Showing papers on "Religious education published in 2009"

Deconversion: Qualitative and Quantitative Results from Cross-Cultural Research in Germany and the United States of America

Abstract: This book presents case studies and empirical data of a phenomenon which increasingly gains popularity in Western societies: deconversion. There is, the authors argue, no better word than deconversion to describe processes of disengagement from religious orientations, because these have much in common with conversion; Termination of membership may eventually be the final step of deconversion, but it involves biographical and psychological dynamics which can and need to be reconstructed by qualitative approaches and analyzed by quantitative instruments. In the Bielefeld-based Cross-Cultural Study on Deconversion, disengagement processes from a variety of religious orientations in the U.S.A. and in Germany were examined, ranging from wellestablished religious organizations to new religious and fundamentalist groups. Nearly 1,200 persons participated in the study and were interviewed from 2002 to 2005. In the focus of the study are 100 deconverts from the U.S.A. and from Germany who were examined with narrative interviews, faith development interviews and an extensive questionnaire. For case study elaboration, the study followed a research design with an innovative triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data. Four chapters, corresponding to four types of deconversion, present 21 case studies. The highlights of the research project are new data on spirituality – the deconverts in particular appear to prefer a "more spiritual than religious" selfidentification – and in-depth analyses of a variety of deconversion narratives with special focus on personality factors, motivation, attitudes, religious development, psychological well-being and growth, religious fundamentalism and right-wing authoritarianism. The results of this project which was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft are of special relevance for counselling and pastoral care, for religious education and for people concerned with administration and management of religious groups and churches, but also for a wider audience interested in contemporary changes in the religious fields in the U.S.A. and Germany.

Learning ‘about’ and ‘from’ religion: phenomenography, the Variation Theory of Learning and religious education in Finland and the UK

Abstract: The paper addresses the relationship between the twin tasks of enabling pupils both to learn about and learn from religion in the state education systems of Finland and the UK. Recognising that the relationship between these two tasks is the subject of considerable confusion, it is argued that the most appropriate way to view the connection is fundamentally ontological. In a plural society in which there is no basic agreement about the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, there nevertheless remains a common concern to enable pupils to live flourishing lives in harmony with the ultimate order‐of‐things. The paper draws on phenomenography and the Variation Theory of Learning to unpack the pedagogic implications of this argument.

Holy alliances: public subsidies, Islamic high schools, and female schooling in Bangladesh

Abstract: This paper documents the experience of incentive‐based reforms in the secondary Islamic/madrasa education sector in Bangladesh within the context of the broader debate over modernization of religious school systems in South Asia. Key features of the reform are changes of the curriculum and policy regarding admission of female students. In return to formal registration and curriculum modernization, madrasas receive financial aid from the government towards teacher salary. Using a cross‐sectional census data‐set (containing current and retrospective information) on formal secondary schools and madrasas, we first point out that a significant fraction of the existing post‐primary registered madrasas today comprises of ‘converts’; that is, formerly all‐male, unregistered religious schools that previously offered traditional, religious education. Furthermore, these madrasas have embraced female students in recent years following the introduction of yet another incentive scheme, namely a conditional cash transfe...

Does Religiosity Influence Ethical Sensitivity? An Investigation On Malaysian Future Accountants

Abstract: This study examines factors influencing religiosity and investigates its effect on the ethical sensitivity of a sample of 378 Malaysian accounting students from five universities. Religiosity is represented by the twelve faith maturity items developed by Benson, Donahue and Erickson (1993). Sixteen ethical scenarios of various business issues devised by Longenecker, McKinney and Moore (1989) are used to assess ethical sensitivity. The findings of this study show that religious affiliation, religious education background and type of institution influence the types of religiosity, namely Vertical, Horizontal, Integrated faith and Undeveloped faith. Students affiliated with Islam and Hinduism are inclined to possess Vertical and Integrated faith religiosity. Students attending Islamic religious secondary school and a related Islamic university possess strong religious views and are inclined to have a close relationship with God (Vertical religiosity) or commit to both spiritual and societal relationships (Integrated faith). This study also found that religious affiliation, religious education background, type of institution and religiosity (faith maturity) affect students’ ethical sensitivity, hut the impact is situational. Based on the results it is recommended that the Malaysian education process needs to emphasise not only intellectual ethical perspectives for students but also religious positions.

