ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that the way in which the social sciences are presented to students makes it seem that there is little or no place for their own religious experience in the classroom. It draws attention to some of the main components of this epistemological discourse and their implications for engagement with the experience of students of faith. The chapter argues that social sciences in the United Kingdom and social anthropology in particular have inherited a model of academic practice, derived from the Western rationalist tradition of the Enlightenment, which incorporates a hierarchical distinction between different kinds of knowledge hinged on the issue of objectivity. According to this model, secular objectivity is desirable, if not essential in conducting social scientific research on religion. Students would need to be encouraged to overcome their uncertainties, disclosing their own faith positions in what is perceived as a hostile environment.
