Wednesday, 17 November 2010

CMRB/Runnymede Trust Conference - 'Secularism, Racism and the Politics of Belonging' - 27 January 2011

Dear colleagues,

Following the highly successful conference 'Migration, Racism and Religion' in February, CMRB and Runnymede Trust are organising a follow up event which aims to explore some of the important themes that emerged from the last event.

The conference will address how questions of race, religion and religious affiliation operate in state policies and civil society in Britain and beyond. It examines how matters of faith are constructed in relation to old and new forms of racism and to other contemporary political projects of belonging. It considers the implications for citizenship and social solidarity in the context of “the Big Society”.

These issues will be examined in relation to specific questions which have occupied the British public in recent years: constructions of “faith communities” in relation to ethnic identities; the place of religion in equality legislation and legal pluralism; debates about dress codes; and the effect of particular forms of religious education, including separate faith schools. This conference will take these issues forward and promises to be highly charged.

Continuing with the inclusive and open format of previous events, this conference brings together academics and researchers, community activists, race equality groups, and leading figures from secular, Christian, Muslim and Jewish organisations.

As before, the event will be free of charge to attend and lunch and refreshments will be provided.

We would ask you to circulate these details to those you feel may be interested in participating in the discussion.

Further details are available at http://www.uel.ac.uk/cmrb/news.htm and will be updated regularly.

Kind regards,

Steve Thorpe
CMRB Administrator
s.thorpe@uel.ac.uk

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