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.     

Romanticism,representations of religion and critical religious education

Geoff Teece has recently (in BJRE, 27, 2005, pp. 29–40) come to the defence of modern religious education and contended that many of the criticisms brought against it are based on mistaken interpretations. More particularly, Teece accuses Andrew Wright of misinterpreting the position of Professor John Hick and of failing to appreciate the intellectual resources that Hick provides for the construction of a critical form of religious education. He attempts to correct Wright’s interpretation of Hick, and by extension to undermine Wright’s indictment of the influence of modernity on religious education; and he attempts to illustrate how Hick’s religious pluralism can make a contribution to discussions about critical religious education. The aim of this paper is to advance the case for critical religious education and to outline something of the form and nature it should take. It begins with a short discussion of the nature and commitments of modern religious education, indicating the sense in which they are deficient. It then moves on to consider Teece’s appeal to the thought of John Hick, which is judged to be misinterpreted and inappropriate. The paper concludes with the articulation of a set of four heuristic principles that give substance to the vision of critical religious education.     

‘What Could Be Better Than This?’ Conflicting Visions of the Good Life in Traditional Education

Traditional (especially religious) education draws on a received vision of the good life to guide its educational efforts. But rich traditions have multiple visions of the good life. Educators who aspire to openness as well as rootedness seek canonical stories that raise for discussion these multiple visions. Such discussions negotiate a relationship with outside, majority culture, but also foster rich internal discussion on the meaning of life. They allow for the growth of tradition in the light of changing reality, as well as its preservation. As an illustration, the paper considers an ancient Jewish religious tale as a means of 'pulling students up short' and thereby making actual and vivid within the curriculum issues concerning the good life and the nature of tolerance. The discussion raises questions concerning communitarianism, liberalism and religious education, as well as considering possibilities of autonomy in conditions of pluralism.     

甘地宗教思想特征探析

甘地宗教思想是一个庞杂的体系,具有鲜明而独特的特征,表现在两个方面:一是对宗教和谐与宗教多元的重视,包括宗教统一、宗教平等和宗教宽容;二是对人的解放与人的价值的重视,包括宗教实践和宗教人道主义。甘地的宗教思想不仅是打开甘地思想和行为的一把钥匙,而且也是解析当今世界宗教冲突的一剂良方。     

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 freedom of religion and the freedom of education in twenty-first-century Belgium: a critical approach

In spite of recent tendencies of secularisation and religious pluralism, most Belgian schools are Catholic schools, where Roman Catholic religious education is a compulsory subject. As we will argue, this can lead to a de facto undermining of the freedom of religion and education and a shift in the system is therefore required. In the long term, the number of Catholic schools should be in proportion with the number of students/parents choosing these schools. In the short term, however, this strategy is not recommended and for pragmatic reasons, we propose a system in which religious education in substantially subsidised faith-based schools is no longer compulsory. We will argue that such a system does not lead to an infringement of the (internal) freedom of religion of faith-based institutions and that it will guarantee more educational and religious freedom than the current system does.     

Meta-concepts,thinking skills and religious education

This paper proposes that the acquisition of meta-concepts and thinking skills in order to facilitate scholarly religious thought should be the principal aim of religious education in schools. As a result, the aim of religious education is primarily stated in cognitive terms and religious education is understood as closely related to education about religion. The educational value of this approach is explained in a cultural–historical perspective on learning. It is shown that there is a close connection between learning and development and that school learning especially contributes to development of pupils’ higher cognitive functions, if school learning aims at the acquisition of subject-specific meta-concepts and thinking skills. In order to apply these insights to religious education, the aim of religious education is reconsidered and some examples of meta-concepts and thinking skills that may serve as the content of religious education are discussed.     

Equality of opportunity in a pluralistic society: A theoretical framework

Cultural pluralism is gaining importance in contemporary discussions of education. It can be viewed as a special case of freedom of choice, to be stipulated in policy making along with equity and efficiency. But, when applied to the special case of immigrants' children, implications for policy are equivocal. The spatial distribution of the residences of such children gives rise to obstacles in supplying educational services. Policies seemingly expressive of cultural pluralism are less clear when the heterogeneity within each immigrant group is considered. Freedom of choice can create major inequities.     

