As I started listening to this recording, I found myself stumbling almost immediately…. over the title. What did creed mean? I knew there was a video game with the same name and an aftershave which I don’t particularly like the smell of. In the recesses of my brain I even remember the late 90’s post grunge band Creed; none of these though seemed relevant given the context of the situation.
A bit of googling later and I found these definitions:
Creed (noun) – a system of religious belief; a faith OR a set of beliefs or aims which guide someone’s actions.
It probably helps to preface this blogpost with my positionality as an atheist, someone with no religious beliefs or belief in an existence of god/s. Ironically a belief in itself. Due to this positionality I find myself resonating more so with the latter definition of creed; as although not led by religion, but more so by morals, I certain have beliefs that guide my actions.
Throughout the recording there were several things Kwame said that really resonated with me, which I frantically tried to type down as I was listening. First was:
Religion has 3 dimensions:
What you do – practice / Who you do it with – community/fellowship / A body of beliefs
Often there is more on an emphasis placed on the beliefs over everything else.
Orthodox – confirming to beliefs, attitudes or modes of conduct in relation to the creeds of religion.
Orthopraxy – the belief that the right action is as important as religious faith.
And later said…
If we think of creedal identities in terms of mutable practices and communities rather sets than sets of immutable beliefs, religion becomes more verb than noun and the identity is revealed as an activity not a thing, and it’s the nature of activities to bring change.
Both of these points got be thinking about the word action, and I started to reflect on conversations we had in previous sessions based on SoN case studies, where racist acts had taken place, and nobody took action. Having a belief is one thing; believing that something is right or wrong is great and all but without acting on that belief – do you really believe it? I can believe I am not racist, but without taking action on that belief and acting on it to become anti-racist – that belief isn’t just and is just a guise for racism.
While its important to consider race, and I inevitably will always come back to it due to the nature of inclusion and intersectionality; this blogpost is focussed on faith. So how can I take more action to ensure I am inclusive of faith in my practice?
Religious identities transform through history and that is how they survive. As an atheist a preconceived idea I or someone else may have about a religion as a non-practicing person is a snapshot (and at that one person’s perception) of that religion in time. To understand how that religion changes and how it is interpreted by each individual student you need to speak to them. Having conversations with people that are active within these communities is the only way to gain this knowledge – they are the ones with the lived experience. It is important to invite these conversations with students whose religious beliefs are key parts of their identities, to share and bring it forwards into their work if they want to.
This is something I am already trying to do as part of my teaching practice, and it is amazing how much my students have taught me about their faiths, and the garments that play integral roles in their personal lives and communities. A key part of what students learn on my course is understanding who their consumer is and engaging with that consumer during the design process; and for some faith plays a key role in this.
We are then able to for the following years cohort, to show examples of students work who have used their religious beliefs to form their projects. For example Muslim students who have designed modest clothing, Jewish students who have used religious garments such as the Tallit and Tzitzit in their work– and communicating how the mixing of wool and linen are forbidden in the making of these tassels. This representation is important to communicate to students that they are able to bring their full selves to their work.
Something I am aware is lacking in my personal practice is a diversity in my references of fashion designers, particularly around faith. Food for thought and something to get researching!