World Religion Day takes place every January on the third Sunday of the month. This year, it falls on 18 January. Its aim is to promote interfaith understanding and dialogue between all religions as well as mutual understanding and tolerance between people from different backgrounds.
The day is a global observance for people of all faiths and beliefs to come together to celebrate diversity, foster peace, and promote religious tolerance. It was established by the Baháʼí community in the United States in 1950 to encourage people of all backgrounds to explore the teachings and principles of various religions and to promote unity and understanding among different faiths.
At Sussex, the University Chaplaincy team upholds the University’s commitment to interfaith understanding and dialogue. It is supported by a team of Associate Chaplains who represent many different religious and spiritual traditions. For further information or support please contact James Croft, University Chaplain and Lead Faith Advisor. You can email J.F.Croft@sussex.ac.ukor visit the Chaplaincy webpages here.
Religion and Belief work at Sussex
The University is currently developing its Religion and Belief work to sit alongside other Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) workstreams such as Disability, Gender, LGBTQ+ inclusion and Race. An EDI Consultant is now leading on this workstream.
Work taking place in this space includes the development of a Religion and Belief Code of Practice which will sit under the University’s Dignity, Respect and Inclusion Policy, a review of the University’s approach to religious accommodations for staff and students, and analysis of staff and student data on religion and belief to inform priorities in the area.
Religion and Belief Forum
We are currently looking for interested staff to join the Religion and Belief Forum.
The Religion and Belief Forum is a steering group that aims to strengthen the University’s commitment to creating a non-discriminatory inclusive environment where the religious and non-religious faiths and beliefs of all are respected, and where the values of open and respectful debate are upheld. The Forum also provides feedback and input into University activities relating to religion and belief.
The Forum typically meets for 90 minutes once a term. Recent meetings have seen a range of issues discussed, including religious accommodations for staff and students and a forthcoming Religion and Belief Code of Practice. The Forum is chaired by Tamsin Hinton-Smith, Associate Dean (Culture, Equality and Inclusion) for the Faculty of Social Sciences.
Our hope is that Forum membership will include a diverse range of religious and non-religious faiths and beliefs. We would particularly like to encourage members with a Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim or Sikh background or faith, in order to diversify our existing membership. However, the role of a Forum member is not to represent a specific religion or belief but to contribute more broadly to conversations and work in this area. We also hope to recruit members from across different areas of the University and across different job roles.
Please email simone.webb@sussex.ac.uk by 6 February 2026 with a short Expression of Interest of no more than 300 words. These should say something about your role in the University, why you are interested in joining the Forum, and any relevant experience you have that may help the Forum achieve its aims. Please email Simone too if you have any questions about the work of the Steering Group or what membership entails.
Support
The University of Sussex is committed to providing a safe, inclusive and respectful environment for every member of its community. If you or someone else has experienced behaviours such as bullying, harassment, a hate incident, sexual violence, domestic abuse or discrimination, you can let us know using Report and Support.