Researching Religion and Diversity

Researching religion and diversity in the  twenty-first century city just got a lot easier. Two excellent resources worth checking out are –

• Research Methods for the Study of Religion, University of Kent, UK
• The Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity, Germany.

In a majority urban world where communities are increasingly interlinked and fluid and religious faith an ever more significant player in local, national and global politics such resources are invaluable. See what you think…

 

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The Power of Ideas

The urban studies theorist Manuel Castells argued that even the most powerful state cannot keep people in check when ‘minds are mobilised’. The liberation educator Paulo Freire called this ‘conscientisation’ or ‘critical awareness’ and the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci part of the long ‘cultural war of position’. In the Christian Gospels Jesus suggests that truth sets people free and urges his followers to ‘ask, seek and knock’….Here are just a few web based resources for us all as we seek that truth and the mobilised minds of which Castells speaks –

• The Broker – Connecting Worlds of Knowledge
• TED – Ideas Worth Spreading
• Research Methods for the Study of Religion
• Max Planck Institute for the Study of Religious and Ethnic Diversity
• BBC Religion and Ethics
• Ekklesia – a New Way of Thinking
• Demos
• The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life
• URBLOG – Urban Life and Faith
• City – Urban trends, Culture, Theory, Policy, Action
• UN Habitat – For a Better Urban Future
• The William Temple Foundation
• Faith in an Urban World
• BBC Urban Planet
• Liberation Theology
• The Paulo Freire Project