Professor Sylvia Collins-Mayo
Faculties, deparments and locations
- Faculty of Business and Social Sciences
- Department of Criminology and Social Sciences
- School of Law, Social and Behavioural Sciences
- Penrhyn Road
Associate Professor
About
I gained my PhD at the University of Surrey in 1997 with a thesis focused on Young People's Faith in Late Modernity. I came to Kingston University in the same year and continued my post-doctoral work exploring questions around religion and the world views of Generation Y (individuals born between 1980 and 2000).
I am interested in the beliefs and values young people employ in shaping their identity and sense of purpose in life. I have researched how young people engage with the Christian heritage of Britain. More broadly, I have written on spirituality and on how religious beliefs and practices are lived out in everyday life, including how prayer is used and understood in different contexts.
My recent research has been concerned with the role, impact, and experiences of Street Pastors, who work in conjunction with the police and local government to enhance the safety and well-being of the public as they engage with the night-time economy.
In 2022, I was ordained as a priest in the Church of England, which brought my academic interests and personal life together in a variety of ways.
I am currently Head of the Department of Criminology and Sociology. I teach the sociology of religion and social research methods within the Department. I am interested in supervising doctoral candidates with research projects focusing on the sociology of religion, particularly in relation to Christianity, young people's faith, spirituality, agnosticism, and prayer.
Qualifications
- BSc (Hons) Applied Psychology and Sociology, University of Surrey.
- PhD Sociology: Young People's Faith in Late Modernity, University of Surrey.
- Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education, Kingston University.
- BA (Hons) Theology, Ministry and Mission, Durham University.
Domains
I have taught on a wide range of modules at different points in my career. At the moment, I teach research methods on the postgraduate Criminology programme. I also teach the module Religion and Belief which is a Level 5 option.
Qualifications
- Fellow of the HEA
- PG Cert HE
Courses taught
My primary research interests are in the sociology of religion, where I study faith and religious practice. I have published on young people's faith, religion in public life through the work of Street Pastors, and prayer.
Qualifications
- PhD Young People's Faith in Late Modernity, University of Surrey
Specialisms
- Sociology of Religion
Scholarly affiliations
- British Sociological Association (BSA)
- BSA Sociology of Religion Study Group
I have been Head of Department for the Department of Criminology, Politics and Sociology (formerly the Department of Criminology and Sociology) for a number of years. My role involves oversight of the Department, its teaching and research, and student and staff welfare.
University responsibilities
- Head of Department
Publications
Religion and youth
(2010). Farnham, U.K.: (Ashgate)
The faith of Generation Y
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, Mayo, Bob, Nash, Sally and Cocksworth, Christopher (2010). London, U.K.: (Church House Publishing)
Making sense of Generation Y: the world view of 15- to 25-year-olds
Savage, Sara, Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, Mayo, Bob and Cray, Graham (2006). London: (Church House)
Ambiguous evangelism
Mayo, Bob, Collins, Sylvia and Savage, Sara (2004). London: (SPCK)
Taking Race Live : exploring experiences of race through interdisciplinary collaboration in Higher Education
Sharma, Sonya, Catalano, Elena, Seetzen, Heidi, Minors, Helen and Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, 2019, London Review of Education (17), 2, pp 193-205
Book Review of: Religion or belief, discrimination and equality: Britain in global contexts by Paul Weller, Kingsley Purdam, Nazila Ghanea and Sariya Cheruvallil-Contractor
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, 2016, Sociology (50), 6, pp 1201-1202
Youth and religion: an international perspective
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, 2012, Theo-Web. Zeitschrift fuer Religionpaedagogik [Academic Journal of Religious Education] (11), 1, pp 80-94
Book Review of: Christian roots, contemporary spirituality by Lynda Barley and Open for you: the church, the visitor and the gospel by Paul Bond
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, 2008, Material Religion (4), 2, pp 247-248
Raising Christian consciousness: creating place
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, Nash, S. and Mayo, Bob, 2007, Journal of youth and theology (6), 2, pp 41-59
The rise and fall of the YCW in England
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia and Hornsby-Smith, Michael P., 2002, Journal of Contemporary Religion (17), 1, pp 87-100
Dissent by default : 'believing without belonging' in twenty-first-century England