Teaching Religion in America's Public Schools: A Necessary Disruption

Abstract: Religion plays an important role in social studies content and is difficult to ignore, especially because of current world events. In our global society, it is more important than ever to know about and understand the religious beliefs of others. The social studies curriculum is infused with religion, but teachers circumvent the issue, mistakenly citing the separation of church and state as an obstacle. This article examines assumptions and causes of our nation's confusion over the role of religion in schools. The authors conclude with suggestions for returning the study of religion to social studies classrooms.

Rights, social cohesion and identity: arguments for and against state‐funded Muslim schools in Britain

Abstract: The debate over the state funding of Muslim schools in Britain often appears polarised, as those on opposing sides are portrayed as holding fundamentally conflicting values and desires. In this article I challenge this position by arguing that there are some common concerns shared by those on all sides of the debate, namely rights, social cohesion and identity. Advocates and opponents of Muslim schools are united in their concern with the rights that should be afforded to religious and non‐religious groups, parents and children in multifaith Britain. Both wish to find the appropriate balance between maintaining distinct cultural communities and developing a sense of common British citizenship. They also share a desire to defend their identity and have it respected by others. This indicates that, underneath the antagonism and misunderstanding which often pervades the Muslim schools debate, there are some key desires and concerns that unite those on opposing sides. This realisation could potentially open up...

Teaching for Religious Literacy.

Abstract: Stephen Prothero's Religious Literacy makes a strong case that minimal religious literacy is an essential requirement for contemporary U. S. citizens. He argues further that high schools and colleges should offer required courses in the study of religion in order to help students reach that baseline literacy. Beyond the general recommendation that such courses focus on biblical literacy and the history of Christianity, however, Prothero does not sketch out his proposal for teaching religious literacy. This essay argues that in addition to providing factual knowledge, teaching for religious literacy needs to involve sustained attention to how religious people use that factual information to orient themselves in the world, express their individual and group self-understanding, and give their lives direction and meaning. Such attention to the dynamics of religious life can also help students understand why human beings have persisted in this mode of behavior.

An Introduction to Qatar's Primary and Secondary Education Reform

Abstract: Introduction: The Politics of Arab Educational Reforms Osama Abi-Mershed Part I: Historical Perspectives 1. The Principles of Instruction are the Grounds of Our Knowledge: Al-Farabi's Philosophical and al-Ghazali's spiritual approaches to learning Sebastian Gunther 2. Between the Golden Age and the Renaissance: Islamic Higher Education in Eighteenth-Century Damascus Stephen Tamari 3. "If the Devil Taught French": Strategies of Language and Learning in French Mandate Beirut Nadya Sbaiti 4. "According to a Logic Befitting the Arab Soul": Cultural Policy and Popular Education in Morocco Since 1912 Spencer Segalla Part II: Education and the Post-Colonial State 5. Public Institutions of Religious Education in Egypt and Tunisia: Contrasting the Post-Colonial Reforms of Al-Azhar and the Zaytuna Malika Zeghal 6. Palestinian Education in a Virtual State Nubar Hovsepian 7. Language-in-Education Policies in Contemporary Lebanon: Youth Perspective Zeena Zakharia 8. Education as a Humanitarian Response as Applied to the Arab World, With Special Reference to the Palestinian Case Colin Brock and Lala Demirdjian Part III: Education and Socio-Political Development: Reform, Policy and Practice 9. Naming the Imaginary:"Building an Arab Knowledge Society" and the Contested Terrain of educational Reforms for development Andre Elias Mazawi 10. An Introduction to Qatar's Primary and Secondary Education Reform Dominic Brewer 11. Observations from the Edge of the deluge: Are we going too far too fast in our Educational Transformation in the Arab World? Munir Bashshur

