RELIGION AND BELIEF SURVEY RESULTS

Transcription

1 RELIGION AND BELIEF SURVEY RESULTS 1. Introduction This is a short report of the results of the recent survey on religion/belief (or none) conducted at the University of Bath in autumn Background An Equality Challenge Unit 1 document about religion and belief in Universities was presented to the Equalities and Diversity Committee for discussion. It was agreed that further research into the position in this institution should be undertaken. The new Equality Act 21 has since become law and is intended to ensure protection against discrimination, harassment and victimisation because of religion/belief or none. It also provides protection, if someone is mistakenly thought to belong to a religious group and is discriminated against because of that perception. A small group was formed consisting of the Equalities and Diversity Manager, University Chaplain, a Muslim academic, a representative of the s union and a trade union representative. It was decided that a survey of all staff and s would provide us with more information about relevant experiences at this university. The online survey took place from October to vember 21 and was open for 6 weeks. It was advertised on the web, through networks and through alerts. There was a good response people responded to the survey. In the chart below we can see that in relation to staff/ ratio at this institution that there was a higher response from staff being fifty nine percent of the respondents. We were interested to note that 82 staff and s answered that they partially identified with a religious/faith group. Chart 1- Do you identify with a religious/faith group? Staff UG PG taught PG research Other In chart one thirty six percent (36%) of all respondents said that they identified with a religious/faith group. The respondents who most identified was undergraduate s with 17 1 Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) is the higher education equality body, promoting equality and diversity in higher education. Religious observance in higher education, Briefing document, vember 29, ECU Page 1 of 7

2 sixty percent (6%) of them confirming that they have a religion/faith. The lowest percentage of those who identified with a religion/faith was staff at twenty nine percent (29%). 3. Religion/belief or none The anonymous online survey asked respondents to provide information about their chosen religion, belief or none. The majority of replies to this question identified staff and s as having no religion. As you can see the extensive list covered a range of world religions. Fifty nine people described their religion/belief as other. This number included eight agnostics, eleven atheists, seven humanists. Four described themselves as Jedi, with a further four stating that they were Pagans. Two people said that they were Quakers. Respondents expressed their views. One respondent described themselves as one who believes that religion and state, and all functions of state, should be kept separate. Another respondent said they believe in a mix of different religions, a more humanistic view. The remainder of responses indicated that they were searching for or embraced an appreciation that people were free to have their own beliefs, not necessarily being part of an organised religious group/belief. Table 1 Religion or none 3. What would you describe yourself as? a member of staff an undergraduate A postgraduate taught a postgraduate research Other Answer Totals Having no religion Baha'i 1 1 Buddhist Christian Hindu 2 2 Jain Jewish 1 1 Muslim Sikh Prefer not to say Other Totals What facilities/services are used on campus? The majority of respondents (47) said that they did not use any facilities or services on campus. This is reflected in responses to the question about religious needs on campus. Although 233 respondents self-identified as Christians only 67 used the Ecumenical Chaplaincy Centre. Numerically Christian s who responded to this question used the Chaplaincy more than staff. Of the 69 respondents who identified as Muslim (mainly s) all but 3 used the Muslim prayer room. This gives us an indication of the level of usage of facilities provided by the University. Page 2 of 7

3 Twenty three people reported that they used other facilities on campus. Most of these respondents were Christian Union members. They have a large membership and said that they meet in one of the larger lecture theatres on campus. One respondent stated that I find that pressure of work prevents me actively taking part in religious events. Another respondent expressed support for having the Chaplaincy Centre on campus by confirming that they had occasionally used the Chapel for private prayer following bereavement. Chart 2 Use of facilities on campus PG research PG taught UG Member of staff ne Muslim prayer room Chaplaincy/Chapel Catering for a range of dietary requirements (eg Kosher, Halal, vegan) Pastoral/faith support (eg priest, imam, rabbi) Other comments included use of the Students Union Jewish Society, socialising with fellow Muslims and use of campus grounds as a link to the natural world, for meditation etc were also listed under other campus facilities used. 5. How can the university meet or further meet the religious/faith needs of your group? In question 5 we posed this open question. t everybody responded to this question. Twenty two percent (147) of all respondents to the survey provided us with replies which can be grouped in this way:- A. Accommodation to worship was raised by twenty four per cent of those who replied to this question. i. The Ecumenical Chaplaincy Centre was built with funds raised by local Christian churches. There is insufficient space for this to be used as a multi-faith Centre. Occasionally other faiths have used the Centre for specific ceremonies, for example Diwali ( festival of lights" - an important five-day festival in Hinduism, Jainism, and Sikhism). The Jewish Chaplain for the South West regularly holds teaching sessions in the Centre. ii. Several respondents felt that the Chaplaincy should be a multi-faith space. iii. In this survey the majority of users of the Muslim prayer room were concerned that the facilities were inadequate for the number of users. The renovated ablution facilities were regarded as limiting the number of simultaneous users. There were comments about the lack of space both to place the Qur an and for personal possessions. There were remarks too about the peripatetic prayer room for Friday prayers when most need to pray at a certain hour during the day. They asked for a larger, regular location for Friday prayers which is currently held in different locations due to the space issue on campus. Page 3 of 7

