ELEANOR NESBITT
PUBLICATIONS
(a) Scholarly Books and Monographs
1991 'My Dad's Hindu, My Mum's Side are Sikhs': Issues in Religious Identity, Arts, Culture, Education, Research and Curriculum Paper, Charlbury, National Foundation for Arts Education. Online at
1993 (with Robert Jackson) Hindu Children in Britain, Stoke on Trent, Trentham.
2000 The Religious Lives of Sikh Children: A Coventry Based Study, Monograph Series, Leeds, Community Religions Project, University of Leeds.
2003 Interfaith Pilgrims: Living Truths and Truthful Living, London,
Quaker Books.
2004 Intercultural Education: Ethnographic and Religious Approaches, Brighton,
Sussex Academic Press.
2005 Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, OxfordUniversity Press.
2007 India edition published by Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
2008 18-page booklet excerpted from this was published by The Independent
(21 June)
2013 with Kailash Puri, Pool of Life: The Autobiography of a Punjabi Agony Aunt,
Brighton: Sussex Academic Press.
2014 with Gavin D’Costa, Mark Pryce, Ruth Shelton and Nicola Slee,
Making Nothing Happen: Five Poets Explore Faith and Spirituality, Farnham:
Ashgate.
2016 (2nd revised edn) Sikhism: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford, Oxford
University Press
(b) Curriculum Books
1990 (with Robert Jackson) Listening to Hindus, London, Unwin Hyman, (a book
for 11-14 year olds).
1996 (with Elizabeth Wayne, Judith Everington and Dilip Kadodwala) Hindus(Interpreting Religions Key Stage 3) Oxford, Heinemann.
1999 (with Gopinder Kaur) Guru Nanak, Indic Values series, Norwich, Religious and Moral Education Press. [Winner of Shap Award 2000 ‘for making an
outstanding contribution to the teaching of world religions’]
(c) Bibliographies and Occasional Papers
1987 (with Darshan Singh Tatla) Sikhs in Britain: An Annotated Bibliography. Bibliographies in Ethnic Relations, No.8, Centre for Research in Ethnic Relations, University of Warwick.
1994 (2nd revised edition with Darshan Singh Tatla) as above, No. 13 (103 pages). Available at
2000 Children’s Experience of Religion: Issues from Ethnographic Study of 8-13 Year Olds’ Perspectives, Oxford, Religious Experience Research Centre, 2nd series, occasional paper 25.
2005 Faith Guides for Higher Education: A Guide to Sikhism, Leeds, The Subject
Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies Higher EducationAcademy,
School of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds.
Available at
2007 The Great Religions 6. Sikhism,The Independent in association with Oxford
University Press.
2015 Oral History and the Study of Religions: Reflections on Kiyotako Sato’s
Memory and Narrative Series, Discussion Paper no. 6, Yokyo: Research Centre
for the History of Religious and Cultural Diversity, Meiji University,
(d) Articles in Refereed Journals
1981 'A Note on Bhatra Sikhs', New Community, 9, 1, pp.70-72.
1984'Sikh Studies in Britain', Studies in Sikhism and Comparative Religion, Guru Nanak Foundation, New Delhi, pp.60-63.
1985'The Nanaksar Movement', Religion, 15, pp.67-79.
1989 'The Body, the Gurus' Teaching and Contemporary Sikh Practice' (paper presented at The Body: a colloquium on contemporary spirituality, University
of Lancaster 1987) in Religion, 19, July, pp.255-262.
1990 'Religion and Identity: The Valmiki Community in Coventry' in New
Community, 16, 2, January, pp.261-274.
'Pitfalls in Religious Taxonomy: Hindus and Sikhs, Valmikis and Ravidasis' in Religion Today, October, 6, 1, pp.9-12, reprinted 1994 in Wolffe, John (ed)
TheGrowth of Religious Diversity: Britain from 1945: AReader, London,
Hodder for Open University.
