RELIGIOUS EDUCATION AT THE EDGE OF HISTORY

This article suggests that religious education discourse in the future must be multilingual if it is to prepare people to participate in a postmodern world of religious diversity and secularism. Five “languages” are suggested, including those native to the religious education of particular religious communities, the language of interreligious education, the language of public religious education, a postreligion religious education language, and the language of academic religious education.     

2. RACE RELATIONS IN COLLEGE

Controversy surrounding a Catholic philosophy of education and the Catholic “identity” of institutions of higher learning reveals the vitality and the genuine liberality of contemporary Catholic higher education. Rather than being symptoms of political correctness or of a lost capacity to celebrate Catholic or any other particularity, these controversies reveal the openness and authenticity of Catholic higher education. They show the willingness of many leaders in Catholic higher education to let go of ecclesiastical sectarianism, of absolute claims inconsistent with God's universal love and availability, and of classicism, and to embrace a reverent religious pluralism, a historical perspective, and the sheer exhilaration of intellectual discourse which aims to be universal. Such openness is no more risky than the more narrow and triumphal perspectives it replaces, and is well worth the risks.     

PERCEPTIONS OF THE PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AMONG RELIGIOUS TEACHER EDUCATION STUDENTS IN ISRAEL

This research examines the purposes of education perceived by teacher education students preparing for a career in Israeli public religious schools. Participants were 164 men and 364 women in their first or final year of teacher education. They responded to questionnaires that explored educational purposes in four ways. Twenty-four students also were interviewed. Major results indicate that: 1) universal and religious purposes of education are considered highly important; 2) men attribute greater importance than women to religious- Torah purposes; 3) academic-intellectual growth is not considered an important educational purpose. Implications of these and other findings are considered for educational policy and practice in public religious schools.     

论爱人如己的宗教团体性

基督宗教的教义始终主张,“爱人如己”是一种指向所有邻人的“普世之爱”。但进 一步的分析可以表明:由于坚持上帝至上的神本主义立场,基督宗教提倡的这种“爱人如己”必然 呈现出鲜明的宗教团体性,甚至还会引发宗教仇恨,从而最终陷入难以消解的深度悖论。     

The 'Protean' Spirit of Jeff Lewis

In a recent contribution to this journal, Jeff Lewis has criticised the views of both Nigel Blake and myself on spiritual education. In particular he has taken exception to my own claim that concepts of spirituality are indexed to particular religious or other traditions raising difficulties for any common programme of spiritual education. Lewis claims that my own conception of spirituality is mistakenly 'reductionist' and seeks to base a general conception of spiritual education on a more 'holistic' approach. By way of response, I argue (amongst other points): first, that Lewis does not consistently adhere to this 'holistic' conception and that his account of spiritual life is ultimately no less 'reductionist' than mine; second, that his attempt to ground a perspective-neutral conception of spiritual life in the claims of cognitive science is deeply misconceived; third, that his arguments have seriously problematic socio-political implications.     

Who’s Afraid of Secularisation? Reframing the Debate Between Gearon and Jackson

This paper examines the debate between Liam Gearon and Robert Jackson concerning the politicisation of religious education. The debate concerns the extent to which secularisation frames religious education by inculcating politically motivated commitments to tolerance, respect and human rights. Gearon is critical of a supposed ‘counter-secularisation’ narrative that, he argues, underpins the REDCo project (Religion in Education. A Contribution to Dialogue or a Factor of Conflict in Transforming Societies of European Countries), suggesting that the politicising assumptions behind REDCo in fact extend rather than counter secularisation. Although Jackson’s rejoinder to Gearon is robust and largely accurate, I suggest that it misses the basic challenge that religious education serves political ends. I argue that both Gearon and Jackson are enframed at a more fundamental level by a particular view of religion. The problem of pluralism is not, as Gearon supposes, a consequence of the secular framing of religion in terms of tolerance and respect, but predicated on a propositional view of religion that places competing truth claims in opposition. Nothing less than a transformed view of religion itself is the presupposition and the aim of religious education.     

