Introduction:
This past week, I was particularly struck by the resource entitled ‘Faith: What does it mean to be a young person of faith today (Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, 2021)?’
In the contemporary context of how we understand secularism (Reki,2023), it’s challenging to consider how a young person may be allowed the circumstances to acknowledge and practise their faith without the fear of judgement. Faith intersects with other aspects of an individual’s identity and I will use the examples below along with my understanding of the resources to elucidate my understanding around the nature of epistemic injustices (Rekis,2023) rooted in intersectional religious identities.
Examples:
Dr. Simran Jeet Singh highlights the importance of addressing power structures and challenging stereotypes (Trinity University, 2016). It is inspiring to hear that he is able to take on the burden of challenging stereotypes (in real life scenarios) but he shouldn’t have to do that and not everyone can. Others may face a pre-emptive epistemic injustice caused by suppressing their own identity in that situation (Lougheed, 2019 as cited in Rekis, 2023).
It was eye-opening to read about the barriers faced my Muslim women in sport (Jawad, 2022). Here, there is a cumulative effect of gender dynamics and faith-based considerations that create a barrier (Jawad, 2022). I wonder how we as educators can help uplift individuals that may be facing such forms of injustice during their student journey and beyond. Is the classroom a safe space for students to share their experiences and difficulties? What does a safe space look like? I will unpack this further in my teaching intervention.
Recurring themes:
Hermeneutical Injustice
It was empowering to read about how an individual’s unique experience traversing through race, gender, faith and other parts of their identity can contribute to a unique set of experiences that makes them a valuable source of knowledge (Rekis, 2023). The racialisation of religion deprives the rest of society from this knowledge by generalising their experience (Rekis, 2023).
Prejudice
I found it particularly insightful – the way Kwame Anthony Appiah talks about religion as a non-existent thing, reaffirming this idea that there is a lot of nuance that is crucial to understanding someone’s experience. We can often miss this nuance through our pre-existing notions and prejudice (Rekis, 2023). Towards the end of his talk (reflecting on his own experience), he wonderfully explains religious identities as formulated within societal traditions, ones that allow people to express them as cultural identities (Appiah, 2014).
Teaching Context:
It’s interesting to note from UAL’s Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual Report (2024) that the percentage of students with a declared religion or belief has steadily decreased in the past five years from 34% in 2019/20 to 29% in 2022/23. In the same time, there has been a subsequent increase in people stating ‘No religion or belief’ as well as an overall increase in people stating ‘Prefer not to say’. I wonder if some of the types of injustice discussed here and in the resources prevent students from declaring their beliefs. Sometimes, I also feel like the forms we fill out are not entirely representative of an individual’s experience, adding further layers of complexity that need to be addressed. I hope to unpack this further and find ways to support students with these barriers.
References
- Appiah, K. A. (2014) Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question). Youtube [Online]. 16 June. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY (Accessed: 18 May 2024)
- Trinity University (2016) Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in the Classroom. [Online]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk (Accessed: 18 May 2024)
- Lougheed, K. (2019) Epistemic injustice and religious experience. In The Lost Sheep in Philosophy of Religion (pp. 79-96). Routledge.
- Coventry UK City of Culture 2021 (2021) Faith: What does it mean to be a young person of faith today? [Online]. Available at: Faith: What does it mean to be a young person of faith today? (Accessed 18th May 2024).
- Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. [Online]. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/ (Accessed: 18 May 2024).
- Rekis, J. (2023) Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account. Hypatia 38, pp779–800.
- University of the Arts London (2024) Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Annual report 2022/23. Available at: https://www.arts.ac.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/432141/SPCB23435-EDI-report-2022-23.pdf (Accessed: 18 May 2024).
Hello Ravin,
I found your post very insightful and feel like you brought up some very interesting links between the different sources, some of which I also observed so it was nice to notice those shared connections. You also brought up additional points that made me think deeper about certain topics.
One observation you mentioned stuck with me – The Trinity University video that featured Dr. Simran Jeet Singh, where he talks about being on an airplane and people looking at him with fear/funny looks. He comments how he strikes up a conversation and makes sure to smile, and pulls out a pics of his daughters ‘so that they can see I’m just a normal person’. He mentions that this challenges their stereotypes, however it makes me very disheartened to think that this is a personal responsibility Dr. Singh feels he must take on. I feel that this should not be his responsibility to challenge such stereotypes and these societal pressures/marginalisation/prejudices that are put on certain people, particularly in relation to the ‘racialision of religion’ (Rekis, 2023). I think it is very important to hear these personal perspectives, specifically for people who may not be put in this situation at any point in their lives, in the hopes that it helps build different perspectives, advocacy and empathy.
