Value and meaning: Paradoxes of religious diversity talk as globalized expertise

• An anthropological study of British interfaith dialogue promotion that suggests:
• Interfaith communication is a new source of anxiety in the UK.
• The exportation of “diversity talk” models new kinds of global linguistic value.
• Taylorizing talk can, paradoxically, reject managerial logic.
• Comparative study on expertise and scale might reveal similar paradoxical practices.

Based on linguistic anthropological research conducted among British interfaith dialogue advocates, this article analyzes the changing value of “diversity talk” in the UK, highlighting new understandings of global religion as a source of communication anxiety. Paradoxically, British interfaith dialogue advocates promote Taylorist linguistic prescriptions for religious diversity management across the globe, yet flout the social stratification inherent in managerial logic. I analyze these globally shared techniques, revealing advocates' desire to upscale linguistic prescriptions from the vertical authority of clergy, local and state politicians to what they see as the highest scale: the global ecumene.