1991(with Robert Jackson) 'The Diversity of Experience in the Religious Upbringing of Children from Christian Families in Britain', British Journal of Religious Education, 15, 1, pp.19-38.
1992 (with Robert Jackson) Christian and Hindu Children: Their Perceptions of Each Other's Religious Traditions', Journal of Empirical Theology, 5, 2, pp.39- 62.
1993 'Photographing Worship: Issues Raised by Ethnographical Study of Children's Participation in Acts of Worship', Visual Anthropology, 5, 3, pp.285-306.
'Gender and Religious Tradition: the Role Learning of British Hindu Children', Gender and Education, 5, 1, pp.81-91.
'Children and the World to Come: The Views of Children Aged Eight to Fourteen Years on Life after Death', Religion Today, 8, 3, pp.10-13.
[substantial extracts appearing in Central Council for Education and Training
in Social Work training pack on the religious and spiritual needs of children,
1996]
1995(with Robert Jackson) 'Aspects of Cultural Transmission in a Diaspora Sikh Community', Journal of Sikh Studies, 18, 1, pp.52-66.
[substantial extracts in Central Council for Education and Training in Social
Work training pack, 1996].
'Punjabis in Britain: Cultural History and Cultural Choices', South Asia Research, 15, 2, pp.221-240.
'Celebrating and Learning: The Perpetuation of Values and Practices among Hindu Punjabi Children in Coventry, U.K.', Indo-British Review, 20, 2, 119- 131. [Excerpts reprinted in Brear, D. (ed) (1996) TeachingWorld Faiths: The Hindu Tradition, WestminsterCollege, Oxford]
1997 'Splashed with Goodness': The Many Meanings of Amrit for Young British Sikhs', Journal ofContemporary Religion, 12, 1, 17-33.
‘“We are all Equal”: Young British Punjabis’ and Gujaratis’ Perceptions of Caste’, International Journal of Punjab Studies, 4, 2, 201-218.
1998‘Bridging the Gap between Young People’s Experience of their Religious Tradition at Home and at School: The Contribution of Ethnographic Research’, British Journal of Religious Education, 20, 2, 102-114.
(also in J. Laehnemann (ed) (1998) Interreligiose Erziehung 2000: Die Zukunft
der Religions und Kulturbegegnung, Verlag, Hamburg, 471-485) and in
Robbins and Francis 2015.
‘British, Asian and Hindu: Identity, Self-Narration and the Ethnographic Interview’, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 19, 2, 189-200.
‘How Culture Changes: British Sikh Children and the Vaisakhi Festival’, Journal of Sikh Studies, 22, 1, 95-118.
1999 ‘Friend in the Field: A Reflexive Approach to Being a Quaker Ethnographer’,
Quaker Studies, 4, 2, Winter, 82-112.
‘The Impact of Morari Bapu’s Kathas on Young British Hindus’, Scottish Journal of Religious Studies, 20, 2, Autumn,177-192.
2001 ‘Ethnographic Research at Warwick: Some Methodological Issues’, British Journal of Religious Education, 23, 3, 144-55.
(with J.Suthren Hirst and M. Searle-Chatterjee ‘Report on Teaching South
Asian Religious Traditions’, Centre for Applied South Asian Studies, The
PRS-LTSN Journal 1 (1) Summer, 77-9.
2003 (with A.Henderson) ‘Religious Organisations in the UK and
Values Education Programmes for Schools’’, Journal of Beliefs and Values,
24, 1, 75-87.
(with E. Arweck) ‘Researching a New Interface between Religions and
Publicly FundedSchools in the UK’, International Journal of Children’s
Spirituality, 8, 3, 239-54.
2004 (with E. Arweck) ‘Living Values: An Educational Programme – From
Initiative to Uptake’, British Journal of Religious Education, 26, 2, 133-49.
(with E. Arweck) ‘Values Education: The Development and Classroom
Use of an Educational Programme’, British Educational Research Journal, 30,
2, 245-61.
