Race & Class in UK Religious Studies and Theology is a five-year project funded by the Susanna Wesley Foundation aiming to provide an institutional platform for monitoring and challenging ways in which the disciplines of Religious Studies and Theology in UK Higher Education operate to exclude and disadvantage UK Minority Ethnic, Global Majority Heritage, and Working Class students and staff (recognising the overlap between each of these groups). Its initial term will run from September 2024 for five years, though we hope to locate additional funding to allow it to continue to monitor progress beyond this period.
The project will review available quantitative data on applications, admission, progression, and achievement of students and staff, convene focus groups to identify key issues, conduct a large qualitative survey of staff and students, publish a report, and then hold workshops in universities and subject associations to discuss the project findings and recommendations in dialogue with existing research as it applies to particular contexts.
Organisational structure
The project aims to achieve a broad ownership across the disciplines of Religious Studies and Theology in UK Higher Education. Its structure comprises:
• Three Co-Convenors
• A wider project team, including a postdoctoral researcher (meeting monthly)
• An Advisory Board, with representatives of all major subject associations in Religious Studies and Theology and academics with relevant research interests (meeting three times per year)
• A Staff and Student Reference Group, enabling a wider group of interested stakeholders to have input into the project (meeting twice per year).
The project is hosted at the University of Aberdeen. The project co-convenors are:
- Prof. David Clough, University of Aberdeen
- Dr Dulcie Dixon McKenzie, Queen's Foundation, Birmingham
- Dr Caroline Starkey, University of Leeds
The following subject associations are represented on the project's Advisory Board: AULRE, BASR, BIAJS, BIAPT, BNTS, BRAIS, BSPR, CTA, SOCREL, SOTS, SSCE, SST, TRS-UK.
The remainder of the Advisory Board is made of researchers with expertise in relation to religion, race, and class: Prof. Claire Alexander, Prof. Robert Beckford, Prof. Abby Day, Prof. Margot Finn, Luke Larner, Prof. Gordon Lynch, Dr Sanjee Perera, Prof. Anthony Reddie, and Prof. John Swinton.
How to get involved
The Staff and Student Reference Group will meet twice annually to receive project updates and provide feedback about the project. Membership is open to any student or staff member working in the disciplines of religious studies and theology at a UK university. You can register to join the group using our contact form .
If you'd just like to be kept informed with periodic updates about the project, sign up to join our mailing list using our contact form .
When we have vacancies in the project team, we will invite expressions of interest from potential new team members. These invitations will be circulated via the mailing list.
Contact form
Thanks for your interest in the Race & Class in UK Religious Studies and Theology project. To sign up to receive project updates, join the Staff and Student Reference Group, or send us a comment or query, please use the form below.