Faith in the public realm: Controversies, policies and practices

Description

The public presence of religious faith in the UK and other Western nations is persistently and increasingly evident, despite the belief that it would retreat into insignificance and private obscurity. Policy makers now actively seek to engage with faiths in the provision of public services, local governance and the search for community cohesion.Faith in the public realm takes an explicitly multi-faith perspective, exploring the controversies, policies and practices of 'public faith'. It questions perceptions of a fixed divide between religious and secular participants in public life and challenges prevailing concepts of a monolithic 'neutral' public realm. Based on primary research, the book takes an in-depth look at the distinctiveness of faith groups' contribution, but also probes the conflicts and dilemmas that arise. It assesses the role and capacity of faith groups within specific public policy contexts - including education, regeneration, housing and community cohesion - and pays particular attention to the activities of young people and of women. Faith in the public realm addresses a new and increasingly important topic and so will be of interest to students, academics, policy-makers and practitioners in the public and voluntary sectors, and in faith communities themselves.

Adam Dinham is Reader, and Director of the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths College, University of London. He has practiced as a Social Worker and Community Development Worker and researches extensively on the public role of faiths. He is also Visiting Professor at the University of Calgary and advisor to the Faith Based Regeneration Network.Robert Furbey is Principal Lecturer in Urban Sociology at Sheffield Hallam University. He has contributed to several major research projects exploring the engagement of religious organisations and communities in public life. Professor Vivien Lowndes is Pro Vice Chancellor (Research) at De Montfort University, Leicester. She has published widely on local governance and citizen participation, and has undertaken pioneering research on the changing role of faith groups in public life.

"This book could not be more urgently relevant, especially for those decision-makers currently grappling with seemingly intractable challenges in complex communities. Its special value, however, is the long-term commitment of the authors to painstaking enquiry and analysis. The result is more practical than polemical and all the more useful for it." Lord Paul Tyler, Chair of the Faiths and Civil Society Unit, Goldsmiths, University of London "This is a timely volume. ...well edited and well presented..." James A Beckford in Journal of Contemporary Religion "...an invaluable read for practitioners and policy-makers as well as academics interested in the area." Rebecca Catto in Sociology