel: 0117 9876773

Notes to editors:

The project will be completed in November 2012. Outcomes will include a benchmark scholarly book; summary papers; a briefing report for a wide range of professional audiences and to inform the public and policy-makers in relevant areas; and a series of practitioner seminars to be hosted at the Multi-Faith Centre, a Derby-based charitable trust.

The project (AH/H016074/1) is located in the wider Religion and Society programme. The Religion and Society programme is a collaborative venture between the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC). Together these research councils have contributed £12.3m to fund research of the highest quality on the interrelationships between religion and society. The Programme aims to foster collaborative research across the arts, humanities and social sciences; to build capacity in the study of religion; to engage interested parties beyond the academy; to further understanding of religion in a complex world. The programme started in January 2007 and will end in December 2012.

Linked with the project is a doctoral research studentship that will explore a focused area within the broad theme of: “The Christian Churches and Developments in UK: Discrimination & Human Rights Policy, Law & Practice, 2000-2010”. Further details are available on the Religion and Society website. The studentship will be based at the University of Derby and will be directed by Professor Weller.

Arts and Humanities Research Council: Each year the AHRC provides approximately £102 million from the Government to support research and postgraduate study in the arts and humanities, from languages and law, archaeology and English literature to design and creative and performing arts. In any one year, the AHRC makes approximately 700 research awards and around 1,350 postgraduate awards. Awards are made after a rigorous peer review process, to ensure that only applications of the highest quality are funded. 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.