朗利文化复数主义思想述评及其本土意义

上世纪五六十年代的北爱尔兰诗坛深深打上了宗派分歧的烙印,文化复数主义思想及实践充分体现了诗人迈克.朗利的睿智和包容,他为当代北爱尔兰的文化重建做出了潜在贡献。他的诗学文化思想对中国这样一个多民族、多信仰共存的国家在民族文化建设领域具有积极的本土参考价值。     

Researching religious tolerance education using discourse analysis: a case study from Indonesia

ABSTRACT

Complementing existing studies on religious tolerance education which have mainly evaluated interventions using pre–post designs, this article argues that discourse analysis can be a viable alternative methodology for generating new knowledge in this field. To illuminate the potentials of discourse analysis, the article also presents a case study of the application of this methodology in analysing a religious tolerance education project in an under-represented Global South country, Indonesia – where religious conservatism and intolerance are on the rise. Following the contact hypothesis, the project involved students from different religions working on a film-making group assignment about religious tolerance. Three key discourses drawn upon by students in giving meaning to religious tolerance within these films are identified, namely, a discourse of nationalism, tolerant theologies, and romantic love; and their implications are discussed with regard to the promotion of religious tolerance in education.     

Public Funding for Religious Schools: Difficulties and dangers in a pluralistic society

In the United States, payment of public tax money to religious institutions— including religious educational institutions—has traditionally been subject to rigorous restraints. Interpreting the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Supreme Court has long held that state-mandated financial support of religious institutions tends to corrupt both religion and government, and is a violation of conscience for those who must fund religions with which they may bitterly disagree. Recently, advocates of state aid for religious education have attacked these principles, arguing that they fail to recognise the religious tolerance that American society has achieved. This article defends the traditional restraints. It argues that Americans in fact embrace a limited form of religious diversity, one that tends to be tolerant of familiar, mainstream religious groups, but is distinctly intolerant of others. Indeed, recent polls indicate that the equal funding of all religious groups—as the Constitution's principle of equality would demand—is highly controversial and supported by few Americans. It is argued that traditional restraints on public funding of religious institutions in the USA are rooted in a fundamental truth: that religious differences in pluralistic societies are often deep, divisive, and volatile, and that the financial enmeshment of religion and government serves neither religion, government, nor the atmosphere of tolerance upon which diverse societies depend.     

多元社会宽容的价值与宽容教育

宽容是人们应对当今社会多元与差异性的一种基本品质,也是建设和谐、民主社会,直面价值多元的需要。宽容意识的形成、对宽容误解的消除以及宽容边界意识的形成,都需要教育。宽容教育成为多元社会的新主题,它应该致力于培养具有现代人的宽容品质,包括不干涉意识、尊重意识、公共理性、公正意识以及全球视野与胸怀。     

Religious doctrines and critical religious education: teachers’ epistemic switching in a confessional setting

The purpose of the present article is twofold: first, to examine whether epistemic switching is documented in the context of religious education; and second, if it is, to show the challenges as well as the strategies that teachers utilise when they engage in epistemic switching. The context of our study is religious education in the Greek-Cypriot educational system – an example of a confessional setting in which Greek Orthodox Christianity is the only religion being taught in schools. This article describes a qualitative case study research – which is part of a larger, 1-year project – that explores the understandings of religion and interculturalism as well as the pedagogical perspectives on religious education of six Greek-Cypriot primary school teachers. The findings show how the possibilities and obstacles of teachers’ epistemic switching could inform larger debates concerning the entanglements between critical religious education pedagogies and religious doctrines, especially within confessional educational contexts.     

Traversing the gap: Andrew Wright,John Hick and critical religious education

This paper discusses aspects of Andrew Wright's version of a liberal, critical religious education and his criticisms of some other views of modern religious education. This is attempted not by examining these ‘other views’ as such but by concentrating on the work of John Hick. The reason for this is that Wright, like Cooling (in his book A Christian Vision for State Education: Reflections on the Theology of Education) identifies Hick as a significant influence on forms of religious education to which he objects. In a number of his writings Wright identifies Hick's work as an example of universal theology informed by romanticism. This runs counter to a comprehensive reading of Hick, and to Hick's own account of his work. Hick, like Wright, is a critical realist but by identifying Hick as a romantic, Wright is in danger of not only polarising views on religious education but also closing down a debate to which Hick's work has much to contribute. The latter part of the paper illustrates how a nuanced understanding of Hick's religious pluralism can make a contribution to discussions about critical religious education.     

