Mathew Guest (born 9 February 1975) is a British sociologist and professor of sociology of religion at Durham University.[1] Guest is the author[2][3][4] or editor of numerous academic books,[5] reports,[6] journal articles and essays. His publications cover various topics in the sociology of religion, particularly evangelical Christianity in the UK,[7][8] value transmission within clergy families,[9][10][11] and the status of Christianity and Islam within university contexts.[12] [13][14]

Mathew Guest
Guest in 2018
Guest in 2018
BornWolverhampton, West Midlands, UK.
OccupationProfessor of Sociology of Religion
LanguageEnglish
EducationBA Hons (First Class); MA; PhD.
Alma materUniversity of Nottingham and Lancaster University
SpouseKatie B. Edwards

Beyond academic contexts, he has published essays in popular outlets including The Conversation,[15] Open Democracy,[16][17][18] The Tablet and The Church Times.

During 2021-2024, he is serving as chair of the British Sociological Association’s Religion Study Group.[19]

He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts.

Biography edit

Guest was born in Wolverhampton, West Midlands in the UK.

He trained in theology (Nottingham University), religious studies (University of Lancaster) and sociology (University of Lancaster), and his research is primarily located within the sociology of religion.[20]

Academic Research edit

Guest has led or co-led five major empirical projects on religion within the United Kingdom, receiving research funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council,[21][22] the Economic and Social Research Council, the Church of England[23] and Porticus. His research has focused on the institutional framing of religion in the 21st century, with a particular focus on how Christian identities are expressed within congregations,[24] families[25][26][27] and the cultural contexts of higher education.[28][29][30]

Since 2013, this research has included the ways in which institutions contribute to the marginalisation and stigmatisation of minority identities, including Muslims.[31][32] Guest is notable for his academic work on the Prevent Strategy.[33][34][35]

Work on Islam on Campus and the Prevent Strategy edit

Guest was a member of the cross-university academic team for the Re/presenting Islam on Campus project (2015-2018),[36] the first national empirical study of how Islam and Muslims are perceived within UK universities.[37]

Guest was lead author on the project report[38] and his contribution to the project’s monograph Islam on Campus (2020)[39] includes a critical analysis of the impact of the government’s counterterrorism Prevent Strategy. The launch of the project report was widely covered across the media.[40][41]

The Re/presenting Islam on Campus book and report constitute, according to one reviewer, “the largest and richest data sets yet collected on this topic”.[42]

