Race, Religion and Worldviews: An Autoethnographic Exploration of Coloniality in Modern Secular British Organisations

Despite decades of sociological research, there remains little consensus around how scholars, practitioners and activists might think about and interrogate the complex relationship between race and religion as colonial categories. Yet, especially in the employment sphere, the continual reproduction of race and religion gives rise to a range of oppressions which we require shared language to recognise, name and challenge. Adopting a multi-sited auto-ethnographic approach, this thesis is based on my work as an Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) practitioner and explores issues of race, religion, and coloniality within a selection of modern, secular British organisations where I have undertaken work and research between 2018 and 2023. Drawing on decolonial theory associated with a dispersed and multi-disciplinary body of literature from critical sociologies of race, religion, organisations, management and law, this thesis explores a range of ways that coloniality is sustained and reproduced with respect to race and religion and worldviews in British organisational life. Taking seriously the difficulties of disentangling race and religion, a dilemma that lies at the heart of my investigation, the thesis commences with a detailed exploration of the historical processes that have shaped contemporary understandings of race and religion and worldviews, and synthesises literature with data from the field to advance a new conceptual framework which serves as a lens through which to analyse organisational cultures. This framework forms the basis of my exploration of three key themes: First, I look at race, exploring issues of everyday racism, surveillance and the policing of organisational space among those visibly marked as other and subject to racial discrimination. Second, I explore organisational culture, theorising how the organisations I have studied are shaped my majority groups and give rise to what I term 'Judaeo-Christian-Secular White(li)ness'. Third, I consider the impact of these organisational cultures for racially and religiously minoritised groups, focussing particularly on the experiences of those professing 'nonmodern' perspectives. These are groups broadly subject to forms of silencing and nonrecognition. Finally, thesis concludes with a discussion my core themes, and considerations of the emerging gaps that may constitute fruitful avenues for future research.