Kwame Appiah (2014) dissects the dictionary definition of ‘Religion as a belief in god and spiritual things’. In a way he juxtaposes this by saying, its not as simple as this; faith and spiritual beliefs are not one thing, but an array of elements or systems of beliefs. This links directly to what Singh S (2016) says in Trinity Universities video that you can’t (and shouldn’t) paint a single community with a single brush stroke. Meaning, that with in a religion or a belief system there will be many different lived experiences of that belief, i.e. differences exist within communities and we must challenge stereotypes. Jawad, H (2022) also highlights the need to challenge stereotypes in her articles on Islam, women and sports. This made me circle back to representation with in Acting and Performance (and Theatre Making in general) and reminded me of an blog post by Kanita T (2022) on Muslim representation in film and television. Both Kanita and Jawad discuss the dangers of stereotypes and in a sense, how the body is viewed through a type casted lens. Both reiterate Appiah and Singhs point, that, much like how a single person experiences a disability will differ from one person to another, the experience of a religion or faith will be diverse with in a community. This begs the question therefore, why representation in performance tends to stereotype so much. Here, I believe that Appiah’s (2014) point about Colonialism and European views of religion come in to play, where religion or different faiths are often viewed through a Christian centric (euro-centric) culture of ‘What do others have that isn’t like or is like Christianity”, which centres the experience through a Christian culture. I believe has lead to representation in performance being more often than not stereotyping. As I write this, I am aware that this is a huge topic, and I’m simplifying it massively.
Rekis (2023) discusses Intersectionality within identity and epistemic injustice. This “dense” article highlights (for me) a point that is important, that marginalization won’t be the same for all students who are religious. For example, a Christian in the UK will have a different sense of marginalization to that a (for example), Buddhist, or a Hindu etc. ‘A student within a religious minority may have a decreased sense of wellbeing and an increased religious scepticism’. Therefore, a better understanding of the impact or religion and epistemic injustice for a student requires a better understanding of religious identity and the differences within different identities. This article made me think about the admissions process, and how, for example the data that we measure rarely displays religion. Other protected characteristics are available in the admissions process (if an applicant allows it), but religion (to my knowledge) is not one of them. I’m not saying it should be, but it is an interesting observation. I also thought about the ever growing community students from main land China, and I question, How are we supporting or understanding their beliefs, and multi faceted connections to faith?. I highlight this community of students, since they make up on average 70-80% of the overseas student population and I often wonder just how much or how little we (as an organisation) are doing to support their inclusion.
…So my food for thought keeps circling around representation within performance, but also within the admissions process.
Refernces
Appiah, K.A. (2014). Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question.) TED. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2et2KO8gcY [Accessed 17 May 2025].
Kantia, T (2022) https://ktariq.medium.com/muslim-representation-in-film-and-television-d53db37178b4
Jawad, H. (2022). Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. LSE Religion and Global Society. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/ [Accessed 17 May 2025].
Rekis, J. (2023). Religious Identity and Epistemic Injustice: An Intersectional Account. Hypatia, 38, pp.779–800.
Trinity University. (2016). Challenging Race, Religion, and Stereotypes in the Classroom. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CAOKTo_DOk [Accessed 17 May 2025].
Hi Cat, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I found your reflections on representation in performance and religious stereotypes very relevant. Your point about belief systems often being understood through a eurocentric lens connects well with Appiah’s and Singh’s ideas about the range of experiences within communities. I also thought your focus on what is made visible or not in university structures was important. It also made me reflect on how institutions can recognise different forms of identity while maintaining consistency in how perspectives are approached. Your engagement with Rekis’s discussion of epistemic injustice brought attention to how different religious identities may also experience exclusion in different ways. Thank you again for your post!
Hi Cat,
Thank you for your reflection – it was really interesting particularly through the lens of performance. I really liked that you highlighted Singh’s ideas of stereotypes and communities, not painting with a single brush stroke, which is so important on all fronts. The euro-centric comment about belief systems is really resonant, and helped me to think about my own thoughts around my own beliefs and approach to religion as a whole. The dissecting of the admissions process was also very insightful, particularly how data measured rarely displays religion – really interesting. All in all, great blog post, thank you!