Religion or belief
One of the nine protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010. Religion has the meaning usually given to it, but belief includes religious and philosophical beliefs including lack of belief (eg Atheism). Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition.
Although a secular institution with no specific religious affiliation or endorsement of any particular denomination or faith, the University of York values the diversity brought by its individual members and aims to create a welcoming, tolerant and respectful environment for all students, staff and visitors. The University recognises the commitment of individual students to pursue a spiritual or religious practice and actively supports their right to do so in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect.161 For more information take a look at the University’s Student Policy on religion, belief and non-belief and its Faith and religion web page.
Content warning
Some of the terminology and definitions used in this glossary relate to subject matter that may be upsetting or triggering for some people.
The University Chaplaincy is a Christian organisation that is deliberately Ecumenical, meaning that it takes an inclusive approach to working to support the sense of community on campus and can be contacted by students of all faiths and none. For more information visit the Chaplaincy webpage.
The Faith Contacts are a local network of representatives from different faiths who are available to be contacted for support and information. Although the University of York is a secular institution we aim to ensure all of our community can participate in the wide variety of faith groups in and around York. For more information see our list of faith contacts.
Prayer and reflection facilities are dedicated spaces on campus made available to staff and students for the purpose of engaging in religious practices such as prayer and mediation. The University has several multifaith prayer rooms, which can be found by searching ‘prayer room’ via the campus map. For more information see the University’s prayer and reflection facilities webpage.
One of the nine protected characteristics outlined in the Equality Act 2010. Religion has the meaning usually given to it, but belief includes religious and philosophical beliefs including lack of belief (eg Atheism). Generally, a belief should affect your life choices or the way you live for it to be included in the definition.161
Although a secular institution with no specific religious affiliation or endorsement of any particular denomination or faith, the University of York values the diversity brought by its individual members and aims to create a welcoming, tolerant and respectful environment for all students, staff and visitors. The University recognises the commitment of individual students to pursue a spiritual or religious practice and actively supports their right to do so in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect.162 For more information take a look at the University’s Student Policy on religion, belief and non-belief and its Faith and religion webpage.
Although the University is a secular institution there are various religious celebrations that take place on campus and online, which are often organised by student societies. Many of these celebrations are scheduled within the University’s EDI Events and Religious Festivals calendar, where events are held, information is released and celebrations are acknowledged online.