The critical religion school has taught us to see the colonial invention of world religions and their relegation to private space, says Alex Henley from the University of Manchester. But an emphasis on the bulldozing force of secular colonial power may obscure the resilience of local histories. This article is a reflection on a recent workshop discussion with Professor Ahmed Ragab and Dr Aria Nakissa at Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies.

It is widely acknowledged among those who still care that academia in the UK is in very serious trouble, says Dr Michael Marten from the University of Stirling. The most infamous embodiment of the current malaise is a mechanism imposed upon universities by successive Westminster governments: a system of ‘research assessment’ driven by an ideology of neo-liberal commodification. Alternative perspectives and mechanisms are badly needed, he says.

In today's world we face a vast range of human practices which are overlapping and do not function as religious or secular solely or discreetly, says Francis Stewart. He illustrates this in relation to his extensive research into punk music.

To coincide with the launch of the new Critical Religion Association website, Dr Timothy Fitzgerald, Reader in Languages, Cultures and Religions at the University of Stirling, reflects on the broadening of Critical Religion's work and perspective. Critiquing the beliefs-systems of self-regulating markets is a key way of interrogating and re-understanding the discursive spaces marked out by the terms 'religion' and 'politics', he suggests. [Ekklesia is a partner of the CRA]