‘Who’s Afraid of Secularisation?’ A Response to David Lewin

This response to David Lewin states the purpose of my critique of some aspects of Liam Gearon’s work. It clarifies my position on the aims of ‘inclusive’ religious education, rejecting Gearon’s view that REDCo researchers shared a common pluralistic theology, regarding religious education as having a single political aim. It reinforces Gearon’s misrepresentation of the development of the Toledo Guiding Principles. In addressing the concern that religious education serves political ends, I acknowledge that much educational discourse has a political dimension but, in the case of ‘inclusive’ religious education, I argue that an approach based on John Rawls’ view of political liberalism can facilitate understanding of religions. I respond to Lewin’s assumption that my own view of religious language is entirely propositional and I compare the view of religious language expressed by Morimoto, quoted with approval by Lewin, with that of D. Z. Phillips, noting that its adoption implies that religious ‘insiders’ and those with no religious commitments are incapable of mutual understanding. I introduce the interpretive approach as an impartial methodology for religious education. Finally, I invite Lewin to engage with empirical research informing European policy on religious education, relevant to issues of secularity and secularism.     

Exploring the unknown: the language use of German RE-students writing texts about God

Language does not only play an active part in all processes of comprehension, recognition and learning, it is also essential for specific religious learning processes. Religious experiences and traditions have their own characteristic linguistic forms, and religious education has come to realise the necessity for an appropriate sensibility in religious language. Yet while linguistic features of religion or tradition have been widely discussed and developed, the use of religious language with regard to the learning subjects remains a significant, if not unknown, variable. What do we actually know about the religious language of students? How do we systematically assess their linguistic competence? By presenting selected results regarding the God-talk of German secondary school students, this paper shows how empirical research based on a corpus linguistic approach can provide access to the use of religious language. As such, the paper first aims to initiate a paradigm shift from looking at the linguistic features of content to exploring the language use of learners. Second, it aims to present a research framework that offers possibilities for further comparable and comparative research well beyond the original German speaking context.     

NEGRO SUNDAY SCHOOLS

In this article the phenomenological approach to religious education is subjected to careful analysis and criticism. Something of the contemporary debate on the nature of religious education between liberals and conservatives is sketched in, before the origins and nature of the phenomenological approach to the study of religion are considered. This is followed by an account of the way in which the phenomenology of religion proper has been appropriated by educationalists and developed into what is regarded as a suitable methodology for religious education. Finally, it is argued that certain features of a phenomenological approach to religion are untenable in the light of recent work in the philosophy of language and mind.     

CHILDREN'S SPIRITUALITY AND “THE GOOD SHEPHERD EXPERIENCE”

This article aims to explore the connections between a religious education curriculum's methodology in the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne, Australia and some contemporary theories about children's spirituality. “The Good Shepherd Experience” curriculum is intended for use with 5- and 6-year-old children in the first years of formal schooling. It forms a part of the To Know, Worship and Love religious education text based curriculum, directed for use by schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne as a key text in the religious education curricula. In exploring connections with children's spirituality, this article analyzes “The Good Shepherd Experience” in terms of wonder (mystery-sensing, contingency, and dependability), play and imagination, and the ability to use religious language and concepts.     

On the grammar of religious discourse and education

If it is generally true that skewed educational policies and practices often follow from more fundamental epistemic or semantic misconstruals of the logical character of particular forms of human enquiry, this would seem to be especially true of religious education. This paper sets out to identify and expose some of the dubious philosophical assumptions underlying latter day conceptions of religious discourse and education — as apparent, for example, in tensions between literalist and expressivist readings of religious discourse and confessional and non-confessional approaches to religious education. In short, whilst this paper rejects literalist interpretations of religious discourse (and any consequent religious fundamentalism) in favour of a non-literalist conception of religious narratives as epistemically continuous with forms of imaginative human art and literature, it also rejects idealist, social constructivist and relativist interpretations of story in favour of a realist account of religious and other serious cultural literature as truth-focused forms of objective human enquiry, knowledge and understanding. On this view, although the language of religious narrative is no less metaphorical, analogical and/or figurative than that of great poetry, it is — no less than great poetry — concerned to disclose quite objective aspects or dimensions of spiritual, moral and metaphysical reality. The paper concludes with some observations on contemporary challenges of religious education.     

