- Do the regulatory standards require religious literacy of U.K. health and social care professionals? Crisp, Beth R and Dinham, Adam. 2019. Do the regulatory standards require religious literacy of U.K. health and social care professionals? Social Policy & Administration, 53(7), pp. 1081-1094. ISSN 0144-5596
- Are the Profession’s Education Standards Promoting the Religious Literacy Required for Twenty-First Century Social Work Practice? Crisp, Beth R and Dinham, Adam. 2019. Are the Profession’s Education Standards Promoting the Religious Literacy Required for Twenty-First Century Social Work Practice? British Journal of Social Work, 49(6), pp. 1544-1562. ISSN 0045-3102
- Towards a Theory and Practice of Religious Literacy: A Case Study of Religion and Belief Engagement in a UK University Dinham, Adam; Francis, Matthew and Shaw, Martha. 2017. Towards a Theory and Practice of Religious Literacy: A Case Study of Religion and Belief Engagement in a UK University. Religions, 8(12), 276. ISSN 2077-1444
- Reevaluating Value in Faith Based Social Action Dinham, Adam. 2017. Reevaluating Value in Faith Based Social Action. Voluntary Sector Review, 8(2), pp. 205-218. ISSN 2040-8056
- Religious Literacy Through Religious Education: The Future of Teaching and Learning about Religion and Belief Dinham, Adam and Shaw, M. 2017. Religious Literacy Through Religious Education: The Future of Teaching and Learning about Religion and Belief. Religions, 8(7), 119. ISSN 2077-1444
- New Interdisciplinary Spaces of Religions and Beliefs in Contemporary Thought and Practice: An Analysis Dinham, Adam and Baker, Christopher. 2017. New Interdisciplinary Spaces of Religions and Beliefs in Contemporary Thought and Practice: An Analysis. Religions, 8(2), 16. ISSN 2077-1444
- Measurement as Reflection in Faith-Based Social Action Dinham, Adam and Shaw, Martha. 2012. Measurement as Reflection in Faith-Based Social Action. Community Development Journal, 47(1), pp. 126-141. ISSN 0010-3802
- The Multi-faith Paradigm in Policy and Practice: Problems, Challenges, Directions Dinham, Adam. 2012. The Multi-faith Paradigm in Policy and Practice: Problems, Challenges, Directions. Social Policy and Society, 11(4), pp. 577-587. ISSN 1474-7464
- Religion, Public Policy, and the Academy: Brokering Public Faith in a Context of Ambivalence? Dinham, Adam and Jones, Stephen. 2012. Religion, Public Policy, and the Academy: Brokering Public Faith in a Context of Ambivalence? Journal of Contemporary Religion, 27(2), pp. 185-201. ISSN 1353-7903
- What is a ‘faith community’? Dinham, Adam. 2011. What is a ‘faith community’? Community Development Journal, 46(4), pp. 526-541.
- From Faith in the City to Faithful Cities: The `Third Way', the Church of England and Urban Regeneration Dinham, Adam. 2008. From Faith in the City to Faithful Cities: The `Third Way', the Church of England and Urban Regeneration. Sage Urban Studies Abstracts, 45(10), pp. 2163-2174.
- Religion, Resources and Representation: three narratives of engagement in British urban governance Dinham, Adam and Lowndes, Vivien. 2008. Religion, Resources and Representation: three narratives of engagement in British urban governance. Urban Affairs Review, 43(6), pp. 817-845. ISSN 1078-0874
Prof. Adam Dinham
Staff details

Position
Professor of Faith & Public Policy
Department
Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies
a.dinham (@gold.ac.uk)
Links
Goldsmiths Research Centres/Groups
Professor of Faith and Public Policy, and co-head of department of Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies
Adam Dinham 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). He is co-head of the department of Social, Therapeutic and Community Studies and director of the Faiths & Civil Society Unit, Goldsmiths. He is also Professor of Religion and Belief Literacy at VID University, Oslo, Norway, Fellow of the Westminster Abbey Institute for Faith and Public Life, and former Chair of the BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group (2015-18).
