Relationships between local patterns of religious practice and young people's attitudes to the religiosity of their peers

This contribution reports research into young people’s attitudes to religion and religious diversity in secondary schools across the UK. The data indicate that students’ respect for the religiosity of their peers, or their lack of it, is due less to the influence of classroom RE (multi-faith or otherwise) than to the experience of religion in the neighbourhood and the degree to which being ‘religious’ is viewed as ‘normal’ there. The essay contrasts negativity experienced in schools by young people of strong practising religious faith in neighbourhoods where religious practice is not the norm with the greater tolerance and respect accorded to religious young people in schools serving neighbourhoods where religious practice is common and prominent. It considers the implications for religious education of this uneven experience.