甘肃少数民族大学生理想信念教育的途径与方法探析

甘肃少数民族大学生民族成分复杂,宗教信仰呈现多元化,在对其进行理想信念的教育时,必须探索适当有效的途径和方法。从调查中发现的问题来看,在对少数民族大学生进行理想信念教育的过程中,必须从加强语言文化和心理健康教育入手,将民族宗教信仰与社会主义价值观教育相结合,引导学生将个人理想与社会理想相结合,并采用形式多样的教育教学手段,从而帮助其形成积极、乐观、理性的理想信念。     

Uniformity and diversity in religious education in Northern Ireland

This paper considers the tension that can exist in the aims of religious education between the desire to encourage open‐minded, critical thinking through exposure to diverse traditions, ideas and cultures and the encouragement, overt or otherwise, into uniformity whereby learners take on the values of a particular tradition, culture or ideology (say of a religion, family or school). The particular situation of teaching religious education to post‐primary school pupils in Northern Ireland is considered, and evidence cited to suggest that the Northern Ireland Core Syllabus in Religious Education has tried to impose a particular non‐denominational Christian uniformity on pupils and teachers through its use of religious language. This has contributed to a culture of ‘avoidance’ in relation to the teaching of broad Christian diversity. The article concludes that there is a need for an ongoing and meaningful dialogue to discover what kind of balance between uniformity and diversity is best in teaching religious education in Northern Ireland, and notes that this also requires the reassessment of fundamental issues such as the aims of education and the relationship between secular and religious values in publicly funded schools.     

Professor Ninian Smart,phenomenology and religious education

I reply to L. Philip Barnes’ assessment of the contributions of Ninian Smart and phenomenology to religious education. My argument is that Barnes first misconceives and then underestimates Smart’s legacy. I sketch Smart’s relevance to some current issues in religious education, suggesting that his thought helps us to avoid potentially damaging polarisations (of language and concepts to experience, and of learning about religion to learning from religion). I conclude that Smart may have little to say about classroom practice, but should still be a reference point for any practitioner.     

Montessori and Jerome W. Berryman: work,play, religious education and the art of using the Christian language system

For more than 30 years, the thinking and writing of Jerome W. Berryman has made a significant and unique contribution to the religious education of children and adults in faith-based contexts. Claiming to be influenced primarily by the work of Maria Montessori, his writings reveal the purpose of religious education to be teaching children the art of using the Christian language system to play at the edges of knowing and being so as to creatively discern meaning and purpose in life. However, a close examination of his many journal articles and books reveal some anomalies in his approach to religious education when compared with the Montessori Method, in particular his focus on play as opposed to work, as well as creativity and the creative process, as opposed to Montessori’s grounding of the imagination in reality. These anomalies, explored in this paper, raise questions about the extent to which Berryman is, in fact, a true Montessorian.     

文化中的性别歧视及其在英语语言中的反映

Franz Boas认为语言是由文化决定的。作为文化的重要组成部分，语言反映文化而且是理解英语文化中的性别歧视的关键。试图从劳动分工，宗教意识和早期教育的角度分析性别歧视的起源，同时从文化出发讨论性别歧视并描述其在语言中的反映。     

Metaphor in Context: an examination of the significance of metaphor for reflection and communication

This article shows how metaphor is basic to language structure. It is illustrated with practical examples of how metaphor is found within different social and cultural contexts, irrespective of historical time. Numerous examples are given of how metaphor works in efforts to communicate meaning. From an early age, young children are initiated into the use of metaphor. This appears to be understood intuitively, and examples of words games and riddles are given to show how children become familiar with the symbolic use of language. It is discussed how this early facility to engage in ‘word play’ forms a basis for future development of language skills, helping children move on from familiar contexts which are understood intuitively by transferring their skills in order to interpret metaphorical language empirically in unfamiliar contexts. Theories concerning ‘dead’ and ‘living’ metaphors are explored, and attention is drawn particularly to the need to teach children how to rediscover the original meaning of Biblical metaphors, many of which have become so embedded in language and culture that they have lost their metaphorical significance. It is discussed how the interpretation and use of metaphor extends the capacity to reason and think reflectively, and the importance of education in developing this potential: this is required in many of the recently published Agreed Syllabuses of religious education and the Model Syllabuses of religious education, and would help address the requirements of the Education Reform Act (1988) concerning pupils’ spiritual and moral development.     

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.     

Religious education legislation in an atheist state: towards a typology and policy analysis for contemporary China

ABSTRACT

The rule of law presents a new path for understanding and handling religious affairs in contemporary China. The field of religious education is no exception and current legislation has to be improved so that China’s religious education can be further promoted. This research examines the legislation and legislative regulations governing China’s diversified and dynamic religious education, which includes professional religious studies, religious education embedded in ethnic education, missionary religious education, religious education included in general education, and education on religious policies and regulations. It argues that how to understand and implement the principle of separation of education and religion stands out as the core issue, as China requires a more dialectical and pluralistic religious education.     

