Contextual religious education and the interpretive approach

This article responds to Andrew Wright's critique of my views on the representation of religions. Using various literary devices – associating my work closely with that of others whose views are in some ways different from my own, referring very selectively to published texts and exaggerating, and sometimes misrepresenting, what I actually say – Wright presents my work as dualistic, nominalist and as not genuinely hermeneutical. Wright contrasts what he sees as my extreme idea of religions as ‘constructions’ with his own view of them as ‘social facts’. My reply illustrates and responds to Wright's account of my work, clarifies my own position and raises questions about Wright's views, especially in relation to those of Gavin Flood, whom he cites with favour. My conclusion includes the suggestion that, although our epistemological positions are different in some ways, they spawn pedagogies utilising some common principles and values.     

An alternative reading of modern religious education in England and Wales

This paper challenges the overly positive image of the contribution made by religious education in England and Wales to the attainment of liberal educational aims that was recently presented in this journal, in the context of a review symposium on a festschrift celebrating the work and achievements of the influential British religious educator, Professor John Hull. An alternative reading is pursued that provides a more accurate and fair interpretation of the evidence. There is a discussion of the ideological character of British religious education and a consideration of the reasons why assertions of its ‘success’ by religious educators are currently so vocal. Critical attention is focused on two particular issues over which the influence of Hull on contemporary policy and practice is acknowledged: that of his dismissal of the accusation that multi‐faith religious education confuses pupils, and that of current strategies in religious education to promote inter‐religious and intercultural understanding.     

论教会幼儿教育对中国幼儿教育近代化的影响

在华的外国教会幼儿教育作为特定的历史产物,在新中国成立后结柬了它的历史命运.考察教会幼儿教育在中国的发展历程,分析其在中国幼儿教育近代化的过程中所起到的推动作用以及阻碍问题,探讨中国幼儿教育在近代化进程中对教会幼儿教育的突破有现实意义.     

Australian core Catholic youth,Catholic schools and religious education

This paper reports on research on the attitudes of a differentiated sample of students to Catholic schools in general and religious education in particular. Core Catholic youth are described, following Fulton et al. (2000 Fulton, J., Abela, A., Borowik, I., Dowling, T., Marler, P. and Tomasi, L. 2000. Young Catholics at the New Millennium; the Religion and Morality of Young Adults in Western Countries, Dublin: University College Press.  [Google Scholar]: Young Catholics at the New Millennium, Dublin, University College Press), as individuals who have an existing connection with the parish community. Some results that emerge from 58 in‐depth interviews with 14‐ and 15‐year‐old core Catholics are that they value their time in Catholic schools, feel that they are in a safe environment and are not well networked with others of a similar background. Attitudes to religious education by core Catholic youth are described as weak positive. Religious education is not unpopular but is not seen as a discipline that helps resolve some of the difficulties that they experience as young Catholics. These difficulties relate to trying to reconcile what they see as the conflict between the scientific and religious view of creation and many supernatural religious claims.     

A conversational analysis of developments in religious education in Europe and in Turkey

This contribution is focusing on the question: ‘In what way is the issue of religious education in general and Islamic religious education in particular articulated in Europe and in Turkey, and what can be learned from the respective articulations for the interreligious dialogue?’ In the first section, the historical context is presented that makes up the diversity and situatedness of models of religious education (RE) in Europe, and its relation to citizenship education. Then the role of Islam in RE in Europe is addressed. In particular, Islam and RE/Islamic RE in the Dutch context is highlighted. In the second section, the Turkish educational system is described from the Ottoman Empire to the Republican Era, including the position of Islam. Turkey’s present day secularised educational system is presented and the changed position of Islam in education. In the third section, the authors introduce the concept of ‘conversational analysis’ by using ‘European tinted lenses’ to further explore the Turkish articulation of Islam in education, and ‘Turkish tinted lenses’ to explore the European articulation with regard to Islam in RE. Concluding, some interesting aspects are emphasised where European and Turkish educators can learn from and with each other, and some recommendations for further research are given.     

The experience of black African religious education trainee teachers training in England

This study addresses issues surrounding the recruitment and training of black African religious education teachers within the context of the government’s intention to make the teaching profession more representative of the wider community. In relation to this there is a strong emphasis in the Teacher Training Agency’s Qualifying to Teach on selection procedures which promote equality of opportunity and the recognition of individual training needs. The study is informed by the work of Sikes and Everington who have highlighted the place of religion and culture within the personal histories of religious education teachers. Black African members of two successive cohorts of PGCE students are tracked to identify their training needs in relation to their cultural and religious backgrounds. The data identifies four cultural and religious factors which impact on their training to teach religious education in the UK. Finally, as advised by the Carrington Report, recommendations are made for the practice of teacher educators.     

Let the captives speak for themselves! More dialogue between religious education in England and Germany

This article offers a German response to John Hull's recent article on ‘religious education in Germany and England’ (in BJRE, volume 27, issue 1). The author claims that recent developments have brought religious education in both countries much closer together than in the past and that the differences between the respective systems should be understood contextually. In his view, more complex approaches to comparative research in religious education are needed. Agreement should be sought in terms of criteria for quality religious education rather than in terms of a unitary model because religious education in different countries needs a pluralism of different models.     

