This title was first published in 2000. The place of religion in universities and institutes of higher education has become increasingly topical and contested in recent years, largely due to the growth of religious diversity on campus. Issues such as shared worship spaces, equal opportunities, and the management of inter-religious conflict, concern university administrators and students alike. Based on primary empirical research, this book indicates the need for clear guidelines on these issues and provides the data to inform policy-making. Offering the first study of the practical and sociological implications of the multi-faith campus, this book provides a context for examining some of the dynamics of religious diversity in Britain more generally as well as providing a useful analysis for the wider international context. Key themes covered include: religion in institutions; inter-faith relations; the changing roles of religious professionals; secularisation and resacralisation; and religion, youth and identity. Exploring questions about why claims for the recognition of different religious identities are becoming so contested, to what extent religious activity should be regulated and monitored on campus, and how institutions are challenged in different ways by diversity, this book contributes both in method and conclusions to the debate about the provision of religious and spiritual care in public institutions in a multicultural society. Religion in Higher Education will be essential reading for all those responsible for the practical management of campus life, as well as those interested in the sociology of religion and, more broadly, in contemporary religion in Britain.
Reviews
'The multi-faith campus becomes a prism through which to view religion in modern British society: all the strains and stresses of a supposedly multi-faith society are present on campus in a generation which will be in positions of leadership as the 21st century gets underway.' Grace Davie, University of Exeter, UK '...this is a profoundly challenging and rigorous book which sets the current religious and cultural provisions of British universities in their historical context and offers positive suggestions for future policy and practice. It will be of interest to all who work in the complex multi-faith environment of the modern university...a book which requires serious attention and which deserves to be widely read.' British Journal of Religious Education 'This work, of some breadth, attempts to give a critical overview of religion in higher education... I much enjoyed the great variety of reading drawn upon, and some of the issues brought into focus.' Theology, SPCK 'Sophie Gilliat-Ray is to be congratulated on providing a timely and perceptive analysis of the place of religion in higher education. The points of relevance of religion for higher education which she discusses embrace both the obvious and the more subtle, including such factors as chaplaincy centres, worship space, prayer rooms, dietary needs, timetabling which takes into account religious festivals and obligations, pastoral care, equal opportunity policies and the place of religious ceremonies in corporate life.' International Journal of Education and Religion 'Gilliat-Ray has assembled a mass of fascinating material, showing how vigorous religion is as a force in British universities.... Many shrewd observations are made.... (It) is a valuable work of interest to all involved in university life, to religious bodies and societies working within universities and to anyone interested in the contemporary religious life of the UK.' Reviews in Religion and Theology 'Gilliat-Ray's book breaks i



Book Information
ISBN 9781138728417
Author Sophie Gilliat-Ray
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Routledge
Publisher Taylor & Francis Ltd
Weight(grams) 281g