Religion, Belief and Faith identities UAL website 

It was interesting to see the rich list of research that includes a religious perspective. The case study including the ice-breaking activity at the beginning of the course was interesting and made it an opportunity to discuss faith and cultural identity as part of getting to know each other and the diversity on the course. Most students would be familiar with pen portraits and using this for getting to know each other could be an interesting thing to try for my course. Discussions that touch on faith are not normally something that comes up. I agree with Angela’s thought that if you approach with curiosity and respect then you can discuss more challenging topics. This would be how I would encourage my students to go about any challenging personal topics as well. 

Pen Portraits | Religion, belief and faith identities in learning and teaching (arts.ac.uk) 

Religion in Britain: Challenges for Higher Education 

It was the first time I have come across the ‘religious literacy’ definition. Reading through the text and googling unknown terms, I realised that I too was educating myself to be more religiously literate. This relates to the paper’s point about this knowledge lacking in higher education. Being Danish I can relate that religion has limited attention in the public space from where I am from. I would argue that religion is even less present in Denmark than in the UK. The text suggests that practising a religion (no matter which one) is being part of a minority. This makes it even more clear to me why religion is part of the inclusivity focus and something we need to consider in our relationship with students and colleagues to make space for this perspective. 

Kwame Anthony Appiah 

This was an interesting perspective considering the impact of faith and family stories on our identities. He highlighted the emphasis on the ‘correct’ version of religious beliefs and actions based on scriptures which have always been a matter of interpretation. There could be some interesting discussions around students’ creative work and how it has been influenced by their identity – also from a faith perspective. The argument around interpretation and the perplexities of religious identities may open a more nuanced and open-minded discussion among students. I think this could be an important point to share to encourage students to approach this topic with curiosity to better understand each other and value each other’s work. 

Interview with Saffron Mustafa 

This article is an interview with Camberwell art student Saffron Mustafa. The questions are about her views on how her identity and creative practice have been shaped by her white British parents converting to Islam. Her personal story was a fascinating account of her individual life journey and also a reminder of how different individual backgrounds of our students can be. Her description of her belief compared to the argument in the “Religion in Britain: Challenges for higher education” resource that people are perhaps finding new ways to define their spirituality. She also saw her faith as a creative driver for her art. This is again an interesting point to consider when students reflect on the influence of their work and ideas.