Worldviews,religions, and beliefs about teaching and learning: perception of mathematics teachers with different religious backgrounds

Beliefs about mathematics education and their influences on teaching practices have been widely investigated in recent decades. There have been numerous empirical studies on the influences of religions on teachers’ and students’ beliefs about subjects such as sciences and language. However, the influences of worldviews in general and religions in particular, as one of the major sources of beliefs in relation to mathematics education, are under-researched. The current study is a first step to unpacking the relationship between teachers’ religions and their beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning. By means of semi-structured interviews with mathematics teachers of different religious backgrounds, teachers’ perceptions on the connection between their personal religious beliefs and their beliefs about teaching and learning are investigated. In-depth analyses of the perceptions of three mathematics teachers reveal the complex relationship between teachers’ religious beliefs and their teaching beliefs. First, there are some common values shared by different religions, which influence the beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning as well as education in general. Second, religion is a rich belief system, and the teachers appear to apply only a portion of their religious beliefs to guide their teaching. It is also possible that a teacher is influenced by more than one religion or cultural tradition. Despite its subtleties, our study provides evidence to support the alignment between teachers’ personal religious beliefs and their beliefs about mathematics teaching and learning.     

狄考文与登州文会馆的办学特色及影响

登州文会馆是由登州蒙养学堂发展而来,它从小学到中学进而发展成为大学,在19世纪下半叶的山东乃至整个中国产生了深远影响。文会馆的办学特色包括重视宗教教育、强调儒家教育、注重实验教学、采用汉语教学等。作为登州文会馆的创办人,美国传教士狄考文意图通过办学来传播宗教,实行文化和宗教侵略,其主观意图昭然若揭;但在客观上,狄考文创办的登州文会馆通过设置西学课程和提供科学实验的机会启蒙了学生,培养了一批优秀人才,促进了中国教育近代化的进程。     

Religious studies,religious education and the aims of education

This article interacts with a recent article by Denise Cush and Catherine Robinson in which they call for a new dialogue between religious studies in universities and religious education, and identify a number of developments in religious studies that have implications for the practice of religious education in schools. Cush and Robinson are representative of an influential body of opinion among religious educators that looks to religious studies for inspiration. It is argued that they, along with others, fail to appreciate the difference between the aims of religious studies and those of religious education and that this unrecognised difference leads them both to engage uncritically and superficially with the history of post-confessional religious education and to fail to recognise that the roots of some of the weaknesses in contemporary religious education can be traced to the influence of religious studies over it. Showing that religious education has (and is required to have) a different set of aims from religious studies (though some aims may be held in common) alerts us to its distinctive nature, and this in turn facilitates a clearer understanding of its role in schools, which can serve both to direct and to evaluate educational outcomes.     

Educating for citizenship—the emerging relationship between religious education and citizenship education

The introduction of citizenship education to school in England (and Wales) in 2002 has generated interest and concern among religious educationalists, some of whom welcome the opportunities this new educational territory opens up for religious education and some of whom suspect it augurs religious education's demise. This article reports findings of a school‐based study of the early implementation of citizenship education and its impact on religious education. It discusses those findings in the context of the current debate about the future relationship between the two subjects, noting a similar ambivalence toward citizenship education among religious education heads of department, as there is among religious educationalists. The discussion includes an examination of the Crick Report, noting its lack of interest in religious education, and argues that its conceptualization of citizenship leaves it open to two quite different broad interpretations of what might be meant by an education for citizenship, one of which religious education practitioners appear to endorse and associate with religious education, and one of which they reject and associate with citizenship education.     

Modes of learning in religious education

This article is a contribution to the discussion of learning processes in religious education (RE) classrooms. Sociocultural theories of learning, understood here as tool-mediated processes, are used in an analysis of three RE classroom conversations. The analysis focuses on the language tools that are used in conversations; how the tools mediate; the dynamics they create between pupils and teachers; and how new language tools are created and enrolled. The following three modes of learning are found: distancing, dynamic and expansive. These modes are collectively enacted by teachers and students in the context of the classroom. The article therefore argues that RE classrooms can best be understood as social practices, rather than sums of individual cognition. Empirically, religion is in the making in RE – in the shape of bits, pieces and processes. In the material, however, RE is an educational practice, not a religious practice.     

民族文化对数学教育的影响及对新课程实施的启示

少数民族的生活习俗、宗教信仰、语言、地域特点制约着数学教育的发展,少数民族家庭教育、学生心理特点、教师的素质、学校教学环境也影响着数学教育的发展。要发展民族地区数学教育,就应在基础教育数学课程标准理念指导下,开发符合民族地区文化背景的数学课程;切实加强数学语言训练,重视母语、汉语与教学语言互译的教学;本着求同存异的原则,建立不同文化背景及地域问师生定期交流的机制;努力提高民族地区数学教师的综合素质,使其充分利用信息技术进行新课程教学;根据民族学生学习数学的心理特点,在数学课堂教学中有效开展合作学习;积极开展少数民族数学课程实施效果的研究,构建科学合理的评价体系。     

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.