Religious education

About: Religious education is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 9554 publications have been published within this topic receiving 65331 citations. The topic is also known as: faith-based education & RE.

Religious Education in a ‘Christian Nation’: The Case of Zambia

Abstract: This article examines problems of multi‐faith RE in a predominantly Christian Zambian society that has also been officially declared a ‘Christian nation’. The article briefly discusses the nature of Zambian society and Zambian RE before focusing on some problems and tensions that have arisen in the field of RE since the country was declared a ‘Christian nation’. It ends with the view that since the constitution guarantees religious freedom and the non‐Christian religions are here to stay, Zambian RE should continue developing along the current pluralistic approach.

“You Are My Garment”: Muslim Women, Religious Education and Self-Transformation in Contemporary Singapore

Abstract: Since 2007, Singaporean graduates of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University have offered a new type of religious class that incorporates self-help rhetoric with the Quran and Hadith (prophetic traditions). Like their counterparts in Indonesia, Malaysia, Yemen and Egypt, the returnees market their costly lessons as opportunities for young ethnic and religious minority Muslim graduates of Singapore’s secular universities to apply new understandings of their faith to everyday spheres. These new preachers utilise social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram to proselytise and market their lessons. Although their seminars attract male participants, the vast majority of students are professional women seeking to fashion ideal Muslim selves while pursuing their careers. In this paper, I interrogate the following questions: How do women preachers and students perform their authority in interpreting Islam? How do male preachers, in turn, conceptualise and negotiate women’s religious authority? Although profe...

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

Abstract: 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 unders...

Teachers' perception of the purpose of classroom religious education in New Zealand Catholic secondary schools

Abstract: The nature of Religious Education in Catholic secondary schools has generated significant interest since the Second Vatican Council. A number of theoretical approaches to classroom Religious Education have been used in Catholic secondary schools in New Zealand since the mid 1960s (Crawford & Rossiter, 1985; Groome, 1980; van Caster, 1965). The debate regarding the most suitable approach for classroom Religious Education at this level has largely settled on a Subject-Oriented approach (Larkin, 2006). In New Zealand there has been a considerable investment of resources in the development of curricula and textbooks (Finlay, 2000). However there has been little research about teacher beliefs concerning the purpose of the subject. This thesis reports research into teachers' beliefs about the purpose of classroom Religious Education in Catholic secondary schools in New Zealand. The literature was reviewed to identify the range of purposes in the normative Church documents and in the writings of theorists. In addition it examined a number of issues that could have some bearing on teachers' understanding of purposes. A survey that collected both quantitative and qualitative data was distributed to 37 of the 49 Catholic secondary schools in New Zealand that agreed to participate and resulted in 173 responses. This study found that teachers worked out of a Subject-Oriented approach to the teaching of Religious Education that was consistent with the Understanding Faith curriculum. Teachers perceived Religious Education as a complex subject with multiple purposes. The primary purpose was to teach knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith tradition. The subject also had subsidiary aspirational purposes of faith formation and personal development. The importance of appropriate qualifications and formation of teachers was identified as a challenge facing Religious Education in Catholic secondary schools in New Zealand.;There was a high degree of consensus among respondents related to the purpose of classroom Religious Education. This research contributes to the discourse concerning the purpose of Religious Education. It has implications for theoretical aspects of Religious Education, classroom practice and planning, school based curriculum planning, teacher professional development and curriculum policy.