Academic qualifications
- BA Theology & Religious Studies, Cambridge University 1996
- MA Theology & Religious Studies, Cambridge University 2000
- MA Applied Social Studies and Social Policy, Brunel University 2001
- Diploma in Social Work 2001
- PGDiploma in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 2003
- PhD Politics, Goldsmiths, University of London 2005
- Advanced Diploma in Counselling P& Psychotherapy 2020
Teaching and supervision
- MPhil/PhD Religious Studies
- Religion, Belief and Spirituality in Professional Practice
- MA Applied Anthropology, Community Development and Youth Work
Research interests
Adam's interests coalesce in a social justice framing of religion and belief as a protected characteristic in equality policy and practice, across the public sphere but particularly in health and social care, and in schools. Coming from a secular perspective, he has pioneered and popularized the concept of ‘religion and belief literacy’ as a social justice tool in these settings and, with ESRC and AHRC support, researched public policy gaps and needs, initiating a Religion and Belief Policy Network to help public policy makers and regulators develop effective policy for workplaces in this area.
Featured publications
2020:
Dinham A (2020) Religion and Belief Literacy: Reconnecting a Chain of Learning Bristol: Policy Press
Monograph
2018:
Baker C, Crisp B.R and Dinham A (eds) (2018) Re-imagining Religion and Belief for 21st Century Policy and Practice Bristol and Chicago: Policy Press
Co-edited research collection
2019:
Crisp B and Dinham A (2019a) Are the Profession’s Education Standards Promoting the Religious Literacy Required for Twenty-First Century Social Work P
Journal article
2019:
Crisp B and Dinham A (2019b) Do the Regulatory Standards Require Religious Literacy of Health and Social Care Professionals? Social Policy and Adminis
Journal article
2018:
Dinham A (2018) Religion and Belief in Health and Social Care: the case for Religious Literacy International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare vol
Journal article
Grants and awards
2019:
Muslim participation in elite arts and culture
AHRC Collaborative doctoral studentship award
2019:
Reimagining Religion and Belief for Policy and Practice
AHRC research project
2018:
Innovative Teaching and Learning of Religion and Belief in UK schools
Culham St Gabriel's Trust
Publications and research outputs
Book
- Religion and Belief Literacy: Reconnecting a Chain of Learning Dinham, Adam. 2020. Religion and Belief Literacy: Reconnecting a Chain of Learning. Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 9781447344650
- Re-imagining Religion and Belief: 21st Century Policy and Practice Baker, Christopher; Crisp, Beth and Dinham, Adam. 2018. Re-imagining Religion and Belief: 21st Century Policy and Practice. Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 9781447347095
- Faith & Social Capital After the Debt Crisis Dinham, Adam. 2012. Faith & Social Capital After the Debt Crisis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-0230276987
Edited Book
- Religious Literacy in Policy and Practice Dinham, Adam and Francis, Matthew, eds. 2015. Religious Literacy in Policy and Practice. Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 978-1447316664
- Faith in the Public Realm: controversies, policies and practices Dinham, Adam; Furney, Rob and Lowndes, Vivien, eds. 2009. Faith in the Public Realm: controversies, policies and practices. Bristol: Policy Press. ISBN 978-1847420299
Book Section
- Religious Literacy in Modern Europe, in Religious Literacy, Law and History: perspectives on European Pluralist Societies Davie, Grace and Dinham, Adam. 2018. Religious Literacy in Modern Europe, in Religious Literacy, Law and History: perspectives on European Pluralist Societies. In: Alberto Melloni and Francesca Caddedu, eds. Religious Literacy, Law and History: Perspectives on European Pluralist Societies. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 17-28. ISBN 9781138303645
- Religious Literacy and Public and Professional Settings Dinham, Adam. 2017. Religious Literacy and Public and Professional Settings. In: Beth Crisp, ed. Routledge International Handbook of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work. Melbourne: Routledge.