I also found your question about ‘What does a safe space look like?’ very intriguing. Thanks for this! This is something that I’ve been thinking about as well. How can we build these spaces within the classroom and interactions we have with students? Are there certain components within the curriculum/classroom where we can build a space where everyone feels personal agency to share (or not share) their beliefs and other information about themselves that builds their identity? This is something I hope to explore more in this unit and your thoughts have helped bring in very rich perspectives.
Thanks again for sharing!
Amy
Thank you for such a wonderful and heartfelt response Amy. I really appreciate your time and effort here. I would be delighted to keep the conversation around safe spaces going – it’s something I am exploring in my intervention as well. I am looking forward to sharing more details with you and the rest of the group at our feedback session
Hi Ravin, really enjoyed reading this!
Like Amy I also agree with your point about how it feels unfair that he has to take on the burden of challenging stereotypes, even if it is also admirable for him to do so.
Your point about what a safe space actually is likewise struck a chord – and reminded me of the very first workshop of our PGCert where Lindsay suggested the use of the term ‘brave space’ (or maybe it was courageous space?).
Whilst it can be uncomfortable it is also natural and human that both students and staff may make missteps in these discussions, and potentially upset others or cause distress with accidental or misinformed comments. Or as I remember Shani saying in the last workshop – the concept that ‘my truth is my truth and your truth is your truth, but those truths will not always align’. How can we both create spaces that feel safe to share and discuss, but also reach for that empathy and constructive discourse that Singh mentions as being so important?
Personally I do see that empathy and constructive discussion being modelled in our PGCert class – I genuinely feel the discussions we’ve had have been useful and eye-opening, but at the same time full of different ‘individual truths’ that do not always align.
I’ve been wondering since these workshops if such an exercise like the “each individual speak about their reaction to the faith video and share a thought/experience” would work with my Year 1 students. It felt like such a valuable thing to be a part of, but I have also been unsure if a lot of the empathy and safety has come from it being a group of people who are older and more confident than the majority of students I teach. I’d love to hear your thoughts on if such an exercise would work with any group of students or the students you engage with.
I’d love to eventually hear more about your planned intervention as well, and how the interventions you already implemented went!
Thanks again Ravin,
Peony
Hi Peony,
Thanks so much for your wonderful comment on my post. I really appreciate your time and effort here.
I resonate with all of the above, particularly your point about how the workshop around faith would work with Year 1 students that might not have developed enough of a familiarity with their new contexts and surroundings. This is definitely something to think about as we plan to incorporate conversations around faith and other aspects of an individual’s identity within the classroom setting.
My interventions builds on this idea of safe and brave spaces, as you mentioned. I am interested in investigating an intersectional social justice that is situated. I talk about this more in my outline. What I’m particularly interested in is the lived experience of our students as well as the physical experiences of the spaces we bring them into. I think it’s more straightforward (at least for me personally) to think about how I may address issues around intersectionality and social justice through course content, but what isn’t so clear to me yet – is how I would address them through the experience of being in a physical teaching space itself. More to come on this!
Thanks so much again for your kind words, thoughts and comments!
Ravin
Hey Ravin,
Great blog reflection! You did an excellent job breaking down and explaining the key themes in all of the resources, including the video we watched and discussed in class. Your observations show how all the resources share a common theme about the intersection of faith with other aspects of identity, such as race, gender, faith, and culture. This creates unique and challenging situations that depend on an individual’s specific intersecting identities and can lead to unfair treatment and injustice.
I wholeheartedly agree with your views on Dr. Simran Jeet Singh’s efforts to challenge stereotypes. It is truly commendable that he takes on stereotypes wherever he goes, but it is essential to acknowledge that it should not always fall on his shoulders. As you rightly pointed out, not everyone may have the strength or opportunity to confront these issues.
I am particularly intrigued by your thoughts on creating a safe space for students to share their experiences. I eagerly anticipate reading your intervention and reflection report on this matter, specifically within classroom or studio environments.
The UAL report’s findings about students not declaring their religious beliefs resonate with me. This could be attributed to them not feeling safe, whether it is due to fear, prejudice, or being misunderstood. The data also underscores the need for UAL to enhance its methods of recording and capturing data to better support diverse experiences.
Overall, your reflections underscore the crucial importance of challenging structural inequalities, fostering inclusive educational environments, and continuously educating ourselves to effectively support individuals with intersecting identities.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.