AUTUMN 1990 PAGE 15 SEA OF FAITH MAGAZINE THE RELIGIOUS RESOURCE & RESEARCH CENTRE A Consultation Paper (The following paper was received in conjunction with an enquiry about SOF by the RR & RC. It is reproduced here since I'm sure many of our readers will be interested in, and indeed heartened by, the existence of such a progressive project. Some may wish to take up the Centre's invitation to comment in the final section. - Editor.) 1. A NEW INITIATIVE FOR A NEW CONTEXT The Religious Resource and Research Centre of the Derbyshire College of Higher Education is a new development which emerges out of a radical rethinking of the concept and experience of chaplaincy.
This re-thinking was based on the recognition that a traditional Church of England chaplaincy was no longer appropriate within the largely secular framework and ethos of the College. It also involved a recognition of the need to take account of the multi-religious nature of the College community and of the city of Derby.
As a result of this re-examination, the College and the Anglican Diocese decided to establish the Religious Resource and Research Centre as a joint initiative.
The Centre therefore represents a new and more appropriate form of partnership between Church and College which, whilst drawing on the significant historical connections between these two bodies, develops and reinterprets these links in the light of a new social and educational context.
Therefore the Centre is neither purely an academic Centre for the study of religion, nor is it a religious Centre in which an academic dimension is present only to serve religious needs and ends. There is, instead, a partnership of the academic and the religious which has been made possible by the co-operation of the College and Church, and which is given expression in the staffing of the Centre. 2. A FOCUS ON QUESTIONS OF HUMAN VALUE The focus of the Centre's work could be summarised as being about engagement with questions of human value, approached by means of inter-disciplinary and inter-religious dialogue. These questions of human value are related to issues of "meaning", of "purpose", of "goals" and of "values" - issues which are always implicit and are sometimes explicit across the whole range of academic disciplines, social institutions and individual experience. Religious traditions provide only one of the available intellectual "maps" for exploring such questions. In making its contribution to these questions the Religious Resource and Research Centre will naturally draw upon the theoretical maps provided by the religious traditions, but it will also recognise and respect the integrity of other theoretical maps. It will also endeavour to work in such a way that the various maps might prove to be mutually illuminating. 3. THE ETHOS AND METHODOLOGY OF THE CENTRE Dialogue is fundamental to the ethos and methodology of the Centre. In order to promote this ethos and develop this methodology the Centre seeks to function at the points of intersection between the various parts of the College, and between the College, the religious communities and the wider community.
Where such points of intersection do not currently exist or might need strengthening, the Centre sees it as part of its concern to contribute to the making or the deepening of such connections. This means that although the Centre has a physical office base within the College, its role as a "Centre" should not be understood as a "spatial" one. Rather, the Centre aims to be a facilitating junction - across the Faculties of the College and among the various constituencies which are connected with its sponsoring bodies. The PAGE 16 AUTUMN 1990 SEA OF FAITH MAGAZINE Centre will therefore judge the effectiveness of its work not only in terms of the programmes and events which it runs under its own auspices, but also in terms of what it is able to contribute to existing work and to new initiatives in which others, both in the College and in the wider community, have taken a lead. 4. THE CENTRE'S TASK IN RESOURCING The Centre's task in resourcing is to be understood primarily in terms of the human, information and institutional resources upon which the Centre can draw and from which it can contribute by virtue of its functioning as a junction within a wider network. In the College the staff of the Centre will be trying, in discussion with other colleagues, to identify areas in which it might be appropriate for the Centre to make a teaching contribution to existing coursework and research projects. Such contributions will be made either by the Centre's own full-time staff or through the Centre facilitating the contributions of other specialists from within its network of links and contacts.
As the Centre develops further, it is envisaged that it will evolve its own programme of seminars, lectures, discussions and courses to be held under its own auspices, and it is intended that both College staff and outside specialists should contribute to such a programme. It is hoped that the Centre will be able to make some of this work more widely available in the form of publications.
The Centre also understands the role of resourcing to include the provision of reliable information about religious issues, organisations and communities, and this will be held on a computerised database. The extent to which the Centre's information service might extend to the collection and display of books, journals, audio and visual materials etc will be examined in the light of existing provision and demand in the College and wider community. 5. THE CENTRE'S TASK IN RESEARCHING The Centre's task in researching lies more in the field of "applied" than of "pure" research although it does hope to provide a framework for those who wish to pursue "pure" research within a disciplined and supervised context. Some of the Centre's research projects will no doubt arise from the Centre's own contacts and perceptions, but it is also envisaged that other projects will emerge from proposals, discussions and negotiations with others, both inside and outside the College, which might result in some collaborative work or in the Centre acting as a Consultancy for others. In carrying out its research the Centre will seek to ensure that this aspect of its work is properly integrated with the courses, lectures and seminars which it will sponsor as part of its task of resourcing. 6. AN INVITATION The Centre welcomes contacts from colleagues in the College, the religious communities and the wider community who might like to comment on this paper and/or have suggestions about the way in which the Centre could contribute to aspects of their own work, or about ways in which they might contribute to the Centre.
The Centre has two full-time members of staff : a Head of Centre post which is a College Senior Lecturer appointment and a Deputy Head of Centre (Chaplain) post which is funded by the Anglican Diocese of Derby, and which incorporates some of the traditional chaplaincy functions, although reinterpreted in the context of the Centre's ethos and approach.
Co-operation with the Centre in no way implies or demands any particular religious commitment or any general religious sympathy. The only prerequisites are a recognition that the religious dimension in life is a significant part of social reality and of the individual experience of many ; a recognition that the study of this dimension of life has an academic validity and integrity ; and a willingness to work with people of varied academic disciplines, intellectual backgrounds and personal life-stances. Contact can be made with the head of the Centre, Paul Weller, at:
The Religious Research & Resource Centre Derbyshire College of Higher Education Mickleover Derby DE3 5GX (0332-47181 Ext: 2021) AUTUMN 1990 PAGE 17 SEA OF FAITH MAGAZINE QUESTIONS FOR RADICALS by C. B. Spurgin The first issue of SOF Magazine carried the heading "Exploring and promoting religious faith as a human creation". This is about as near to a statement of position as we have had so far. But if "as a human creation" has any meaning at all, it must surely imply the statements set forth on page 5 of that first issue, which can be summarised as follows : nothing at all supernatural ; no Creator ; no immortal soul ; no God-person, and no personal God to pray to ; no revelation ; no Heaven, no hell, no punishment and no reward ; no inspired writings.
Reproduced from a paper received by SOF in conjunction with an enquiry about the Network from the Religious Resource & Research Centre of the Derbyshire College of Higher Education.