Religious Minorities in England:Fern Seed Spiritualities

In the course of this contribution, we argue that a significant religious minority within England have what we have termed “Fern Seed Spiritualities”. They are those who do not reject belief in the supernatural, or spiritual practices, and do not identify strongly or consistently with a crystallised worldview like theism or Humanism. They are invisible to many academic commentators operating within the legal field, because they do not fit within the dominant model of religious or ideological identity. <br/>Our thesis is that in broad terms, the legal framework within England is <br/>extremely protective of the practice of faith and freedom of conscience, yet despite this generally positive picture, Fern Seed Spiritualities struggle to have their rights and needs recognised.