2005 (with E. Arweck and Robert Jackson) ‘Common Values for the
CommonSchool? Using Two Values Education Programmes to Promote
“Spiritual and Moral Development”’, Journal of Moral Education, 34, 3, 325-
42.
(with E. Arweck and Robert Jackson) ‘Educating the Next Generation
in Universal Values: Hindu-Related New Religious Movements and Values
Education in the Common School’, Scriptura, International Journal of Bible,
Religion and Theology in Southern Africa 89, 328-37.
2006 ‘Issues in Locating UK Hindus’ Sacred Space’, Contemporary
SouthAsia(special diaspora issue) 15 (2) June, 147-64.
(with E. Arweck) ‘Retrospect and Prospect: Sampradayas and
Warwick Fieldwork in Religions and Education’, Fieldwork in Religion, 2 (1)
49-63.
2007 ‘Issues in Writing Introductions to Sikhism’, Religions of South Asia, 1 (1)
47-63.
(with E. Arweck) ‘Spirituality in Education: Promoting Children’s Spiritual
Development through Values’, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 22 (3) Oct.
311-26.
2008 (with E. Arweck) ‘Peace and Non-Violence: Sathya Sai Education
in Human Values in British Schools’, Journal of Peace Education, 5, 1, 17-32.
(with E. Arweck and Robert Jackson) ‘Common Values for the
Common School? Using Two Values Education Programmes to Promote
“Spiritual and Moral Development”’, Journal of Religious Education, 56 (3)
32-39, reproduced from Journal of Moral Education, 34, 3, 325-
42.
2009 ‘Research Report: Studying the Religious Socialization of Sikh and “Mixed-
Faith” Youth in Britain: Contexts and Issues’, Journal of Religion in Europe,
2, 37-57.
2010 (with E. Arweck) ‘Young People’s Identity Formation in Mixed-Faith
Families’: Continuity or Discontinuity of Religious Tradition?’ Journal of
Contemporary Religion, 25, 1, January, 67-87.
2010 ‘Interrogating the Experience of Quaker Scholars in Hindu and Sikh Studies:
Spiritual Journeying and Academic Engagement’, Quaker Studies, 14, 2.
2010 (with E. Arweck) ‘Close Encounters? The Intersection of Faith and Ethnicity in
Mixed-Faith Families’, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 31, 1, 39-52.
2010 (with E Arweck) ‘Issues Arising from an Ethnographic Investigation of the
Religious Identity Formation of Young People in Mixed-Faith Families’,
Fieldwork in Religion, 5 (1) 8-31.
2010 (with E. Arweck) ‘Plurality at Close Quarters: Mixed Faith
Families in the UK’, Journal ofReligion in Europe, 3, 1-28.
2011 (with E. Arweck) ‘’Religious Education in the Experience of
Young People from Mixed-Faith Families’, British Journal of Religious
Education, 33 (1) 31-46.
2013 ‘Ethnography, Religious Education and The Fifth Cup’,
Religious Education, 4, 1, 5-19.
2013 ‘Sparrows and Lions: Fauna in Sikh Imagery, Symbolism and Ethics’,
Religions ofSouth Asia, 7, 75-92.
2015 ‘”The Fools Argue about Flesh and Meat": Sikhism and Vegetarianism', Religions of South Asia, 9 (1), 81-101.
(e) Chapters in Scholarly Books/Symposia
1988 'The Presentation of Sikhs in Recent Children's Literature in Britain' in J.T. O'Connoll, M. Israel and W. Oxtoby (eds) Sikh History and Religion in the 20th Century, Toronto, The Centre for South Asian Studies, University of
Toronto, 376-387.
1990 'T urning Points in Sikh Studies' in U. King (ed), Turning Points in Religious Studies, Edinburgh, T and T Clarke,168-179.
1993 'The Transmission of Christian Tradition in an Ethnically Diverse Society', in
R.Barot (ed) Religion and Ethnicity:Minorities and Social Change in the
Metropolis, Kampen (The Netherlands), Kok Pharos Publishing House, 156-
169.
