People in the Faiths and Civil Society Unit

Meet the staff involved with the Faiths and Civil Society Unit.

Primary page content

Professor Chris Baker Profile Photo

Professor Chris Baker

Christopher Baker is William Temple Professor of Religion and Belief in Public Life and Director of the William Temple Foundation. He has degrees in both English Language and Literature (BA Hons, Manchester University), Theology (B.Th, the M.Th University of Southampton and University of London) and Religion and Urban Planning (PhD, Manchester University). 

Andy Turner

Andy Turner has worked for over three decades in community and youth work, as a practitioner, activist, trainer, researcher and manager in some of the poorest parts of England.

In the 1990’s Andy co-founded The Kabin and The Hackney Marsh Partnership, working with East London communities to provide education, training and employment projects, advice services, social enterprise and youth work.  

 

Dr Ekaterina Braginskaia

Dr Ekaterina Braginskaia is Digital Researcher at the Faiths and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths, University of London. She is also Digital Learning Lead at the Willam Temple Foundation, engaged in developing online short courses and events about the role of religion in public life. 

 

Dr Rozina Anwar

Rozina Anwar is a psychologist and lecturer and affiliated with the Faith and Civil Society Unit at Goldsmiths. Her research interest lies in dissenting voices in psychoanalytic communities. She is also interested in the notion of the "infidel" - how labels and language influence identity, inclusion, and exclusion. 

Dr Naomi Thompson profile Photo

Dr Naomi Thompson

I am a sociologist of youth and religion with research specialisms covering young people, youth work, religion and crime. I am experienced in mixed methods research with a preference for qualitative narrative methods. I am currently working on a 3 year evaluation of a Women’s Project for the ACAA, a local charity in Deptford.

Panagiotis Pentaris Profile Photo

Panagiotis Pentaris

Dr Pentaris has been researching and publishing about death, dying and bereavement for over 14 years, with a particular focus on the socio-political conceptions and contestations of death, as well as the intersections of religion, faith and non-belief with death and dying. His work has a wider scope and is underpinned by social work, as well as social policy foundations. 

Adam Dinham profile Photo‌‌‌

‌‌‌Professor Adam Dinham, Director

Adam Dinham is Professor of Faith and Public Policy and Head of the School of Culture and Society. Adam combines Applied Social Studies and Social Policy (MA, Brunel), Politics (PhD, Goldsmiths), and Sociology (former chair, BSA Sociology of Religion) with Theology and Religious Studies (BA, MA, Cambridge), alongside professional qualifications in children’s Social Work (DipSW, Brunel), Community Development and Youth Work (Brunel), and Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP, UWE).

His research interests focus on a social justice framing of religion and belief as a protected characteristic in equality policy and practice, particularly across health and social care and schools. Central themes include religious literacy in the public sphere, the role of faith-based organisations in the mixed economy of welfare, and theories and practices of faith-based social action.

 

Professor Simon Dein

Simon Dein is Visiting Professor at the Department of Anthropology. He is a consultant psychiatrist in Essex UK specializing in rehabilitation and liaison psychiatry. He holds a PhD in social anthropology from University College London where he currently teaches as a Senior Lecturer. He is an honorary clinical professor at Durham University where he runs an MSc in Spirituality, Theology and Health.

 

Explore the fellows, visiting scholars and researchers within the Faiths and Civil Society Unit.