Background:Literature about multicultural ethics is usually referred to medical ethics in health research (Woodland et al., 2021) and organizations studies (Wallace et al., 2014) whereas an issue less discussed in music education research (Kallio et al., 2021; Westerlund et al., 2020) and even less in multi-religious contexts.Focus:This presentation examines the ethical challenges encountered when conducting music education research across multiple cultural and religious contexts. It focuses on how institutional ethical review processes, often shaped by Western norms, are negotiated with local values, particularly around consent, privacy, and community engagement.Drawing on one case study, aiming to explore how beliefs and values in diverse intercultural and interreligious communities shape ECME professional practice, discussing the ethical approval process highlighting adaptations made in the process towards obtaining consent, avoiding political, religious, cultural and ethical obstacles along the way.Summary of main ideas:Findings reveal that researchers investigating culturally and religiously embedded practices in diverse educational settings, need to negotiate and adapt their research perspectives and approaches when faced with standard Western ethical frameworks.Key themes include the importance of reciprocal relationships, the need for creative and collaborative attitudes including multiple points of view. Strategies such as engaging cultural advisors, translating ethical concepts with nuance, and co-designing research with communities emerged as effective responses.Conclusions and implications for music education:The study underscores the importance of culturally responsive ethics in multicultural and multireligious music education research. It calls for institutions and researchers to adopt flexible, inclusive approaches that honor diverse musical traditions and community values, while maintaining their basic ethical backbone. These insights have implications for research design and training, and the ethical stewardship of cultural, religious and musical knowledge in global contexts.