An agnostic view of ‘faith hate’ crime

So‐called ‘faith hate’, or religiously aggravated crime stands out starkly as being the uncharted territory in hate crime scholarship and policy research. When the evidence about the problem in the United Kingdom is unfolded, it suggests that there may be valuable policy learning to be gained. There are some fundamental questions that need to be addressed, however. Are victims really targeted because of their faith or because of something else? Are such crimes different to other acts of hate crime, such as racist crime? And who are the perpetrators of ‘faith hate’ crime? Are they any different from those who commit race hate crime? These questions have important implications for policy and practice learning.