Home | Project Description | Research Team | The Workshop | Publications | Contact
Sources of the Sacred - an Introduction
Britain today is increasingly pluralistic, ethnically and religiously. The religious dimensions of that pluralism on the ground demand further exploration.
In London the co-existence of immigrant communities of different faiths has led not just to the tensions which have received such high-profile media attention, but also to fascinating intersections and affinities. Evidence that the Anglican Church in some places is functioning as a sacred space open to all within a geographical parish, irrespective of faith position, or that different Catholic traditions are cross-fertilizing or mutating in new contexts, raises challenging questions for thinking about religious identity. For example, in East London an Anglican church shares its space with Coptic, Jamaican Pentecostal and gay/lesbian churches.
The church has also become a sacred space of choice for the celebration of weddings between people of different faiths - a West African Catholic with a Sikh; an Orthodox Armenian with a Hindu. And Muslim women come to discuss pastoral issues with the female vicar. In a nearby Catholic parish, parishioners from over forty different ethnic groups have endeavoured to strengthen their community through involvement with London Citizens - a broad-based movement of religious and civic institutions including the East London mosque, a nearby gurdwara, trade unions and schools. Through these activities, they have achieved the living wage for Canary Wharf workers, are monitoring the Mayor of London's commitment to affordable housing and the legacy of the 2012 Olympics, and are campaigning for a once-off amnesty for resident migrants with 'irregular' visa status.
Through listening to the life stories of members of these people and observing the nature of individual and social religious belief and practice, this project seeks to engage with the everyday ways in which people narrate their understanding of faith, home, belonging and identity.