Martin Stringer took up a lectureship in the sociology and anthropology of religion at Birmingham University in 1993 and has maintained a constant interest in Christian worship, contemporary religious practices and the development of congregational studies in the UK. He founded and ran the Worship in Birmingham Project from 1998-2003. In October 2007 he was awarded a chair in Liturgical and Congregational Studies and has undertaken a number of significant managerial roles within the University. Over almost twenty years in Birmingham Martin has worked closely with a wide range of churches and other faith groups in inner-urban areas of the city. He is currently Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor with responsibility for planning, staffing and community relations. He is the author of many books and articles.

’Martin Stringer has produced a fascinating bottom-up account of the discourses about religious diversity now flowing through Birmingham’s urban culture. Focusing on four arenas in which religious difference becomes manifest - clothing, buildings, festivals, and current event news items - Stringer charts the different ways in which people confront or ignore diversity, and the ways in which difference is downplayed or attributed to ethnic culture, or religion. The result is an insightful analysis of the ways in which religion, culture, and politics become intertwined and how the latent can be as problematic as the manifest. Through it all there is keen attention to the latest currents in urban social theory, making this a book for students of cities, of religion, of immigration, and of contemporary modern society.’ Rhys H. Williams, Loyola University Chicago, USA '[Stringer’s] new book is not a study of discourses of religions but instead of discourses on religion by ordinary English urbanites. As he puts it, "I want to begin by listening to the people who live within the city and to hear how they are talking about religion, religions, and religious diversity and to identify the kind of assumptions that they are making within their conversations"'. Anthropology Review Database

• Chapter 1 Religion and Urban Theory; Chapter 2 Discourses of Diversity; Chapter 3 The Two Towers; Chapter 4 Religion in a Context of Super-diversity; Chapter 5 Taking to the Streets; Chapter 6 The Year of the Golden Pig; Chapter 7 Urban Memory; Chapter 8 Managing Discourses of Religious Diversity;

Martin Stringer took up a lectureship in the sociology and anthropology of religion at Birmingham University in 1993 and has maintained a constant interest in Christian worship, contemporary religious practices and the development of congregational studies in the UK. He founded and ran the Worship in Birmingham Project from 1998-2003. In October 2007 he was awarded a chair in Liturgical and Congregational Studies and has undertaken a number of significant managerial roles within the University. Over almost twenty years in Birmingham Martin has worked closely with a wide range of churches and other faith groups in inner-urban areas of the city. He is currently Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor with responsibility for planning, staffing and community relations. He is the author of many books and articles.

’Martin Stringer has produced a fascinating bottom-up account of the discourses about religious diversity now flowing through Birmingham’s urban culture. Focusing on four arenas in which religious difference becomes manifest - clothing, buildings, festivals, and current event news items - Stringer charts the different ways in which people confront or ignore diversity, and the ways in which difference is downplayed or attributed to ethnic culture, or religion. The result is an insightful analysis of the ways in which religion, culture, and politics become intertwined and how the latent can be as problematic as the manifest. Through it all there is keen attention to the latest currents in urban social theory, making this a book for students of cities, of religion, of immigration, and of contemporary modern society.’ Rhys H. Williams, Loyola University Chicago, USA '[Stringer’s] new book is not a study of discourses of religions but instead of discourses on religion by ordinary English urbanites. As he puts it, "I want to begin by listening to the people who live within the city and to hear how they are talking about religion, religions, and religious diversity and to identify the kind of assumptions that they are making within their conversations"'. Anthropology Review Database

• Chapter 1 Religion and Urban Theory; Chapter 2 Discourses of Diversity; Chapter 3 The Two Towers; Chapter 4 Religion in a Context of Super-diversity; Chapter 5 Taking to the Streets; Chapter 6 The Year of the Golden Pig; Chapter 7 Urban Memory; Chapter 8 Managing Discourses of Religious Diversity;

Martin Stringer took up a lectureship in the sociology and anthropology of religion at Birmingham University in 1993 and has maintained a constant interest in Christian worship, contemporary religious practices and the development of congregational studies in the UK. He founded and ran the Worship in Birmingham Project from 1998-2003. In October 2007 he was awarded a chair in Liturgical and Congregational Studies and has undertaken a number of significant managerial roles within the University. Over almost twenty years in Birmingham Martin has worked closely with a wide range of churches and other faith groups in inner-urban areas of the city. He is currently Deputy Pro-Vice Chancellor with responsibility for planning, staffing and community relations. He is the author of many books and articles.

’Martin Stringer has produced a fascinating bottom-up account of the discourses about religious diversity now flowing through Birmingham’s urban culture. Focusing on four arenas in which religious difference becomes manifest - clothing, buildings, festivals, and current event news items - Stringer charts the different ways in which people confront or ignore diversity, and the ways in which difference is downplayed or attributed to ethnic culture, or religion. The result is an insightful analysis of the ways in which religion, culture, and politics become intertwined and how the latent can be as problematic as the manifest. Through it all there is keen attention to the latest currents in urban social theory, making this a book for students of cities, of religion, of immigration, and of contemporary modern society.’ Rhys H. Williams, Loyola University Chicago, USA '[Stringer’s] new book is not a study of discourses of religions but instead of discourses on religion by ordinary English urbanites. As he puts it, "I want to begin by listening to the people who live within the city and to hear how they are talking about religion, religions, and religious diversity and to identify the kind of assumptions that they are making within their conversations"'. Anthropology Review Database

• Chapter 1 Religion and Urban Theory; Chapter 2 Discourses of Diversity; Chapter 3 The Two Towers; Chapter 4 Religion in a Context of Super-diversity; Chapter 5 Taking to the Streets; Chapter 6 The Year of the Golden Pig; Chapter 7 Urban Memory; Chapter 8 Managing Discourses of Religious Diversity;