4 iv. There were several requests for:- 1. a Sikh prayer room, 2. an Orthodox Christian chapel, and 3. a quiet space for meditation (one request was also made for an outside space for this). v. There was support for the existing Chaplaincy Centre provision of services I think the chaplaincy is an excellent facility and should be maintained. The chaplains cover a broad range of denominations, which is much needed. B. A range of comments were made about catering for various religious dietary requirements. i. The main issue raised by nine percent of those who responded to this question is that food such as Halal should be labelled in all retail outlets on campus. Halal meat which is not cooked in wine should be available if there is only one meat option on the menu. Muslims do not drink alcohol therefore cooking Halal meat in wine means that the meat is no longer edible to practising Muslims (this was mentioned by one respondent). ii. We should be mindful that the provision of Halal or Kosher meat causes issues for other religions that are forbidden to eat meat slaughtered following a ritual, for example, Sikhs are forbidden to eat Halal or Kosher meat. Choice of the meat available should be provided with clear labelling. iii. There was a request for the provision of dry catering facilities on campus in the evening where alcohol is not sold. iv. People who do not drink dairy milk mentioned the lack of awareness from some catering staff who use the same utensils to stir soya milk and dairy milk drinks. This would make it inedible to someone who is not permitted to drink dairy milk. C. Four percent of those who completed this question made positive comments about the current provision. One person mentioned the University Chaplain I think she does a very good job by being an embodiment of an inclusive Christian ethos and spirit. D. One respondent suggested that the University should subsidise an Imam, (maybe part time) to work on campus, maybe within the Chaplaincy team. The University provides part time administrative support to the Chaplaincy (2 hours a week during term time). Members of the Chaplaincy team are funded by their sending churches. E. Thirty five percent of respondents held various negative views about religion and belief being part of campus life and provided a variety of views to reflect their feelings that:- i. religious facilities should not be available or discussed on a secular campus dedicated to rational science and engineering, ii. they considered that they were subjected to unwarranted proselytizing, iii. that the university should aim to facilitate the search for truth and that continuing... the current policy is more a consequence of fear that you might be seen as culturally insensitive, iv. religious posters should be sensitive to those with no faith v. due to their atheist views the university should free up the spaces used for faith groups for education/research, and vi. worship should be kept private. 6. Religious needs at this University We asked respondents whether they know who to speak to about their religious needs. Thirty three percent (33%) of all respondents said they knew who to speak to, thirty percent (3%) said they did not know who to talk to and thirteen percent (13%) partially knew who to contact. In this question most staff members know who to speak to on campus. Finally, Page 4 of 7