1994 'Valmikis in Coventry: The Revival and Reconstruction of a Community', in
R.Ballard (ed) Desh Pardesh: The South Asian Presence in Britain, London, C Hurst and Co, 117-141.
1996 (with Robert Jackson) 'Orthodoxy and Openness: the Experience of British Hindu Children' in B. E. Gates (ed) Freedom and Authority in Religions and Religious Education, London, Cassells, 138-148.
1997(with Robert Jackson ‘Studying British Hindu Children and Representing Them in School texts’ in N. Holm (ed) The Familiar and the Unfamiliar in the World Religions: Challengesfor Religious Education Today, Abo, Abo Akademi University, 26-45.
(with Robert Jackson) ‘From Fieldwork to School Text: Studying and Representing British Hindu Children’ in T.G.I.M.Andree, C. Bakker and P. Schreiner (eds) Crossing Boundaries: Contributions toInterreligious and Intercultural Education, Munster/Utrecht, Universiteit Utrecht and Comenius Institute, 89-99.
'The Body in Sikh Tradition' in S. Coakley (ed) Religion and the Body:
Comparative Perspectiveson Devotional Practices, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 289-305.(translated into Spanish and Rumanian. English
paperback version 2000)
1998 ‘“Being Religious Shows in Your Food”: Young British Hindus and Vegetarianism’ in T.S. Rukmani (ed) Hindu Diaspora: GlobalPerspectives, Montreal, Chair Hindu Studies, ConcordiaUniversity, 397-426.
‘Diversity as Ethos in Society: Negotiating Power Relations’ in D.Chidester, J. Stonier and J.Tobler (eds) Diversity as Ethos: Challenges for Interreligious and Intercultural Education, Cape Town, Institute for Comparative Religion in Southern Africa,116-132 and (1998) in Journal for the Study of Religions: Interreligious and Intercultural Studies, 11, 1, 55-74.
1999 'Sikhs and Proper Sikhs: Young British Sikhs' Perceptions of their Identity' in Pashaura Singh and N.G.Barrier (eds) Sikh Identity: Continuity and Change, Delhi, Manohar, 315-333.
2000 ‘Researching 8-13 Year Olds’ Perspectives on their Experience of Religion’ in Lewis, A. and Lindsay, G. (eds) Researching Children’s Perspectives, Buckingham, Open University Press, 135-149.
2001 ‘Representing Faith Traditions in Religious Education: An Ethnographic Perspective’ in L.J.Francis, J.Astley and M.Robbins (eds) The Fourth R for the Third Millennium: Education in Religion and Values for theGlobal Future,
Dublin, Veritas Publications, 137-158.
‘What Young British Hindus Believe: Some Issues for the Researcher and the
RE Teacher’ in H-G. Heimbrock, C.Scheilke and P.Schreiner (eds) Towards
Religious Competence: Diversity as a Challenge for Education in Europe,
Munster, Lit-verlag, 150-162.
‘Religious Nurture and Young People’s Spirituality’ in J. Erricker, C.Ota and
C.Erricker (eds) Spiritual Education, Cultural, Religious and Social
Differences: New Perspectives for the 21st Century, Brighton, Sussex
Academic, 130-142.
2002 ‘Ethnography and Religious Education’ in A. Brown and L.Broadbent (eds) Issues in Religious Education, London, RoutledgeFalmer, 111-122.
‘Quaker Ethnographers: A Reflexive Approach’ in E.Arweck and M.Stringer
(eds) Theorising Faith: The Insider/Outsider Problem in the Study of Ritual,
Birmingham, University of Birmingham Press, 133-154.
2004 ‘I’m a Gujarati Lohana and a Vaishnav as Well’: Religious Identity Formation
among Young Coventrian Punjabis and Gujaratis’ in S. Coleman and P.
Collins (eds) Religion, Identity and Change: Perspectives on Global
Transformations, London, Ashgate, 174-190.