Spiritual Language and the Ethics of Redemption: a Reply to Jim Mackenzie

I argue in this paper that Jim Mackenzie's critique of my recent work on religious and spiritual education fails on two main counts. First, his imputation to me of a confessional approach to religious education is simply misdirected, insofar as my previous papers are quite clearly concerned to sketch an alternative to both confessional and phenomenological approaches. Secondly, his attempt to reduce my 'spiritual truths' to moral and other claims turns on some question-begging decontextualisation of such judgements, as well as upon demonstrable ambiguities in his use of the terms 'moral' and 'soul'. In particular, I argue that the language of spirituality is indexed to an 'ethics of redemption' which is clearly distinguishable from any discourse of secular morality.     

The Role of Religious Higher Education in the Training of Teachers of Russian ‘Orthodox Culture’1

This article provides an ethnographic account of the tensions arising from the different ways of building authority as teachers and the role of higher education in establishing teachers' legitimacy in Russia through the specific example of religious education. After state atheism was abandoned in 1991, an unprecedented demand for religious knowledge appeared in Russia, in particular in relation to Russian Orthodoxy. Since the Russian context of Orthodox education lacks shared standards, there is considerable latitude in the criteria determining norms and rules. Seeking to increase its influence, the Russian Orthodox Church aspires to have Orthodox catechism taught in a systematic way both in parishes and in secular schools. In practice, the Church is encouraging professional pedagogues to submit their curriculum proposals that would be suffused with Orthodoxy and at the same time be eligible for adoption in all settings and institutions. Thus, in order to educate teachers of religion, the Church has made available multiple, diverse sources of religious knowledge (self-learning, various courses offered by the eparchies, Spiritual Academies, and other institutions of higher education). But the legitimacy of these sources is often questioned, for instance by asking whether the institution that delivers diplomas of religious higher education has been granted formal state recognition. The teachers' quest for being acknowledged as competent technicians of religious education leads to competing claims for the authenticity of the sources of their training.     

Should religious education be a compulsory school subject?

Britain is an increasingly secular society, yet religious education is a compulsory school subject. Is its compulsory status justifiable? Religious education was made compulsory in 1944 partly so as to support the moral values underlying democracy. This civic justification faded after the war, but even today one official justification of religious education is in terms of moral education. Another has to do with understanding and respecting other religions and beliefs. This essay examines both justifications and concludes that neither is strong enough to support the continued existence of religious education as a separate, compulsory subject. The same verdict is passed on a third justification, based on a recommended switch in the content of religious education classes to the critical analysis of religious claims.     

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 PARENTS COUNCIL

The aim of this article is to consider the psychological mechanisms that may prevent individuals from achieving religious tolerance and religious pluralism. After defining these concepts and explaining why they are desirable outcomes, four psychological obstacles to the achievement of religious tolerance and religious pluralism will be explored by considering both research in psychology and the literature on religious education. The aim of identifying these obstacles is to enable us to suggest how they might be overcome through education, and what the implications for religious education are.     

略论拿破仑的宗教观及其宗教政策的成败

拿破仑自称没有宗教信仰,却是有神论者.他深知宗教在各民族人民中的地位,重视宗教和宗教政策,这有助于对外征服.拿破仑尤其重视宗教的巩固政权、安定社会的作用,并采取了卓有成效的措施.拿破仑要使教皇充当"帝国的陪臣"的谋求则是失败的.他的宗教政策的结果是在法国实现了宗教和平.     

POSSIBLE NEW FUTURES FOR OUR JOURNAL ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB

The author argues that this journal, Religious Education, as a premier outlet for religious education scholarship, must take more creative steps in making its scholarship accessible via electronic media. In particular, she suggests three possible new arenas: leveraging existing content by creating “electronic content collections,” moving the journal into an online format that would allow for multimedia articles, and developing a site that would promote “open source” scholarship in religious education.     

FROM KNOWLEDGE TO WISDOM: A NEW CHALLENGE TO THE EDUCATIONAL MILIEU WITH IMPLICATIONS FOR RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

The epistemological paradigm, known as post-modernity, challenges some of the presuppositions of educational systems in general, and of religious education in particular. One of these presuppositions is the exaggerated primacy given to knowledge attained through reason. However, the paradigm shift invites us to make a transition from knowledge to wisdom—to the integration and transformation of knowledge into human experience. This transition helps us incorporate into the learning process those particular ways of learning that are preferred by many women, bringing us to a more holistic conception of religious education. It enables us to establish a new relationship between learners and educators in the model of a learning circle.     

