Rendering Unto Caesar?: Ethical and Methodological Issues in Working for Government on Researching Religion
This article examines ethics in study, teaching and research in relation to religions. While some disciplines have explicit codes of research ethics, the study of religion in the UK has only the 2005 Framework for Professional Practice that was produced by the Association of University Departments o...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
|
| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
[publisher not identified]
2007
|
| In: |
Diskus
Year: 2007, Volume: 8 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (kostenfrei) |
| Parallel Edition: | Electronic
|
| Summary: | This article examines ethics in study, teaching and research in relation to religions. While some disciplines have explicit codes of research ethics, the study of religion in the UK has only the 2005 Framework for Professional Practice that was produced by the Association of University Departments of Theology and Religious Studies (AUDTRS). This Framework is largely concerned with ‘personalist' issues affecting the scholar, while not really paying attention to the possible ethical implications involved in undertaking research for the government and other public bodies. Since the establishment of the major Research Council programme on "Religion and Society", more attention needs to be paid to such issues. The article does this by reference to two case studies of recent research projects in which the author has been involved. The first was a research project for the Home Office in 1999-2001, examining the nature and extent of religious discrimination in England and Wales. The second was a review of the evidence base on the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh populations of England in relation to the strategic policy areas of the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Reflecting on these case studies, the article explores: working within given terms of reference; working within contractual and legal constraints; the role of explicit and implicit stakeholders; issues around "facts and figures"; and matters to do with media coverage. Its conclusion affirms the importance of engaging in research that is willing in principle to work for government, but which proceeds on the basis of a contextually and professionally aware axionalysis. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 0967-8948 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Diskus
|