Human Rights Commission

Religious Studies Programme, Victoria University of Wellington

The Victoria University Religious Studies Programme is the largest religious studies programme in the country and includes experts in a wide range of different traditions (Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism), themes (death, religions in New Zealand, religion and the body, violence and religion), and approaches to the study of religion (psychological, anthropological, theological, historical, textual, phenomenological and sociological). The Programme at Victoria University explores the complexity and diversity of the contemporary and historical forms of religion. For more information, visit the Religious Studies Programme website.

Projects 2011

Religious Diversity in the Workplace

The Programme, in conjunction with the Human Rights Commission, will publish guidelines on religious diversity in the workplace, arising from an initial discussion at the 2009 New Zealand Diversity Forum, the formation of a working group including employers and unions, and a process of consultation in 2010.

Religion and the Media

The Programme, in conjunction with the Human Rights Commission and in consultation with faith communities and the media, will develop a statement on religion and the media, following a forum on the subject at the 2010 New Zealand Diversity Forum.

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  UNESCO Chair in Interreligious Understanding and Relations

  Professor Paul Morris holds a personal position as UNESCO Chair in Interreligious Understanding and Relations. The position is focused on religious diversity in New Zealand and the Pacific, and forms part of a, which is part of a global network of UNESCO chairs. Work in 2011 will focus on planning for a regional conference on Religious Diversity in the Pacific scheduled for 2010, and the publication of a monograph on Democracy, Diversity and Dialogue.

  Centre for the Study of Islam and Muslim Cultures

  The Programme, in conjunction with Otago University, operates the New Zealand Centre for the Study of Islam and Muslim Cultures. The Centre’s programme for 2011 includes a visit by the National Islamic University of Indonesia in April-May, and a publication on The Place of Islam in the Modern University. The Centre will also offer a number of courses on Islamic topics.

  Visit the Centre for the Study of Islam and Muslim Cultures.

Religious Diversity Forum

The Programme will co-host the annual religious diversity forum at the New Zealand Diversity Forum in Hamilton on 22 August 2011. Previous forums have focused on the development of the Statement on Religious Diversity (2006), religion and schools (2007), the safety of religious minorities and freedom from discrimination (2008), religion and the workplace (2009) and religion and the media (2010). Each forum from 2007 has focused on a particular statement from the Statement on Religious Diversity, followed by further dialogue and (in most cases) the production of guidelines. It is intended to continue to focus on elements of the Statement on Religio0us Diversity in 2011, probably on the subject of government and religion.