CHRISTIAN PARTICULARITY DOES NOT DEPEND ON EXCLUSIVE TRUTH CLAIMS: TEACHING ENTHUSIASTIC WITNESS IN A PLURALISTIC WORLD

To educate for deep and responsible religious particularism, while at the same time laying a foundation for commitment to religious pluralism, means dealing with the nature of truth claims. Jesus Christ is an incomparable gift to the world, and the Truth revealed by him is of infinite value. It is a universal truth, and to educate for religious particularism means to proclaim that proudly, clearly, and convincingly. This fact should not, however, be reduced to an exclusive truth claim. To educate for pluralism is to be convinced that one has something of value that needs to be shared, but not to impose one system of truth on others because, without it, they are lost or damned.     

THE RELIGIOUS DAY SCHOOL

Reflection on the Holocaust is still critical today to help all educators teach their students about good and evil in the world today. In particular, reflection on the Holocaust is crucial for religious educators to help people know and name God, as well as help them deal with questions of theodicy, within their everyday life experiences. This article examines the role of religious education in this post-Holocaust context. Because of the Holocaust, Christians ought to be educated in ways that free them from biased and slanderous views of people and their religions, and open them to more inclusive and hospitable ways of coexisting with all types of people in the world today.     

International knowledge transfer in religious education: universal validity or regional practices? Backgrounds,considerations and open questions concerning a new debate

ABSTRACT

This article refers to the new European discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education. Readers are introduced to the background of the recent manifesto ‘International Knowledge Transfer in Religious Education: A Manifesto for Discussion’ which was the outcome of a first international consultation of researchers in the field of religious education in October 2018. In a first step, the demand for international knowledge transfer in religious education is described. Furthermore, the question of the validity of knowledge in religious education is taken up and discussed in the sense of the presuppositions of international transfer and cooperation. Special attention is given to the relationship between universal and contextual elements or dimensions of knowledge in religious education and their epistemological implications which the authors consider a general and fruitful challenge for the discipline, in international as well as in national contexts. In conclusion, the authors set forth a number of perspectives for future research concerning international knowledge transfer in religious education.     

CONSULTATION: A Final Report

In 2008 Quebec introduced a new ethics and religious culture course. This marks a significant development in Canadian education as the mandated curriculum is intended for use in publically funded secular schools. In the past such courses have been in the domain of denominational schools. This new approach is examined in the context of the profound changes in Quebec society in recent years, typified by the sudden decline in the influence of the Roman Catholic Church. An overview of the curriculum is given, noting its basis as a particular type of phenomenological approach to the study of ethics and religion. The curriculum is analyzed against the theoretical perspectives developed by Moore and Wright. A number of issues on the scope of the study, the significant demands it places on students and teachers, and how it critically engages with religious truth claims are examined.     

Islamic education and the challenge of democratic citizenship: a critical perspective

This article analyzes how concepts of liberal and progressive Islam, which have been developed in the political and theological academic literature, may inform the curriculum of Islamic education and the practice of religious educators in Islamic schools in the US. We investigate the meaning of in-faith Islamic education and how it can conform to the life in a democratic, multicultural, and multi-faith society. Liberal Islam challenges the transmission-oriented and rigid interpretations of Islam and seeks to appreciate and to contextualize the religious claims which are compatible with ideals of reflective education, rational thinking, mutual respect, and equal citizenship. It suggests that students become critical ‘consumers’ of Islam, its moral and civic purposes, and the cultural politics of religious interrogations.     

COLLABORATING WITH PEOPLE TO STUDY "THE POPULAR": IMPLEMENTING PARTICIPATORY ACTION RESEARCH STRATEGIES IN RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

This article seeks to describe the theoretical foundation upon which the author has pursued research into questions of how religious educators could and should interact with popular culture. The methodology employed is most often labelled "participatory action research," and is used in an attempt to bring together the various disciplines of theology, psychology, media studies, and religious education into one conversation that sheds light on the dilemmas facing religious educators in a mass-mediated context. In many ways the choice of which methodology to use to pursue these questions has its roots in the situatedness of the author's own educational journey. Locating herself in a particular context leads into a discussion of the distinctions between "method," "methodology," and "epistemology"; and from there into a very brief consideration of "standpoint" epistemology and its utility in the convergence of feminist practice and religious educational practice. From there her understanding of participatory action research, and how that methodology has worked to structure a collaboration with other religious educators around the use of media literacy within religious education is explicitly described.