ABSTRACT
The only figures which indicate the growing religious diversity of the higher education population are those which deal with the ethnic background of students. Few universities require students to state their religious affiliation at admission or registration, but the ethnic monitoring of university entrants since 1990 has indicated the overall increasing number of ethnic minority students. A discussion of identity, and with it, rights and recognition forms part of much wider debates in political philosophy, social theory, and studies of multiculturalism and equality. The claims that different religious groups in Britain have made for public recognition are often mirrored in the interaction between students of different faiths and their universities. These claims are often a combination of practical concerns, such as the right to observe religious dietary requirements or worship obligations, as well as political aspirations, such as protection from discrimination and the right to recognition as distinctive religious (rather than, or as well as ethnic) minority groups.