Understanding Religious Diversity in a Plural World: The Interpretive Approach

Abstract: The interpretive approach outlined in this chapter was originally developed for use in religious education (RE) in publicly funded community schools in England and Wales, where the subject is primarily concerned with helping pupils to gain a critical and reflective understanding of religions. The approach has subsequently been developed further in the UK, and has also been used in Norway, Germany, Canada and Japan as well as in a Council of Europe project on bringing the dimension of religious diversity to intercultural education across its 46 member states (e.g. Council of Europe, 2004, 2007). The approach forms the basis of the theoretical framework for pedagogical studies being conducted as part of a European Union Framework 6 research project on religious education by a consortium of ten European universities (Jackson, 2006; Jackson et al. 2007). This chapter is concerned with describing the methodology of the approach, showing how it developed from ethnographic studies of children from religious groups (some of which are outlined by Eleanor Nesbitt in the previous chapter) and developed further through curriculum development and school-based action research. Though the approach draws on the social sciences, it does not reduce religious education to ‘sociology’, but provides rather a means to personal engagement with religious ways of life. However, it does bring from recent social science practical techniques for interpreting the worldviews of others, and a concern with issues of reflexivity. This last point is important, since arguments against drawing on pupils’ own personal views in religious education (see the chapters by Grelle on the USA and by Estivalezes on France below, for example) tend to assume that this element is derived from religious or theological sources, rather than from social science disciplines such as recent social and cultural anthropology.

Identity articulations, mobilization, and autonomy in the movement for Muslim schools in Britain

Abstract: Muslim schools in Britain have emerged as a highly salient issue that at times reinforces, and at other times cuts across, political and philosophical divides. It therefore comes as some surprise to learn that despite a general proliferation of literature on Muslims in Britain very little research has explicitly investigated how increasingly salient articulations of Muslim identities connect with the issue of Muslim schooling. To be sure, and notwithstanding sustained Muslim mobilizations for Muslim schools within and across diverse Muslim communities, surprisingly little is known of how these mobilizations are being undertaken, what is being sought, and, more generally, why Muslim schools are deemed to be an important issue for different Muslim communities. By drawing upon two years of fieldwork, this article addresses these questions through the use of primary interviews with Muslim educators and stakeholders concerned with voluntary aided schooling, including teachers and Muslim educational associations, alongside other case study instruments including field notes, and documentary and policy analysis. The article concludes that through an engagement with a range of established educational conventions, norms, regulations and precedents, the testimonies of Muslim educators betray emerging syntheses between faith requirements and citizenship commitments that are seeking out negotiated, and reciprocal, British Muslim identities.

Dutch children and their God

Abstract: In the 1980s and 1990s in the Netherlands, as a reaction to the growing number of non‐Christian pupils at Christian schools, religious education and religious development became issues for debate. At some schools, it was the exclusiveness of the Christian tradition that dominated, and at others it was the inclusiveness. Another group specialised in inter‐religious dialogue. Our research studied the religious development of pupils from two primary schools. One is the first and only inter‐religious primary school in the Netherlands, the Juliana van Stolberg primary school. The other is a Christian school, the Prinses Margriet primary school that educates pupils exclusively in the Christian tradition. The research questions focussed on the development of the ‘God’ concept of children confronted with stories from different religious traditions. The ‘God’ concept is seen in our research as a concept that develops in an inductive way from the data. This way of conceptualising ‘development’ is coined as the pros...

Color-Blind Racism, Color-Blind Theology, and Church Practices.

