In the previous blogpost, we looked at how Crenshaw’s theory of intersectionality (2013) provides a framework for understanding how disability intersects with different forms of discrimination. This post reflects on how intersectionality can also help examine how religion or faith identity intersects with other social categories such as race, gender, and class. Again, it is important to state my positionality. I do not personally follow a religion, but I was raised in Colombia, a predominantly Catholic society. My partner and her family are Catholic, so my relationship with faith continues to be shaped through proximity and cultural familiarity.
An example of how religion intersects with other social structures is presented by Jawad (2022), who argues that barriers for Muslim women in sport are not rooted in Islam itself, but in the incompatibility between religious practices and existing sporting infrastructures, particularly in diasporic settings. This exclusion arises when religious needs are not recognised or accommodated in predominantly secular environments.
Appiah (2014) challenges simplistic critiques of religion, such as whether it is “good or bad.” He reframes religion not as mere belief in spirits or gods but as a set of lived moral and social frameworks. Drawing on Campagna (2018), we might understand these as “reality-systems” that deeply shape identity and everyday life. Crenshaw’s theory helps us locate where discrimination emerges when these frameworks intersect with dominant institutional norms.
UAL is arguably a predominantly secular, Western academic environment. In such a setting, students from different faith backgrounds may experience the institution differently—and conversely, the institution may overlook or misread the role of faith in students’ identities.
A recurring theme across the resources is the tension between secular institutional norms and lived faith-based values. Both Appiah and Jawad highlight how misunderstandings often stem from essentialist or reductive views of religion. In the classroom, secularism is often assumed to be neutral, yet it can marginalise students for whom faith is central to their worldview. Appiah calls for more nuanced understandings of religion as embedded in culture and daily life.
In my own teaching practice at UAL, I’m interested in how a plurality of faiths and cultural frameworks can inform more inclusive approaches. This is particularly relevant in the field of Computational Arts. My team draws from Campagna’s Technic and Magic (2018), which critiques the Enlightenment-era shift toward rationalism and abstraction—what Campagna calls the “Technic” worldview. Many digital technologies—VR, CGI, generative systems—are built on this immaterial, rule-based logic. Campagna’s concept of “Magic” offers a counterpoint: a reality-system that embraces symbolism, mystery, and the ineffable—qualities long present in artistic traditions shaped by faith. Acknowledging these perspectives may help students situate computational practice within broader cultural and spiritual traditions. By doing so, we can create space for new generations of artists to embrace the symbolic and the ineffable through a plurality of faith-informed approaches to art and education.
References
Appiah, K.A., (2014). Kwame Anthony Appiah: Is religion good or bad? (This is a trick question), YouTube, 16 June. Available at https://youtu.be/X2et2KO8gcY?si=Tn3GYdMkfqfXc2GD (Accessed: 19/06/2025).
Campagna, F., 2018. Technic and magic: The reconstruction of reality. Bloomsbury Publishing.
Crenshaw, K.W., 2013. Mapping the margins: Intersectionality, identity politics, and violence against women of color. In The public nature of private violence (pp. 93-118). Routledge.
Jawad, H. (2022) Islam, Women and Sport: The Case of Visible Muslim Women. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/religionglobalsociety/2022/09/islam-women-and-sport-the-case-of-visible-muslim-women/. (Accessed on 19/06/2025.)