- Religious Illiteracy in Modern Europe Dinham, Adam and Davie, Grace. 2017. Religious Illiteracy in Modern Europe. In: Francesca Caddedu and A;berto Melloni, eds. European Religious Illiteracy in a Pluralistic Context. Bologne: Fondazione per le Scienze Religiose Giovanni XXIII.
Article
- Reimagining Religion and Belief in the Public Sphere Dinham, Adam. 2020. Reimagining Religion and Belief in the Public Sphere. Modern Believing, 61(2), pp. 141-151. ISSN 1353-1425
- Are codes of ethics promoting religious literacy for social work practice? Crisp, Beth R and Dinham, Adam. 2020. Are codes of ethics promoting religious literacy for social work practice? Australian Social Work, 73(2), pp. 204-216. ISSN 0312-407X
- The role of occupational standards in workplace religious literacy Crisp, Beth and Dinham, Adam. 2020. The role of occupational standards in workplace religious literacy. Journal of Beliefs and Values, 41(3), pp. 358-370. ISSN 1361-7672
Conference or Workshop Item
- Religion and Belief in Universities Dinham, Adam. 2010. 'Religion and Belief in Universities'. In: Higher Education Equal Opportunities Network. Warwick University, United Kingdom June 2010.
- Faith, Welfare and Social Justice Dinham, Adam. 2010. 'Faith, Welfare and Social Justice'. In: British Sociological Association conference. Glasgow Caledonian University, United Kingdom.
- Why Faith Matters to Community Cohesion Dinham, Adam. 2010. 'Why Faith Matters to Community Cohesion'. In: ESRC/Institute for Community Cohesion seminar. Goldsmiths, United Kingdom April 2010.
Professional Activity
- Association of Commonwealth Universities directorship Dinham, Adam. Association of Commonwealth Universities directorship.
- CoExistence Trust, House of Lords - Advisor Dinham, Adam. CoExistence Trust, House of Lords - Advisor.
Project
- Adapting community impact tools for faith based community action Dinham, Adam. 2010-2011 Adapting community impact tools for faith based community action.
- Religious Literacy Leadership in Higher Education Dinham, Adam. 2009-2011 Religious Literacy Leadership in Higher Education.
- Religion and Society network on faith, young people and civil society Dinham, Adam. 2009-2011 Religion and Society network on faith, young people and civil society.
Report
- RE for REal: the future of teaching and learning about religion and belief Dinham, Adam and Shaw, Martha. 2015. RE for REal: the future of teaching and learning about religion and belief. Project Report. FCSU, London.
- More than Measurement: assessing quality through reflection in faith based social action Dinham, Adam; Finneron, Doreen; Summer, S and Winter, J. 2011. More than Measurement: assessing quality through reflection in faith based social action. Other. FbRN, London.
- Religious Literacy Leadership Programme Evaluation Dinham, Adam and Jones, Stephen. 2011. Religious Literacy Leadership Programme Evaluation. Other. London
Professional projects
Adam Dinham also works as a counselling therapist in private practice.
Co-director, Religion and belief Literacy Partnership, providing training on religion and belief literacy in workplaces
Conferences and talks
2019: NHS Employers Conference on Spirituality in the Workplace, Leeds, UK, July 2019
2019: Asian Firefighters National Conference, keynote, Sheffield, UK, November 2019
2019: The Challenge of Public Religion, Uppsala University, Sweden, April 2019
2016: Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia, New Interdisciplinary Spaces of Religions and Belief in Thinking and Practice: an analysis 3 November 2016
2016: Harvard Divinity School, Cambridge, USA, Religion in a Plural Age: religious literacy – contested and pressing 9 July 2016
2016: University of Essen, Germany, Religious Literacy and Diversity in German Universities, 30 June 2016
2015: Cambridge University, AHRC Cambridge Festival of Ideas (10 year celebratory event) Panellist keynote The Future of Teaching and Learning about Relig