5 twenty three percent (23%) of respondents did not answer this question. Chart three provides us with a breakdown. You can see in the chart that postgraduate taught and research s at thirty four percent (34%) and twenty percent (22%) respectively know who to speak to. Chart 3 Do you know who to speak to about your religious needs at this University? M ember of staff UG PG taught PG research Other The low percentage of postgraduate s who indicated that they know who to speak to could indicate that more work needs to be done to publicize the role of relevant people on campus such as the Ecumenical Chaplaincy team and the various faith faith groups. More publicity could also be undertaken during induction. 7. Information about the work of the University Chaplaincy Service. When asked this question fifty four percent (54%) of all respondents who answered this question said they knew how to obtain information about the work of the Chaplaincy, twenty nine percent (29%) said they did not know and seventeen percent (17%) said that they partially knew how to obtain information. If we look at the staff/ breakdown, of those who knew how to obtain information, forty nine percent (49%) were staff, thirty six percent (36%) undergraduate, twenty seven percent (27%) taught postgraduate and thirty percent (3%) research postgraduates. The remainder of respondents were from the other category. These results tell us that more work needs to be done to inform s about the facilities accessible through the University Chaplaincy Service. This could be through different media such as posters, leaflets and revised materials available at induction. Chart 4 Do you know how to obtain information about the work of the University Chaplaincy Service? M ember of staff UG PG taught PG research Other Page 5 of 7

6 8. Information about places of worship/faith centres and faith representatives t all respondents know how to obtain information on campus about places of worship/faith centres and faith representatives in the local area. This chart shows us the percentage of those who know how to obtain information by category. Thirty nine percent (39%) of all respondents know how to obtain information. At twenty eight percent (28%) postgraduate research s are the group who least know how to obtain information. Chart 5 Obtaining information about worship/faith centres Member of staff UG PG taught PG research Other These responses also indicate that we need to provide more varied information to staff and s. For those whose faith is important to them the provision of such information could influence the decision about the choice of university made by s. As in previous questions we might consider providing relevant information during induction and at other times during the year. Staff in general spend more years on campus and know who to approach to obtain information about places of worship/faith centres. 9. Any other reasonable religion/belief needs? In this final question which is a supplementary question linked to number 5 in the survey twelve percent (12%) of all respondents to this survey responded to this question. There were a range of responses. A. Thirty five percent (35%) of respondents to this question said that they felt that there was nothing else that needed to be done. B. Sixteen percent (16%) of respondents asked for a range of items associated with the Muslim faith such as :- a bigger Muslim prayer room in a permanent location, with a better layout, suitable ablution facilities, storage space (especially for the Qur an) and better toilet facilities. C. Fourteen percent (14%) of respondents said that the University should stop providing such facilities for a variety of reasons. These were listed as:- a. The issue is best addressed through home- not through work, b. The campus should be secular and that religion should be a private matter, c. They do not like minority faiths being brought to their attention, d. They are atheist and would like their needs to be catered for e. Graduations should be held in a secular space f. The University needs to stop spending money on any activity related to organised religion. D. Nine percent (9%) of respondents to this question asked for the needs of humanists to be catered for particularly in the form of assistance to create a humanist society. Page 6 of 7

7 General details can be provided to advise the university community how to form societies on campus. E. Eight percent (8%) of respondents to this question asked for more Halal food to be made available which is labelled and in more variety. Interestingly one respondent quoted the Halal Food Authority. These guidelines discuss for the humane stunning of animals before slaughter. The respondent asked for clarification as to whether the Halal meat sold on campus had been slaughtered in accordance with the Farm Animal Welfare Council report. F. A number of respondents asked for the following:- a. More information about the multi-faith belief community to be provided to s who are new to this country. b. Generic prayer room/meditation room not connected to any particular faith. c. Location for Tai Chi meditation. d. Seasonal events according to Orthodox Christian Church Holidays. e. Whilst I understand that the religious needs of s have to be addressed... it is not one my employer need be concerned with. Finally individual comments were that:- o All beliefs should be treated equally. o The loss of staff social space led to the use of the Chaplaincy centre at lunchtime. This was not a feasible alternative because the space is used by their s. Response by chaplain: The Chaplaincy has instigated dedicated staff space consisting of one day a week for one hour. o Reasonable religion/belief needs is an oxymoron The Ecumenical Chaplaincy Centre was built with external local Christian funds and further external funds would need to be found to build any additional facilities. Any additional uses would need to be supported within existing parameters which are already stretched. In this report it is clear that we need to acknowledge that it is important to strike the balance between making provision to meet the religious needs and the academic needs of staff and s. Focus Group Due to the extremely good response to this survey it was felt that there was no need for additional input and the 32 volunteer focus group members were thanked for their offer of further assistance and informed of the decision. Conclusion A number of issues were raised in this survey and they are the subject of further discussion. Author: Marlene Bertrand Equalities and Diversity Manager Page 7 of 7