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Religion in Britain is in overall decline and 'no religion' is growing, but one-third of schools in the State sector in England and Wales are 'schools with a religious designation' ('faith schools'). Historically, these were Protestant and Catholic Church schools, but new faith schools have been established by Churches and other faiths. Governments of all parties have encouraged this development, chiefly on the grounds of increased parental choice and improved quality. The research presented here provides evidence about the operation of faith schools in the English city of Leicester in 2016, particularly from the perspective of those choosing a school. The main objectives are (1) to indicate the diversity of faith schools, (2) to show how they present themselves to those looking for a school: their admission requirements and level of educational attainment and (3) to reflect on the claim that faith schooling offers more and better choice and quality. Leicester is selected for its size and diversity; it is small enough to study with the resources available to us and is one of the most multi-ethnic and multi-faith urban areas in England. Research was carried out between February and July 2016 and offers a snapshot from that year.

Drawing on surveys of religion and values in Great Britain, this paper suggests that Peter Berger's paradigm of two pluralisms can be usefully supplemented by taking account of a third kind of intensified pluralism. This involves the breakdown of the boundaries between religions, and between the religious and the secular, and is therefore a pluralism of de-differentiation. It helps explain many features of contemporary religion and identity, including the rise of the 'nones' and the increasing reluctance of each new generation to identify with religious (and secular) labels and packages., Author(s): Linda Woodhead[sup.1] Author Affiliations: Linda Woodhead is Professor of Sociology of Religion in the Department of Politics, Philosophy, and Religion at Lancaster University. She co-directs the Institute for Social [...]

There is a substantial body of literature on Muslims and Islam in Europe, which largely focuses on institutionalized forms of Islam such as social movements or issues pertaining to discrimination [...]

To purchase or authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-4446.2007.00181.x Byline: Linda Woodhead (1) Author Affiliation: (1)Department of Religious Studies, University of Lancaster Article History: (Date accepted: November 2007) Article note: email: l.woodhead@lancs.ac.uk