The Religion and Society have announced a series of Faith Debates taking place at fortnightly, on Wednesdays at 5.30 – 7pm at RUSI, 61 Whitehall, SW1A 2ET

Between 2007-2012 £12m was invested by two research councils, the AHRC and ESRC, in the largest-ever funded research programme on ‘Religion and Society’. In this series leading academics will present findings arising from that research, for response by public figures. Together they will open up debate about the place of religion in public life today.

These events have been organised by Professor Linda Woodhead, Rt Hon Charles Clarke and Rebecca CattoFunded by the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme with the assistance of Theos

1. RELIGIOUS IDENTITY IN ‘SUPERDIVERSE’ SOCIETIES

This will be the first of the series, starting on Wednesday 08 February 2012, 5.30-7pm, 61 Whitehall

Britain is now one of the most diverse societies in the world, not just in terms of ethnicity, but the many different types of ‘Briton’, and their varied status and identities. What does this mean for policy and practice, where does religion come in, and what do other superdiverse societies have to tell us?

Contributors include, Therese O’Toole, Kim Knott, Trevor Phillips and Dominic Grieve

The remaining events include:

2. WHAT’S THE PLACE OF FAITH IN SCHOOLS?

22^nd Feb

Richard Dawkins, John Pritchard, Jim Conroy, Robert Jackson

3. WHAT HAVE WE LEARNED ABOUT RADICALISATION?

7^th March

Mehdi Hasan, Ed Husain, Mark Sedgwick, Marat Shterin, Mat Francis

4. WHAT ROLE FOR RELIGIOUS ORGANISATIONS IN AN ERA OF SHRINKING WELFARE?

21^st March

David Blunkett, Peter Smith, Adam Dinham, Sarah Johnsen

5. WHAT LIMITS TO RELIGIOUS FREEDOM?

18^th April

Lisa Appignanesi, Maleiha Malik, Peter Jones

6. WHAT ARE THE MAIN TRENDS IN RELIGION AND VALUES IN BRITAIN?

2^nd May

Aaqil Ahmed, Cole Moreton,  Linda Woodhead, Grace Davie

You can register for this Debate or any others by  emailing p.ainsworth@lancaster.ac.uk

When registering, please let us know which of the following categories best describes you ‘Academic’,‘FBOs and Voluntary Sector’, ‘Media’, ‘Policy’, ‘Religious Communities’ or ‘Other’