The necessity of historical inquiry in educational research: the case of religious education

This article explores the mixed fortunes of historical inquiry as a method in educational studies and exposes evidence for the neglect of this method in religious education research in particular. It argues that historical inquiry, as a counterpart to other research methods, can add depth and range to our understanding of education, including religious education, and can illuminate important longer‐term, broader and philosophical issues. The article also argues that many historical voices have remained silent in the existing historiography of religious education because such historiography is too generalised and too biased towards the development of national policy and curriculum and pedagogical theory. To address this limitation in educational research, this article promotes rigorous historical studies that are more substantially grounded in the appropriate historiographical literature and utilise a wide range of original primary sources. Finally, the article explores a specific example of the way in which a historical approach may be fruitfully applied to a particular contemporary debate concerning the nature and purpose of religious education.     

略论我国的宗教立法

宗教立法是一个实践问题,在中国,它的实质内容是构建宗教的保障制度,在立法中必须坚持原则.文章介绍中国宗教立法的具体实践,对宗教立法的特点进行评说.     

Weaving the threads of meaning: a characteristic of children's spirituality and its implications for religious education

Although well documented from a British perspective, empirical research exploring the spiritual lives of primary school children in the Australian context is a field in which scholarship is beginning to emerge. This article reports on one particular finding which emerged from an Australian study seeking to identify some characteristics of children's spirituality in Catholic primary schools. The characteristic has been termed weaving the threads of meaning. It describes the way in which the children who participated in this study appeared to use their sense of wonder as a means of expressing their spirituality by piecing together a worldview based around their attempts at meaning making. This article argues that the existence of this characteristic presents a challenge for religious education, in particular for those programmes which operate within faith schools where the Christian narrative forms a source of the authoritative wisdom to be handed on to its students.     

基于高校安全保卫和学生管理视野下的宗教工作研究——以东部地区为例

当前高校校园宗教工作出现的新形势和新情况给高校安全保卫和学生管理工作带来了很多新挑战和新压力,同时也引起了社会的高度关注。深入研究大学生宗教信仰情况,切实加强高校宗教教育管理工作,对防范和抵御敌对宗教势力渗透具有重要的现实意义。     

论宗教法制化的根本动因

物质资料的生产是宗教产生和发展的基础,也是宗教形态演变的内在动因。法律制度作为经济发展需求和国家意志的最直接的反映,要求建立公平、正义、秩序化的法治社会。宗教作为一种社会组织和社会实体为了适应社会法治化的发展变化,也必须依法活动,宗教法制化成为社会发展的必然要求和历史趋势。     

Legitimizing public schooling and innovative education policies in strict religious communities: the story of the new Haredi public education stream in Israel

The study explored how a group of private Haredi (ultra-Orthodox Jewish) schools legitimized an innovative non-mandatory reform. Specifically, it examined the circumstances that facilitated and hindered a coincidence of wants between the schools and the Ministry of Education, which resulted in signing agreements that changed the status of the schools from private to public. The study drew on interviews and on various documents, including contracts, summaries of meetings, and work plans. The conclusions portray the correspondence between the top-down and bottom-up processes that facilitated the reform. At their intersection, discursive interactions transpired between the Haredi inspectors at the Ministry of Education and school leaders, reflecting a mutual aspiration toward pragmatic legitimacy. The prominent barriers to the reform derived from the Ministry of Education’s strategic assumption that a quiet, unregulated reform would generate less resistance. However, this assumption led to actions that ultimately reduced the effectiveness of the discursive interactions and their ability to produce pragmatic legitimacy. We argue that to legitimize innovative non-mandatory educational reforms in strict religious groups, the State should speak in several voices: through discursive interactions led by cultural mediators, but also through official publications, regulations, and marketing campaigns that would strengthen the reform’s pragmatic legitimacy.     

Connecting with RE: an approach to religious education for children with autism and/or severe and complex learning disabilities

In this article Liz O'Brien discusses the need for a distinctive approach to the religious education of children and young people with autism and/or severe and complex learning disabilities. She describes how an imaginative and creative approach, built on an underlying principle of understanding, empathy and respect in relation to the ‘culture of autism’ can lead to enriching, meaningful and enjoyable RE experiences. Through an RE and Special Needs Fellowship, awarded by the National Society for Promoting Christian Education, she was given the opportunity to assemble Connecting with RE (O'Brien, 2002), a resource for all those seeking accessible RE for children with autism and/or severe and complex learning disabilities. This article presents some of the fundamental philosophy and methodology that underpin the Connecting with RE approach.     

Education,gender and Islam in China: The place of religious education in challenging and sustaining ‘undisputed traditions’ among Chinese Muslim women

The essay investigates the place of religious and secular education in the lives of Chinese Muslim women. Education is treated as a site where state and society are reproduced and/or challenged, where tensions arise over control of minds and bodies, and over interpretations and uses of religion and culture. Specifically, the essay compares contrastive situations of female religious education within a matrix of inter-dependent issues such as the diversity of Muslim contexts in China, state treatment of minorities’ rights to religious practice and to education, organisation and implementation of religious education, and relations between secular education and Islamic education.     

远程教育的回顾与展望

介绍远程教育的发展历史，实现远程教育的媒体技术，远程教育的发展需要建构主义理论的指导．