Young People’s Attitudes to Religious Diversity

Elisabeth Arweck is Principal Research Fellow in the Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit (WRERU), Centre for Education Studies, University of Warwick, and the Editor of the Journal of Contemporary Religion. Her recent research has focused on young people’s attitudes to religious diversity and the religious socialisation and nurture of young people. Recent publications include a number of co-authored articles (with Eleanor Nesbitt) and (co-edited) volumes, such as Religion and Knowledge (with Mathew Guest, Ashgate 2013), Exploring Religion and the Sacred in a Media Age (with Chris Deacy, Ashgate 2009) and Reading Religion in Text and Context (with Peter Collins, Ashgate 2006). She is the author of several book chapters and of Researching New Religious Movements in the West (Routledge 2007) and co-author (with Peter Clarke) of New Religious Movements in Western Europe: An Annotated Bibliography (Greenwood Press 1997).

"This volume makes particularly valuable and original contributions to the public debate about religious diversity not only because it tackles such a ‘hot button’ topic but also because its approach foregrounds young people’s own opinions and attitudes. Contributors are also careful to clarify the theoretical debates in which their empirical investigations are grounded and the methods that they used to collect information. Readers will appreciate the book’s extensive scope as well as its intensive drilling down into robust findings about young people and their attitudes to religious diversity."- James A. Beckford, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Warwick"This book offers a fascinating insight into young people’s attitudes to religious diversity that ought to be obligatory reading for anyone concerned with supporting peaceful coexistence. The foregrounding of young people’s perspectives should be commended because this provision of agency gives rare and pertinent understanding into the defining experiences of a generation informing the future of the UK and its relations to the world. Scholars, teachers and policymakers will hopefully listen and take appropriate action so as to ensure social cohesion."- Louise K. Gramstrup, The University of Edinburgh in Journal of Beliefs & Values, 2017

• Part 1. Setting the Context1. The ‘Young People’s Attitudes to Religious Diversity’ Project in the Context of Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit (WRERU) Research Robert Jackson & Ursula McKenna2. The Qualitative Strand: Listening in DepthElisabeth Arweck & Julia Ipgrave3. The Quantitative Strand: An Individual Differences ApproachLeslie J Francis, Gemma Penny & Mandy RobbinsPart 2. Qualitative perspectives4. Sources of Knowledge and Authority: Religious Education for Young Muslims in a Birmingham Comprehensive SchoolJulia Ipgrave5. Uniting Two Communities or Creating a Third Community? Research in a Northern Irish Integrated SchoolJulia Ipgrave6. Cradling Catholics in Secular Scotland: Research in a Scottish Roman Catholic High SchoolJulia Ipgrave7. The Matter of Context: The Case of Two Community Schools in WalesElisabeth Arweck8. Religious Diversity as a Personal and Social Value: Impressions from a Multicultural School in LondonElisabeth ArweckPart 3. Quantitative Perspectives9. Does RE Work and Contribute to the Common Good in England?Leslie J Francis, Gemma Penny & Ursula McKenna10. Testing the ‘Worlds apart’ Thesis: Catholic and Protestant Schools in Northern IrelandLeslie J Francis, Gemma Penny & Philip Barnes11. Growing up Catholic in Scotland: Not One Catholic Community but ThreeLeslie J Francis, Gemma Penny & Peter Neil12. Schools with a Religious Character and Community Cohesion in WalesLeslie J Francis, Gemma Penny & Tania ap Siôn13. The Personal and Social Significance of Diverse Religious Affiliation in Multi-faith LondonLeslie J Francis & Gemma PennyPart 4. International Engagement14. Young People and Religious Diversity: A Canadian PerspectiveLori G. Beaman, Peter Beyer and Christine L. Cusack15. A Collage of Contexts: Young People and Religious Diversity in the United States Mary Elizabeth Moore16. Young People and Religious Diversity: A European Perspective, with Particular Reference to GermanyAlexander Yendell