‘Young British Sikhs and Religious Devotion: Issues Arising from
Ethnographic Research’ in A. S. King and J.Brockington eds) Intimate
Other: Love Divine in Indic Religions, New Delhi, Orient Longman, 310-
336.
‘UK Valmikis and the Label “Hindu”’ in J. Leslie and M. Clark (eds)
Creating a Dialogue: Text, Belief and Personal Identity (Proceedings of the
Valmiki Studies Workshop 2004), London, SOAS, 25-31.
2005 ‘Ethnography, Religion and Intercultural Education’ in R. Jackson and
U.McKenna (eds) Intercultural Education and Religious Plurality, Oslo
Coalition Occasional Papers, Oslo, The Oslo Coalition on Freedom of
Religion or Belief. 15-24. ISBN 92-92720-00-6
2006 ‘Ethnography, Religion and Intercultural Education’ in M.de Souza,
K.Engebretson, E. Durka, R.Jackson, A.McGrady (eds)
International Handbook of the Religious, Spiritual and Moral Dimensions in
Education, New York, Springer Publishing Company, 387-98, ISBN 1-4020-
4803-3.
‘UK Christmases in Sociological Perspective’ in N. Slee and R. Miles (eds)
Doing December Differently, Iona, Wild Goose, 126-9. ISBN 1-905010-23-0
2007 ‘The Contribution of Nurture in a Sampradaya to Young British Hindus’
Understanding of their Tradition’ in J.Hinnells (ed) Religious
Reconstruction in the South Asian Diasporas: From One Generation to
Another, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 51-73.
2008 ‘South Asian Christians in the UK’ in K. A. Jacobsen and Selva
J. Raj (eds) Invisible Diaspora: The South Asian Christian Diaspora in Europe
and North America, Aldershot, Ashgate, 17-38.
2010 with E. Arweck ‘Growing Up in a Mixed-Faith Family: Intact or
Fractured Chain of Memory?’ In S. Collins-Mayo and P. Dandelion (eds)
Religionand Youth,Aldershot, Ashgate, pp.167-74.
2010 with D. Jakobsh ‘Contextualising the Issues: Sikhism and Women’
in D. Jakobsh (ed.) Sikhism and Women, New Delhi, OxfordUniversity
Press,.pp. 1-39.
2011 ‘Sikh Diversity in the UK: Contexts and Evolution’ in K. A.
Jacobsen and K. Myrvold (eds) Sikhs in Europe - Migration, Identity and
Transnational Practices, Aldershot: Ashgate, 225-52.
2012 (with Elisabeth Arweck) ‘The Interaction of the Major Religions at the
Microcosmic Level: Religiously Mixed Families in the UK’, in J. Astley, L. J.
Francis, M. Robbins and M. Selçuk (eds) Teaching Religion, Teaching Truth,
Oxford: Peter Lang, 135-54.
2012 ‘Sikhism’ in Mark Cobb, Christina Puchalski and Bruce Rumbold
(eds) The Textbook of Spirituality in Healthcare, Oxford: OxfordUniversity
Press, 89-96.
2013 ‘Sparrows and Lions: Fauna in Sikh Imagery, Symbolism and Ethics’,
Charming Beauties and Frightful Beasts, Non-Human Animals in South Asian
Myth, Ritual and Folklore, eds. F.M. Fabrizio and T. Dähnhardt, Equinox.
2013 ‘Ethnography, Religious Education and The Fifth Cup’ in J. Miller., K.
O’Grady and U. McKenna (eds) Religion in Education, Innovation in International
Research,London: Routledge.
2014 ‘Sikh Spectrum: Mapping Emotions in the Panth’, in D. J. Davies and N. A. Warne
(eds) Emotions and Religious Dynamics, Aldershot: Ashgate, 27-46.
2015 ‘Such was the World: A Verse Offering’ in Lemcio, Eugene E.,
EssaysHonouring John Westerdale Bowker; A Man of Many Parts, Eugene, OR:
Wipf andStock.