价值多元视角下的道德教育

人们的行为有目的和手段之分.所谓价值多元即承认行为所指向的最终目的,如健康、财富、知识、权力等皆为合理,无论其短暂还是永恒,但对于行为手段的评价必须依赖于社会共同生活中的法律、道德和常识.目前,对个人利益的承认为价值多元化提供了条件,但它并不必然会促进价值多元的出现.虽然价值多元已成为人们熟知的名词,但是当前价值多元仍只是主流价值观的补充,同时人们对价值多元的认识还有很多误区.在价值多元的背景下,应出现多种价值观的角逐,达到个人和社会、国家和世界、物质利益和精神追求等相互对立价值之间动态的平衡.价值多元视角下的德育,更强调德育的开放性、丰富性和相关性,注重从传统文化中吸收更多的精神资源,更加强调理性和共识.     

Can explanations in children's books help teachers foster reason‐based understandings in religious education in primary schools?

There are concerns about the quality of religious education teaching in England and a national framework for religious education has been developed to give the subject a firmer basis. This basis comprises knowledge, skills and understanding that involves thinking about and with reasons. Teachers of young children cannot be experts in all subjects. Novices and those with weak subject knowledge must often teach religious education. Such teachers tend to avoid reason‐based understanding as they are unsure of it themselves. Textbooks on religious education are common in the primary classroom. The question is: could they help novices and non‐specialist teachers in religious education foster this kind of understanding in their teaching? If so, here is a potentially simple and inexpensive contribution to the solution of a widespread problem. This study examined children's textbooks in religious education and found that the answer is not simple. Some books give themselves entirely to the transmission of facts. Others may foster various kinds of understanding but these understandings may not be of the desired kind. Some implications for the development of religious education teaching skills are discussed.     

Challenges to Comparative Education: Between Retrospect and Expectation

This article takes an autobiographical approach, which is applied in order to devise a panorama of Comparative Education, as it has developed during the past four decades. It identifies five "paradigms" which have been dominant in debates, inquiries and projects carried out by comparative educationists in various regions: East-West conflict (fifties and sixties); large-scale educational reforms (seventies); intercultural education in multicultural societies and gender issues (late seventies and eighties); transformation processes and post-modern "revolt" against the predominant theories of modernity (late eighties and nineties); and universalism versus cultural pluralism (nineties). The "changes' of these paradigms have been stimulated by developments and trends in the socioeconomic, political and cultural framework as well as by the continuous debates within the science. The current period seems to be primarily determined by the challenges to Comparative Education to define its response to the antagonism between universalism and cultural pluralism. Comparative studies may provide evidence for "reconciliatory" endeavour. They can, on the one hand, warn universalists of hasty "harmonisations", while, on the other hand, they can tell radical advocates of cultural pluralism that the commitment to one's ethnic, religious or national identity need and should not close the doors to the search for universal trends and generally acceptable values.     

基础教育改革的障碍及其超越

本研究将我国基础教育改革面临的障碍区分为价值障碍、权力障碍、改革本身的实际障碍和心理障碍等四大类,针对四类障碍的具体表现分别探讨超越的基本策略。     

In Search of an Adequate Response to Pluralism: A Critical Analysis of Liberalism in Philosophy of Education

Nearly everyone recognizes the fact of deep pluralism: it is hard to deny that contemporary America is characterized by widespread diversity of beliefs, practices, and values. We disagree, not on this reality, but on the way we should respond to the pluralism around us. In this paper, Emily G. Wenneborg discusses one of the most common responses to pluralism in contemporary philosophy of education: autonomy-based liberalism. She praises liberalism for its attempt to navigate certain tensions that accompany its approach to pluralism. At the same time, she raises several critiques of liberalism as a response to pluralism, particularly with regard to religious communities and belief systems. She suggests that trust provides a better framework than autonomy for educating in and for deep pluralism.     

Swedish religious education at the end of the 1960s: classroom observations,early video ethnography and the national curriculum of 1962

The aim of this article is to present a unique corpus of film-recorded classroom observations of sixth-grade classes (age 12–13) in the Swedish cities of Gothenburg, Partille and Trollhättan in the late 1960s. The material documents how RE could be taught in Swedish schools in line with the curriculum of Lgr 62 which internationally was an early attempt to design an approach to religious education (RE) which responded to demands of pluralism and objectivity and before the name of the subject was changed from Christian Religious Education (CRE) (Kristendomskunskap) into RE (Religionskunskap). The aim is also to scrutinise how the documented teaching and classroom activities relate to the curriculum of the time. 52 film-recorded classes in CRE have been analysed. One result – not surprisingly, as the teachers knew that they were being filmed – is that the content of teaching follows the CRE syllabus. As Christianity occupies the bulk of teaching time, it can be questioned whether the subject meets the objectivity requirement. There were few references to the experience of the pupils and the surrounding society. The heated public debate about the subject is not observable in the classroom.