Religious diversity and the shifting sands of political prioritization

This chapter describes the politics and practice of religious diversity in the UK. It introduces Kingdon's notion of a policy window and then discusses the organizational benefits furnished by the political opportunity structures made available by the opening of such policy windows. These discussions are then developed with reference to the UK religion policy window which first properly opened in the late-1990s and has since assumed a variety of configurations relative to particular problem events and changes in political administration. The chapter addresses the Inter Faith Network (IFN), contextualizing its founding and subsequent expansion by reference to the proliferation of interfaith platforms across Europe and beyond. It examines further changes to the religion policy window and explores their impact upon the politics of religious diversity in the UK. Returning to the original application of the Druid Network, which initiated the subsequent change in IFN membership criteria, which reflects upon the organizational dynamics involved.