Faith in Unions: Racism and Religious Exclusion in the Faith Workers Branch of Unite the Union 2017–2020
Ebook
Faith in Unions is a personal account, representing a critique of Whiteness and Black marginality in the Faith Workers Trade Union. In short, it is a Black theology critique of the way Muslim and Hindu faith workers have been treated in the British Labour movement. This book clearly has things to say about discriminatory practices, which puts the discussion about Englishness and Britishness into a wider context. I am suggesting a political agenda associated with English ethnicity as the mode of involvement to explain policies that are likely to result in racialised religious exclusion. Faith in Unions gives focus to Muslim and Hindu workplace groupings within the Faith Workers Branch and the opposition to their formation from Anglican and Methodist Christian members. I am concerned with the struggle for faith recognition within a discriminatory and institutionally racist union structure. This book offers an explicit exploration of what I mean by "the racialised other" in the context of the British Labour movement. In this we need to understand the ways historical Christianity has defined Black identities. My conclusion hopefully will start a wider discussion of Englishness and English exclusivity.
“As someone who has been active in trades’ union affairs for
over half a century, and who knows for herself how precarious jobs
are in the Church of England, I was delighted that trades’ unions
were opening faith branches. Why is it so hard to evolve a
committed and passionate institution that prioritizes equality and
natural justice? The explorations in this book go some way to
answering that question. Read. Be challenged. Be affirmed.”
—Linda Isiorho, Anglican priest
“Faith in Unions is a forensic and prophetic exposé of the
Church of England’s betrayal of Christ, and its endemic culture of
racism, abuse, and victimization of the whistleblowers of these
offences. David Isiorho draws parallels between white
Anglican-Methodist discrimination and bullying in the Unite Faith
Workers’ Union, and the identical collusion by the Church of
England with secular bureaucrats and lawyers to harass and silence
abuse victims and ethnic minority complainants.”
—Mohamed Elsharkawy, Al-Azhar College
“Faith in Unions reveals the deep and insidious reach of
institutional racism in the UK. David Isiorho’s compelling
recounting of his experience of racism is a searing, incisive, and
necessary reading. While calling both his ecclesial tradition and
the Faith Workers’ Branch of Unite to account, Isiorho’s commitment
as a priest and justice-seeking theologian stand out as a witness
to ‘the Jesus way’ of full and flourishing life for all.”
—Michael Jagessar, independent researcher and writer
“This is a cri de coeur from a priest who has only ever
wanted to be a prophetic voice for faith and inclusion. His
indictment of the Unite Union as a ‘cabal’ fostering white
privilege and imperialist ideology should give all faith workers
pause and should also shame the leadership of the Church of England
for the cultivation of secrecy and unaccountability in the face of
complaint.”
—Angela Tilby, canon emeritus, Christ Church Cathedral
- Title: Faith in Unions: Racism and Religious Exclusion in the Faith Workers Branch of Unite the Union 2017–2020
- Authors: David Isiorho, Muhammad Al-Hussaini
- Publisher: Resource Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781532699184, 9781532699177, 9781532699160, 1532699174, 1532699166, 1532699182
- Resource ID: LLS:9781532699184
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-02-04T11:06:04Z
David Isiorho, a Church of England rector and former secretary
of the National Faith Workers Branch of Unite the Union, was born
in Windsor, studied at Liverpool for his first degree, and worked
as a social worker in London before ordination. He completed a
master’s degree at Warwick followed by a doctorate at Bradford.
Isiorho previously published Mission, Anguish, and Defiance: A
Personal Experience of Black Clergy Deployment in the Church of
England with Wipf & Stock.