‘Finally, multiculturalism as a mode of post-immigration integration involves not just the reversal of marginalisation but also a remaking of national citizenship so that all can have a sense of belonging to it; for example, creating a sense of being French that Jews and Muslims, as well as Catholics and secularists, can envisage for themselves’

This reminds me a lot of the attack on trans rights happening right now in both the UK and US and elsewhere around the world. How whilst multiculturalism has enabled lots of progress for many to envisage a sense of being in a tolerant and diverse society, there are attackers across the spectrum who see inclusivity and the promotion of human rights as a form of grooming, or an over expansion akin to indoctrination of the majority. Of course, I fail to see any validity in this argument, but this article goes a long way to show that we have a lot of work to do to empower all in society, to work towards and equality where everyone feels safe an able to be themselves. The lecture by Kwame Anthony Appiah Reith demonstrates at length people’s (often those who make up a privileged majority) aversion to very human and innate traits to explore (immigrate), experiment (express) and challenge (progress) in society.

Where this article talks about multiculturalist sensibility alongside the potential to include faith alongside protected racial characteristics, I would be curious to see how trans rights could also be included to be protected. It’s astounding to me that all the current conservative leadership candidates are trans-exclusionary. In this sense, whilst the article purports that multicultural accommodations and policies are not being reversed, I fail to see how such transphobia is allowed let alone supported. I realise this is a tangent from the faith topic covered in this article, but inspired by Kwame Anthony Appiah Reith to not shy away from branching out and including intersectional topics into discourse, I want to expand the work I do to bring attention to the hypocrisy which is so espoused by the institutions we rely on for funding, support and validation. 

In reading this paper, the similarities between us as a university and the way a church exists resounded with me. We both are in the public eye and rely on a level of support from our onlookers and patrons. 

I think the same can be said for religious illiteracy, that as a university we need to work harder to give staff and students the vocabulary and confidence to converse over areas of tension or confusion regarding religious practices.