Abstract: Color-blind racism develops when persons ignore color in people and see them simply as individuals. As persons of color in racialized societies such as the United States are unequally treated on account of their color, the issue becomes a matter of faith and religious experience as religious leaders and educators, who disregard color, overlook important aspects of a person's ability to live wholly and abundantly. Using participant observation and literature-based research in several areas of scholarly inquiry (sociology, history, theology, and Religious Education), the author argues that certain church practices and theology reflect color-blind racism.

Denominational schools and the (religious) socialisation of youths: a changing relationship

Abstract: This article considers the desirability and legitimacy of denominational schools from the perspective of socialisation theory. It examines the popular criticism that nowadays the common reason for the existence of denominational schools – the religious socialisation of children – is endorsed by a dwindling number of parents, which renders the existence of these schools obsolete. It is shown, however, that this popular criticism is based on a traditional understanding of religious socialisation as the transmission of faith. Counter to this traditional understanding, the article presents a more modern conception of socialisation as personality development. On the basis of this interpretation of socialisation, the pedagogical function of denominational schools is reconsidered. It is argued that the pedagogical task of denominational schools today is not so much to transmit faith but rather to facilitate the formation of personal identity as a core aspect of contemporary socialisation processes.

Plurality and Pluralism in Religious Education

Abstract: A recent comparison of religious education in Germany and United States in the twentieth century shows that a preoccupation with modernity was central to many religious educators at the beginning of the century (Osmer & Schweitzer, 2003). Later, this liberal and optimistic view of culture and society met with criticism, and gradually the focus shifted towards the religious content of religious education. In the last half of the century, attention returned to the social and cultural context, and issues of secularisation became higher on the agenda in Western countries. There was also a concern about young people’s ‘drift’ away from traditional values, their decline in religious commitment and their lack of interest in organised religion (Skeie, 2002a). Much religious education came to focus on how to teach religion to the children and young people living in secularised societies. This resulted in new pedagogical approaches, as well as curriculum changes, in many countries. Researchers became more interested in the life-world and spirituality of children, partly with a developmental perspective, and partly with a growing interest in the content of children’s own philosophy of life as well as the socio-cultural context of their reflection process (Hartman, 1986; Hyde, 1990; Jackson & Nesbitt, 1993). In earlier social science, secularisation was often seen as a necessary result of modernisation, but by the 1960s this view had become debateable. Today both the concept and the theories about secularisation are contested, partly because many researchers employ a more global perspective. The tendency seems to be more towards investigating a process of ‘oscillation between secularisation and sacralisation’, and discussing ‘conceptions of religion and spirituality’ (Beckford, 2003, pp. 71–72). Parallel to this, religious education gradually discovered that young people were interested in religious questions, in spirituality and in ethical

Education and hope in troubled times : visions of change for our children's world

Abstract: Preface Contributors 1. Introduction: Education and Hope in Trouble Times H. Svi Shapiro 2. Education and Schooling in the 21st Century: The Role of the Profession David E. Purpel 3. Is There a Place for Education in Social Transformation? Michael W. Apple 4. What Is to be Done? Toward a Rationale for Social Movement Building Jean Anyon 5. Mechanics of Unfairness: How We Undercut Poor Children's Educational Opportunity Sue Books 6. The Moral and Spiritual Poverty of Educational 'Leadership'...and a Hope for the Future Ulrich C. Reitzug and Deborah L. West 7. Fear versus Possibility: Why We Need a New DEEL for Our Children's Future Steven Jay Gross and Joan Poliner Shapiro 8. Capitalism's Continuing Attempts to Dominate Civil Society, Culture, and Schools: What Should Be Done? Richard A. Brosio 9. Education After the Empire Ron Miller 10. Education for a Partnership World: Building Cultures of Peace Riane Eisler 11. Critical Thinking in Religious Education Nel Noddings 12. The Cultivation of Children's Bodies Toward Intricate Thinking and Sensitive Behavior Don Hanlon Johnson 13. To Touch and Be Touched: The Missing Discourse of Bodies in Education Mara Sapon-Shevin 14. Worlds of Change: A Vision for Global Aesthetics Sherry B. Shapiro 15. Teaching Like Weasels Hephzibah Roskelly 16. Transforming Status-Quo Stories: Shifting from 'Me' to 'We' Consciousness AnaLouise Keating 17. Disposable Futures: Dirty Democracy and the Politics of Disposability Henry A. Giroux 18. Unplaguing the Stomach: Curing the University of California Admission Policy with An Ethic of Communal Care and Justice Jenifer Crawford, Nana Gyamfi and Peter McLaren 19. No Child Left Thinking: Democracy At-Risk in American Schools and What We Need to Do About It Joel Westheimer

