Becoming an Accidental Activist: Researching religion in community

Abstract

In this paper I reflect on my academic engagement with Sikh communities and on how my status as a Sikh academic scholar has led me to become a representative for Sikh communities to various statutory bodies including media, policy makers, RE teachers, community groups and the legal profession. I reflect on how different audiences have engaged with my research and how my status as an academic activist has impacted on my work. While some argue that academics should not engage in activism, claiming it compromises the objectivity of academic research (Wells, 2018) I follow Choudry (2020) who argues that academics should seek to challenge dominant processes of knowledge production that are not solely driven by higher-education models and practices, but which require academics and communities to work together in a mutually dependent relationship.