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2019). In: Hanciles, Jehu J., (ed.), The twentieth century : traditions in a global context. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford University Press, pp 292-311
The meaning and inheritance of Anglican identity amongst young people
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2016). In: Day, Abby, (ed.), Contemporary Issues in the Worldwide Anglican Communion: Powers and Pieties. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge, pp 21-38
Evangelicals and gender
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2015). In: Smith, Greg, (ed.), 21st Century evangelicals: reflections on research by the Evangelical Alliance. Watford, U.K.: Instant Apostle
Young people and residual Christian culture
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2015). In: Day, Abby, (eds.) and Lovheim, Mia, (eds.), Modernities, memory, mutations: Grace Davie and the study of religion. Abingdon, U.K.: Routledge, pp 179-194
Street Prayer: A case study of the use of prayer by Street Pastors
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2013). In: Giordan, Giuseppe, (eds.) and Woodhead, Linda, (eds.), Prayer in Religion and Spirituality. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, pp 173-188
Choosing my religion: young people’s personal Christian knowledge
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2012). In: Guest, Matthew, (eds.) and Arweck, Elisabeth, (eds.), Religion and knowledge: sociological perspectives. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate, pp 149-163
(Dis)engagements with Christianity amongst young people In England and Scotland
Vincett, Giselle and Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2010). In: Giordan, Giuseppe, (ed.), Annual Review of the Sociology of Religion. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, pp 219-250
Introduction
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2010). In: Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, (eds.) and Dandelion, Pink, (eds.), Religion and youth. Farnham, U.K.: Ashgate, pp 1-8
Religion, pop culture and 'virtual faith'
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia and Beaudoin, Tom (2010). In: Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, (eds.) and Dandelion, Pink, (eds.), Religion and youth. Farnham, U.K.: Ashgate, pp 17-24
Secularization and desecularization in Europe and North America
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2010). In: Patte, Daniel, (ed.), The Cambridge Dictionary of Christianity. New York, U.S.: Cambridge University Press, pp 1139-1142
A question of belief
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia and Rankin, Phil (2010). In: Collins-Mayo, Sylvia, (eds.) and Dandelion, Pink, (eds.), Religion and youth. Farnham, U.K.: Ashgate, pp 193-200
Young people's spirituality and the meaning of prayer
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2008). In: Day, Abby, (ed.), Religion and the individual. Aldershot, U.K.: Ashgate Publishing Ltd, pp 33-45
The resources and people of the local church: Sociological strand : resources and people
Collins, Sylvia (2005). In: Cameron, Helen, (eds.), Richter, Philip, (eds.), Davies, Douglas, (eds.) and Ward, Frances, (eds.), Studying local churches: a handbook. London, U.K.: SCM Press, pp 146-159
English Christianity, modern
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia (2003). In: Houlden, Leslie, (ed.), Jesus in history, thought and culture: an encyclopedia. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, pp 235-240
Religion and youth
Collins, Sylvia (2001). In: Smelser, Neil J., (eds.) and Baltes, Paul B., (eds.), Oxford: Elsevier, pp 13051-13054
Faith, ethics, young people and late modernity
Collins, Sylvia (2000). In: Flanagan, Kieran, (eds.) and Jupp, Peter C., (eds.), Virtue ethics and sociology: issues of modernity and religion. Basingstoke, U.K.: Palgrave Macmillan, pp 91-103
Spirituality and youth
Collins, Sylvia (2000). In: Percy, Martyn, (ed.), Calling time: religion and change at the turn of the millennium. Sheffield, U.K.: Sheffield Academic Press, pp 221-237
Der immanente Glaube der Jugend in der Spatmoderne
Collins, Sylvia (1999). In: Friesl, Christian, (eds.) and Polak, Regina, (eds.), Die Suche nach der religiosen Aura : Analysen zum Verhaltnis von Jugend und Religion in Europa. Graz - Wien, Austria: Verlag Zeitpunkt, pp 210-223
Immanent faith: young people in late modernity
Collins, Sylvia (1999). In: Francis, Leslie J., (ed.), Sociology, theology and the curriculum. London, U.K.: Cassell, pp 165-174
Gender Differences Among British Evangelicals
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia and Smith, G.(2013). In: Engaging Sociology. British Sociological Association Annual Conference, 3-5 Apr 2013 :London, U.K.
Popular culture and young people's worldview
Collins-Mayo, Sylvia(2003). In: International society for the sociology of religion conference, 21 - 25 Jul 2003 :Turin, Italy