Education and madrassahs in South Africa: on preventing the possibility of extremism

Abstract: Nowadays education in the madrassahs (Muslim schools) is constantly being placed under the spotlight, such as being considered as seedbeds for terrorism. This article takes a critical look at some South African madrassahs with the aim to find out what these educational institutions do and whether or not the possibility for radicalisation and extremism exists. It concludes with an argument for democratic citizenship education to be taught in the madrassahs.

A comparative study of religious education in state schools in England and Norway

Abstract: In this thesis I present a systematic comparison of religious education in state schools in England and Norway. Comparative studies in related fields and pioneering works in comparative RE informed the formulation of a methodology, essentially a template for comparative religious education. This is a synthesis of two sets of ideas. The first is an idea of three dimensions in comparative education: supranational, national and subnational processes. In supranational processes I distinguish between formal and informal processes. Formal processes refer to formal international (educational) policymaking which takes place in international organizations. Informal processes include social and/ or political developments which take place both in and through the formal processes but also outside them and, partly independently of them - such as secularisation, pluralisation and globalisation. My perspective is that comparison in religious education is about the study of the impact of supranational processes on national processes. Subnational processes refer to variations between regions within a country. The second set of ideas is levels of curriculum: societal, institutional, instructional and experiential. The thesis chapters explore these levels examining how they are affected by supranational, national and subnational processes. In discussing the societal level, the focus is on academic debates. The institutional level is represented mainly by relevant legislation plus key policy documents, the Non-Statutory National Framework for RE (QCA 2004) and Local Agreed Syllabuses in England, and the Norwegian National Curriculum for RE (UD 2005).The instructional level includes how teachers plan and deliver the curriculum and the experiential level corresponds to how learners receive the curriculum. The societal and institutional levels are explored through theory and documentary studies, while empirical studies are part of the material for the chapters concerning practice. Civil enculturation, social imaginaries and national imaginaries are important analytical concepts. The suggested methodology and some central findings are discussed further in a concluding chapter.

Teaching Islam : Islamic Religious Education at Three Muslim Schools in Sweden

Abstract: This study concerns the formulation of Islamic religious education (IRE) at three Swedish Muslim schools which offered IRE as an extra curricular subject, one to three hours per week. The study con ...

The Council of Europe and education about religious diversity

Abstract: The British Journal of Religious Education has an international remit. However, this editorial concentrates on developments associated with the Council of Europe. These are by no means inward looking, since the Council of Europe is deeply concerned with Europe’s relationship with the rest of the world. It is an especially appropriate point to consider the work of the Council of Europe in the field of religions and education. The year 2008 was the European year of intercultural dialogue, in which the Council of Europe published its important White Paper on ntercultural Dialogue (Council of Europe 2008), which includes a section on religion. The Committee of Ministers’ recommendation to member states on the dimension of religions and non-religious convictions within intercultural education is likely to appear during 2009. A further important development is the launch this year of a European Centre – the European Wergeland Centre, based in Oslo – closely connected to the Council of Europe, and covering research and teacher training in intercultural education and education for democratic citizenship, including the dimension of religion.

