Resources : Faith

• Legislation - Faith
• Statistics - Faith
• Service Delivery - Faith
• Employment & Staffing - faith

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Legislation - Faith

Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003
The regulations cover direct and indirect discrimination as well as the handling of harassment at the workplace because of a person's religion or belief.
The regulations recognise very specific circumstances in which holding certain religious or other beliefs will be a genuine occupational requirement.

Equality Act 2006
Part 2 of the Equality Act prohibits discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief in the provision of goods, facilities and services, education premises and the exercise of public functions.
The Act also alters the definition of religion or belief as set out in the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 so as to protect individuals from being discriminated against on the grounds of "lack of belief" (effective October 2006).

Racial and Religious Hatred Act 2006
This Act makes it unlawful to stir up hatred against people because of their religious beliefs or lack of them. These can include criminal acts, antisocial behaviour, abuse or harassment or the display of written material that is threatening, abusive or insulting with the intention or likely effect of stirring up hatred. One of the key objectives of the Act is to close the loophole where race legislation protects mono-ethnic groups such as Jews and Sikhs but not multi-ethnic faith groups such as Muslims.

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Statistics - Faith

Review of the Evidence Base on Faith Communities ((ODPM, April 2006) The importance of religion in defining identity, particularly among minority groups, is increasingly recognised. This report will therefore be of particular interest to service providers as it looks at the demographic, socio-economic and cultural characteristics of 'emerging' faith communities. It looks specifically at the Hindu, Muslim and Sikh populations who form the bulk of the non-Christian population in England according to the 2001 Census. The report contains useful information and statistics on each group and attempts to identify future trends. It includes a specific chapter on housing.

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Service Delivery - Faith

A Guide to Engaging Muslim Communities - CIH, June 2008 This guide aims to help Housing Associations to effectively engage with Muslim communities. It includes advice on how to engage with ‘hard-to-reach’ groups such as women or young people who may need to be approached in different ways. The guide contains basic facts about Britain’s Muslim population, Muslim communities and housing. It also provides useful information about funding sources for engagement with Muslim communities, as well as signposting readers towards relevant websites.

Understanding and Appreciating Muslim Diversity: Towards better Engagement and Participation - Institute of Community Cohesion, April 2008

The aim of this document is to raise awareness about the heterogeneity of Britain’s Muslim population. British Muslims comprise of a complex and multi-diverse group of communities, and as such it has become increasingly evident that a single uniform approach to presenting, understanding and engaging with Muslim Communities is inadequate and inappropriate.

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Employment & Staffing - faith

Religion or Belief in the Workplace: Putting the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003 into Practice
This guide produced by ACAS is intended for employers and their staff. Since 2nd December 2003 when the Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations came into force, it has been unlawful to discriminate against workers because of religion or similar belief. This booklet describes the regulations and gives guidance on associated good employment practice.