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Sondra Hausner's AHRC-funded project, Vernacular Religion, grew out of her existing work with Nepalis around the world, and especially in the UK. Conducted in close collaboration with the Centre for Nepal Studies-UK, an organization run by Nepali social scientists for the benefit of Nepalis living in Britain, Hausner's research has taken up the multiple religious identities of the Nepali community in the UK. Based on voluntarily collected social data, her team's work led to a much clearer recognition of the specific cultural, social and religious profile of this migrant community. This information, of vital importance as British Nepalis define their identity and their roles in the wider society of Great Britain and transnationally, was fed back into the community through various channels including the non-academic publication Nepalis in the UK: An Overview (Adhikari, ed., CNS-UK 2012), participation in community integration programmes, and feedback sessions where findings of the team's research were discussed with community representatives, religious leaders, and policymakers.
Adam Dinham's work on religious literacy in secular contexts plays a substantial role in challenging and enabling policy makers, educators and publics to engage with religion and belief identity and plurality. He established the Religious Literacy Programme (RLP) to address the poor quality of conversation about religion and belief amongst policy-makers and professionals which his work has observed. It began with substantial funding from HEFCE to research and respond to approaches to religion and belief in universities in the context of extremism. This drew attention to religion and belief as significant but poorly understood and addressed identities. The programme then translated findings into practice-focused training which has been extensively delivered. RLP now also works with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) and the Government Equalities Office (GEO) on religious literacy for employers, trades unions, and service providers, following the same intentional cycle of research translated in to training, and is part of a very senior initiative, led by EHRC, to review law and policy at a strategic level. The RLP entered in to partnership with Cambridge University in 2011 and the Coexist Foundation (based in London and Washington) in 2012 with the goal of founding a permanent public home in a purpose built centre in London. This is being taken forward in ways described below.
From 2008, University of Leeds research on Christianity and sexuality has changed both the form and the content of church discussions of sexuality, mainly but not only within the global Anglican Communion. The relevant Leeds-based research is Ward's work on sexuality and global Anglicanism (2002-); an international study of Anglican/Episcopal churches (2008-2010); and Muers' work on theology, sexuality and gender (2007-). Specifically, Leeds research shaped the design and evaluation of the Anglican Communion's "Continuing Indaba" (2008-) process. Leeds research has also informed the content of that debate, and in promoting understanding of under- recognised perspectives in wider debates on sexuality.
LSE research has contributed to institutional capacity building and to the renewal of the study of religion in the former Soviet Union. More specifically, the LSE anthropologist Mathijs Pelkmans has contributed to the training of a new generation of local scholars in Georgia, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia; he has helped introduce these scholars to contemporary research and to innovative methodologies, and has mentored them in critical social science. As stated in one of the testimonials: "the ultimate value of Mathijs' engagement has been to intensify dialogue between different research, educational, and broadly scholarly traditions, and thereby to facilitate our own efforts to develop a discipline which is relatively new in Central Asia".
Textile-heritage research at the University of Leeds has informed and improved public awareness and understanding of textile heritages among target audiences, especially school children, community groups, volunteers, interns and teachers. Through hands-on workshops, conventional publications, talks and lectures, a strong website presence and public exhibitions, the research has engaged and inspired audiences, and has underpinned a `best practice' resource for other museums and archives. Impact is demonstrated through direct feedback from workshop participants, evidence of community engagement, commentary in the visitors' book, website hits, and also from accreditations, awards and endorsements from key national arts organisations in recognition of initiatives enhancing public appreciation of textile heritages.
The University of Leeds has a long-established reputation for research into the identification of stamps used by potters on terra sigillata (`samian ware'), a key dating indicator for archaeological excavations on sites in the western Roman empire.
Publication of the illustrated index of these names in nine volumes, complemented by the ongoing release of the data to an online database, has made this research more accessible.
The index has given archaeologists — primarily community and commercial archaeologists beyond academia — a powerful resource for identifying samian pottery and dating the strata where it is found. It has also provided a valuable tool for museums' educational work.
The literature of the Victorian era has an enduring popular interest, as evidenced by the plethora of film and television adaptations of novels and authors' biographies. Though this popularization has brought Victorian literature to the foreground, there is a need for the public to be better informed about this literature. Members of the English UOA are engaged in research into Victorian literature and have drawn on this research to help members of the public gain better understanding and deeper appreciation of this literature. They have achieved this through public lectures, seminars, and poetry readings, as well as at events organized through links fostered with local galleries.
This case study focuses on the reach and significance of the impact achieved particularly by a body of research conducted from within the Centre for Society, Religion and Belief, and especially involving the work of Weller and Cheruvallil-Contractor. This has especially informed policy development in the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC); the Equality Challenge Unit (ECU); and the Department of Communities and Local Government. Finally, it has equipped broader users of research in public, private, voluntary and community, and religion or belief sector organisations to develop their policy development and practice in a more evidence-based way.
Professor Benjamin Kaplan is a pioneer of what has been called `the new history of toleration', which is of great significance to the public's understanding of the possibilities for peaceful coexistence between people of different faiths in the post-9/11 world. More than any other work in this revisionist school of historical writing, Kaplan's book Divided by Faith has been read and discussed by journalists, human rights organisations, churches and other non-academic audiences in North America, Britain and The Netherlands; it has also widely been used in university teaching. Kaplan's research has thus profoundly influenced public discourse and academic education regarding the history and character of religious toleration.
This case study assesses the impact of a series of knowledge exchange and public engagement projects undertaken in London and Northern Ireland between 2009 and 2013. These projects have made innovative applied use of a substantial body of research into modern British and Irish religious history conducted in the Unit.
This activity has: