Goldsmiths - University of London

The Faiths & Civil Society Unit is a centre of excellence linking research, policy and practice in the field of faith-based social action.

‘Civil Society’ is not only as important as ever: it has also become a focus of policy at the heart of government. But civil society is more than a current political idea. It has been debated and discussed by social scientists, philosophers, theologians and others for centuries. And the way in which people participate in civil society depends on their capacity and skills, as well as what governments do to shape civil society spaces.

The Faiths & Civil Society Unit provides practical solutions to the challenges of ‘doing’ civil society through:

• informed, rigorous debate and theory;
• new and innovative research in practical settings;
• intensive networking between researchers, policy-makers and key practitioners.

We make the links between strongly informed policy-making, well-resourced practice and highly engaged research. Examples of the sorts of themes which arise include:

• Is faith based social action legitimate in the public sphere or is religion a private matter and a public irrelevance? 
• Should faith communities respond to their political contexts?
• In a market environment, what role do faith communities play in the participation and ‘voice’ of women and oppressed minorities?
• In a religiously plural context, which faith traditions participate, how and why? 
• What do faith communities do with regards to poverty, marginalization, dignity and human rights?
• What are the effects of engaging in competitive processes, welfare markets and service delivery for and of faith communities?
• Do faith communities bring anything distinctive or additional to the public realm and how should public realms understand them?