Keynote Speakers and Panel Members
Keynote Speakers
Professor Linda Woodhead
Professor Linda Woodhead from Lancaster University, who is Director of the AHRC/ESRC Religion and Society Programme, has confirmed that she will be attending the conference as one of the keynote speakers. She will give an overview of the changing place of religion and spirituality in professional practice.
Based on an overview of recent research, her paper will discuss the changing nature and place of religion in professional practice in recent decades. It will consider how religion has interacted with changing government policy and legislation, the market, and society more broadly. It will discuss religion in areas including education, healthcare, and welfare provision. It identifies some general trends which have impacts across these areas.
Linda is Professor of the Sociology of Religion at Lancaster University. Her interest is religion and change in contemporary society. She currently directs a 12m UK research programme on 'Religion and Society', consisting of 75 separate projects. Her publications include A Sociology of Religious Emotion (2010, with Ole Riis), The Spiritual Revolution: Why Religion is Giving Way to Spirituality (2005 with Paul Heelas), and An Introduction to Christianity (2004).
Panel Members
Philip Lewis
Dept of Peace Studies, University of Bradford
As well as writing extensively on 'Muslims in Britain' and Christian- Muslim relations' my particular interests turn on how religiously and ethnically diverse cities and societies might enable human flourishing, as well as deal with intractable value conflicts in a non-violent way. To this end I am convinced that professionals who work in such contexts need to have 'religious literacy' as part of their professional toolkit. This includes the need to multiply 'safe institutional spaces' where people who belong to the different world religions or who self-describe as 'secular' can meet and develop a vocabulary to talk about sensitive and difficult issues.
Nasima Patel
Nasima Patel is the Executive Director, services for children and families, NSPCC. She has been employed by the NSPCC for 11 years, as a practice manager, then as children's services manager employed to develop an action research project for sexually exploited young people in east London. Key areas of focus for practice and policy have been sexual abuse, especially sexual exploitation. Before joining the NSPCC, she was a local authority social worker in Bradford and then was a social worker/senior social worker for the London borough of Hackney.