2015 forthcoming (reprinted from 1998) Bridging the Gapbetween Young People’s
Experience of theirReligious Tradition at Home and at School: The
Contribution of Ethnographic Research’ in M. Robbins and L. Francis (eds)
Reader, London: Taylor and Francis
2015 ‘Interreligious Friendship: Insights from the Sikh Tradition’ in Alon Goshen-
Gottstein (ed.) Friendship across Religions: Theological Perspectives on
Interreligious Friendship, Lanham: Lexington Books, 117-134.
2016 '"Deg Tegh Fateh!": Metal as Material and Metaphor inSikh Tradition'in F. M. Ferrari and T. W. P. Dähnhardt (eds)Soulless Matter, Seats of Energy: Metals, Gems and Minerals in South Asian Traditions, Sheffield: Equinox, 174-197.
2016 ‘A Break from Prose: Defying the Boundaries of Genre’ in M. Guest and M. Middlemiss Le Mon (eds) Death, Life and Laughter: Essays in Honour of Douglas Davies, Abingdon: Routledge, 221-229.
(f) Chapters in Professional Handbooks
1989 'Britain's Sikhs' in A. Wood (ed) Religions and Education, Shap Working
Party 1969-1989, The BFSS National RE Centre, 75-78.
(with Robert Jackson) 'British Hindu Children and their Traditional Festivals'
in A. Wood (ed) Religions and Education, 53-55.
1990'Sikhism: Books and Stories' in R. Jackson and D. Starkings (eds) The Junior RE Handbook, Cheltenham, Stanley Thornes, 124-9.
(with Robert Jackson) in the same volume 'An Overview of Hinduism' and
'Learning from the Religious Experience of Children', 51-6 and 208-213.
1994 contribution to Teacher's Resource Book Ages 5-7, Bridges to Religions: The Warwick RE Project, Oxford, Heinemann.
1998 'Amrit Ceremony and Five Ks' in J.Barrow (ed) Meeting Sikhs, Leicester,
Christians Aware, 49-56.
2007 ‘Sikhism’ in R. Hughes, for the British Council, Cultural Connections: How
To Make the Most of the International Student Experience, London, The
British Council, p.51.
2017 ‘The Hindu Tradition and Childhood: An Overview’ in A. Strhan, S. G.
Parker and S.B. Bridgely (ed.) The Bloomsbury Reader in Religion and
Childhood, London: Bloomsbury, 33-40.
(g) Works of Reference
Editorship
1997 consultant editor for Sikhism for Bowker, J. (ed.) The Oxford Dictionary of
World Religions, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
2017 co-editor (with Knut A. Jacobsen, Gurinder Singh Mann and Kristina Myrvold)
Brill’s Encyclopedia of Sikhism volume 1, Leiden: Brill.
Articles
1988 'Sikhism' (13,000 words) in 4th edition of R.C.Zaehner (ed) The Hutchinson Encyclopaedia of Living Faiths, Hutchinson, 408-437.
1992Sikhs in Grossbritannien', U.Tworuschka and M.Tworuschka (eds)
BertelsmannHandbuch Religionen der Welt, Munchen, Bertelsmann
LexikonVerlag, 288-291.
1993‘Caste' and 'Hinduism and Hindu Social Theory' in W.Outhwaite and T. Bottomore (eds) TheBlackwell Dictionary of Twentieth Century Social Thought, Oxford, Blackwell.
'Hinduism in Bali', The Atlas of the Great Religions, Readers Digest, 143.
'Sikhism' in K.McLeish (ed) Bloomsbury Guide to Key Ideas in Human Thought, 679-680.
'Sikhism' in World Book Year Book 1993, London, World Book Inc, 298.
1994 'Sikhism' in World Book Year Book 1994, London, World Book Inc, 295.
1995 'Sikhism' in World Book Year Book 1995, London, World Book Inc,
1996 'Sikhism' in World Book Year Book 1996, London, World Book Inc.
‘Sikhism' in P.Morgan and C.Lawton (eds) Ethical Issues in Six Religious Traditions, Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh Press, 99-134.