Why Religious Education Matters: The Role of Islam in Multicultural Education

Abstract: Islam has become an increasingly important topic in American society and education. This article will explore the rationale for teaching about religion in public schools, the role of Islam and Muslims in a multicultural society, and discuss numerous ways in which Islam can be incorporated into multicultural secondary school curricula.

Religious diversity, inter-ethnic relations and the Catholic school: introducing the responsive approach to single faith schooling

Abstract: The article offers a case study of the ways in which a Catholic primary school located in the centre of a large South-Asian community in Leicester, UK, responded to the religious and ethnic diversity of its surroundings. The school, Our Saviour's, engaged in shared activities with a neighbouring school which had a majority intake of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh children. Approaches to religious education at Our Saviour's combined with weekly shared activities with the neighbouring school resulted in improved inter-ethnic relations in the Surrounding community, as children from both schools began socialising after school hours. This article draws on ethnographic research to give a case study of the ways in which Our Saviour's employed a responsive approach to single faith schooling by engaging with religious and ethnic diversity as a means of promoting dialogue.

A educação na concordata Brasil-Vaticano

Abstract: This paper analyses three articles from the November 2008 concordata between the Brazilian government and the Holy See, relating to education. Based on its text and on press reports, the text especially focuses the issue of religious education in public schools within the context defined by the ambiguity of the Brazilian State, between confessionalism and secularism.

Fighting the Elephant in the Room: Ethical Reflections on White Privilege and Other Systems of Advantage in the Teaching of Religion

Abstract: This article contends that teaching more effectively for diversity requires a radical re-envisioning of pedagogical practice. Drawing on qualitative interviews with religion and theology professors of color throughout the United States, it explores how faculty can re-imagine their teaching by engaging students where they are, acknowledging the reality of oppression, and dealing with resistance. Stressing mindfulness of social location, it provides examples of liberating teaching activities and competences and shows how literary and visual “texts” from the margins and personal metaphors of embodiment can challenge captivities to hegemonic paradigms in the classroom. The article concludes with responses from colleagues who have worked closely with the author. Ethicist Melanie Harris brings Hill's method into dialogue with Womanist pedagogy, and historian of religion Hjamil Martinez-Vazquez reflects on the role of suffering in building a revolutionary/critical pedagogy.

The Introduction of Religious Charter Schools: A Cultural Movement in the Private School Sector

Abstract: Charter schools are opening, and religious associations are also sponsoring these schools since religious groups find private school tuitions to be high and prohibitive. This study includes studies of Tarek ibn Ziyad Academy, a Minnesota Arabic charter school (Blaine and Inver Grove Heights, MN); Ben Gamla Charter School, a Florida English-Hebrew Charter School (Hollywood, FL); the Hellenic Classical Charter School, a New York City Greek Orthodox parochial school (Brooklyn, NY); and Community of Peace Academy, a Minnesota Hmong cultural charter school (St. Paul, MN). These charter schools are exemplary educational programs around the school's mission, curriculum, language courses, and extracurricular activities that are all culturally relevant to their particular culture and religion while so-far remaining legal under the Zelman decision, legalizing funding for religious school vouchers.

A too liberal religious education? A thought experiment for teachers and theorists

Abstract: This paper proposes that the ideas of political philosopher John Rawls could be adapted to offer a new starting point for a pedagogy of religious education (RE) in the non‐denominational sector. It is argued that contemporary approaches to RE may infringe the liberal principle of freedom of belief by favouring certain methods of interpreting religions. In response to this criticism, it is suggested that teachers can construct a just and fair pedagogy, which is truly liberal in its assumptions, by following a procedure similar to that advocated by Rawls. Readers are invited to don a ‘veil of ignorance’ and imagine that from this perspective they are to enter into a hypothetical contract outlining the founding principles of a pedagogical approach. It is argued that those entering into such a contract would opt for a form of critical RE not dissimilar to Wright’s that aims to present religions and competing ideologies without distortion. It is hoped that this hypothetical contract can thus characterise and l...