Maria Stankiewicz

In 2017 the Community Religions Project welcomed its fourth Undergraduate Research and Leadership Scholar, Maria Stankiewicz, who will continue to work under the supervision of Dr Mel Prideaux over two consecutive summers.

Her research project aims its attention at Iranian Christians in Leeds, a community that has grown significantly in recent years and has become more and more visible in the religious life of the city. Through engaging with Oral History, the researcher intends to record stories of faith, migration, and life in Leeds of individuals identifying as Iranians and Christians, in order to recognise their presence and contribution in early XXI c. Leeds, as well as to preserve the knowledge of their unique experiences.

During the first summer of research, alongside conducting a preliminary study using non-oral sources, Maria has engaged with clergy and laypeople involved in work with Iranian Christians to understand ways in which Iranians are integrated within churches and communities, which allowed her to create a strong foundation for the main part of the research.

She went on to collect a sample of Oral History interviews with members of the Iranian Christian community, processing it, and analysing the findings, aiming towards making the research accessible to the community and to the wider public.

Please find attached Maria's very interesting research here: Iranian Christians in Leeds