Bibliography edit

Books edit

Edited Volumes edit

Research Reports edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Durham University Staff Profile". Durham University. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  2. ^ Guest, Mathew (12 September 2013). Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith. Bloomsbury. ISBN 978-1780937847. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  3. ^ Roques, Mark (1 September 2014). "Book Review: Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith". International Journal of Christianity & Education. 18 (2): 251–253. doi:10.1177/205699711401800224. S2CID 152158265. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  4. ^ Yates, Lindsay (21 April 2015). "Davies, Douglas J., and Mathew Guest. 2007. Bishops, Wives and Children—Spiritual Capital across the Generations". Practical Theology. 1 (1): 132–133. doi:10.1558/prth.v1i1.132. S2CID 144675291. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  5. ^ Shortt, John (25 September 2014). "A Review of "Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith"". Christian Higher Education. 13 (5): 365–367. doi:10.1080/15363759.2014.955705. S2CID 152023847. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Gender and Career Progression in Theology and Religious Studies" (PDF). Theology and Religious Studies in Higher Education. TRS UK. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  7. ^ Guest, Mathew (2007). Evangelical identity and contemporary culture: a congregational study in innovation. Wipf and Stock. ISBN 9781498251082. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  8. ^ Cocksworth, Christopher (1 May 2010). "Book Review: Reinventing English Evangelicalism 1966–2001:A theological and sociological study, Rob Warner (Paternoster 2007), 300 pp, £19.99 pbk; Evangelical Identity and Contemporary Culture:A congregational study in innovation, Matthew Guest (Paternoster 2007), 290 pp, £24.99 pbk". Theology. 113 (873): 222–224. doi:10.1177/0040571X1011300323. S2CID 149877322. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  9. ^ Habgood, John (12 September 2007). "Witness of wives and sucklings". Church Times. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  10. ^ Clines, Jeremy (10 January 2014). "Seminar in Taxonomy?". Church Times. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  11. ^ Percy, Martyn (14 May 2008). "Meeting the congregation". Church Times. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  12. ^ Becket, Adam (31 May 2019). "Increase funding for chaplains, universities told". Church Times. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  13. ^ Guest, Mathew (14 March 2017). "Students' Constructions of a Christian Future: Faith, Class and Aspiration in University Contexts". Sociological Research Online Journal. 22: 200–212. doi:10.5153/sro.4251. S2CID 56379967. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  14. ^ Thornton, Ed (13 September 2013). "'Campus Christians mostly liberal'". Church Times. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  15. ^ Guest, Mathew (9 May 2019). "Students are increasingly turning to religious leaders for mental health support". The Conversation UK. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  16. ^ Guest, Mathew (14 July 2020). "The limits of inclusivity: Islamophobia in higher education". Open Democracy. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  17. ^ Guest, Mathew (8 August 2018). "Why Boris is Wrong About the Burka". Open Democracy. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  18. ^ Guest, Mathew (15 March 2016). "Can Universities Still Provide a Transformative Experience". Open Democracy. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  19. ^ "Sociology of Religion Study Group: Contact the Group". British Sociological Association. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  20. ^ "WEF Contributor Profile". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  21. ^ "Christianity and the University Experience in Contemporary England". UK Research and Innovation. UKRI. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  22. ^ "Re/presenting Islam on campus: gender, radicalisation and interreligious understanding in British higher education". UK Research and Innovation. UKRI. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  23. ^ "Chaplains on Campus Full Report" (PDF). Church of England. Research Centre Trust, Peace and Social Relations. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  24. ^ Ammerman, Nancy T. (21 December 2012). "REVIEW: Mathew Guest, Karen Tusting, and Linda Woodhead, eds. Congregational Studies in the UK: Christianity in a Post-Christian Context. Explorations in Practical, Pastoral and Empirical Theology. Hants, England: Ashgate, 2004". Journal of British Studies. 44 (4). doi:10.1086/497521. S2CID 162627229. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  25. ^ Knudsen, Chilton R. (19 October 2008). "Bishops, Wives and Children: Spiritual Capital across the Generations – By Douglas J. Davies and Mathew Guest". Conversations in Religion & Theology. 6 (2): 194–203. doi:10.1111/j.1479-2214.2008.00142.x. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  26. ^ James, Graham (1 January 2009). "Book Review: Bishops, Wives and Children: Spiritual Capital Across the Generations". Theology. 112 (865): 63–64. doi:10.1177/0040571X0911200121. S2CID 149375960. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  27. ^ Guest, Mathew (2007). Bishops, Wives and Children Spiritual Capital Across the Generations. Routledge. ISBN 9781032099743. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  28. ^ Pillay, Gerald (12 September 2013). "Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith, by Mathew Guest, Kristin Aune, Sonya Sharma and Rob Warner Religious belief is alive and well on campus". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  29. ^ Gibbs, Paul (10 February 2021). "Islam on campus: contested identities and the cultures of higher education in Britain". Higher Education. 83 (3): 631–634. doi:10.1007/s10734-021-00688-6.
  30. ^ Waddell, Peter (19 September 2014). "Christianity and the University Experience: Understanding Student Faith by Guest, Matthew, Aune, Kristin, Sharma, Sonya, and Warner, Rob, Bloomsbury, 2013 (ISBN 978-1-78093-784-7)". Reviews in Religion & Theology. 21 (4). doi:10.1111/rirt.12409. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  31. ^ Adebolajo, Jeremiah O. (8 March 2021). "Islam on campus: contested identities and the cultures of higher education in Britain". Journal of Beliefs and Values. 42 (3): 411–413. doi:10.1080/13617672.2021.1894808. S2CID 233800401. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  32. ^ "Re/presenting Islam on Campus". SOAS University of London. SOAS. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  33. ^ Ahmed and Alvis (September 2020). "Past, Prevent and Future: Improving Prevent for a New Generations" (PDF). Tony Blair Institute for Global Change. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  34. ^ McKie, Anna (14 July 2020). "Prevent 'reinforces negative views of Islam' among students in UK". Times Higher Education. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  35. ^ Scott-Baumann, Alison (14 July 2020). "Prevent doesn't stop students being radicalised. It just reinforces Islamophobia". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  36. ^ Scott-Baumann, Alison. "Islam and UK Higher Education: Re/presenting Islam on Campus". Inside Government: Higher Education. Insider Government. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  37. ^ "Re/presenting Islam on campus: gender, radicalisation and interreligious understanding in British higher education". UK Research and Innovation. UKRI. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  38. ^ Guest, Scott-Baumann. "Islam and Muslims on UK University Campuses: perceptions and challenges" (PDF). SOAS. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  39. ^ Guest, Mathew (2020). Islam on Campus: Contested Identities and the Cultures of Higher Education in Britain. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0192844675. Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  40. ^ Uddin, Rayhan (14 July 2020). "Prevent reinforces stereotypes and leads Muslim students to self-censor: Report". Middle East Eye. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  41. ^ "Report calls for higher education to empower Muslim voices". Durham University. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  42. ^ Gibb, Paul (10 February 2021). "Islam on campus: contested identities and the cultures of higher education in Britain". Higher Education. 83 (3): 631–634. doi:10.1007/s10734-021-00688-6.