Paradigm shift in religious education: a reply to Jackson,or why religious education goes to war

This article provides a defence of my theoretical analysis of paradigm shift in contemporary religious education, particularly in light of Robert Jackson’s (2015) article published in this journal: ‘Misrepresenting religious education’s past and present in looking forward: Gearon using Kuhn’s concepts of paradigm, paradigm shift and incommensurability’. The core of Jackson’s concerns is my adaptation of Kuhn’s concepts of paradigm, paradigm shift and incommensurability to religious education. Defending in turn my use of these concepts – of paradigm, paradigm shift and incommensurability – I conclude that Jackson’s critique is in and of itself an apt demonstration of the position he seeks to attack. Drawing wider parallels with the methodological ‘paradigm wars’ in the social sciences I argue that the paradigms are why religious education too goes to ‘war’.     

The professionalisation of non-denominational religious education in England: politics,organisation and knowledge

In response to contemporary concerns, and using neglected primary sources, this article explores the professionalisation of teachers of Religious Education (RI/RE) in non-denominational, state-maintained schools in England. It does so from the launch of Religion in Education (1934) and the Institute for Christian Education at Home and Abroad (ICE) (1935) to the founding of the Religious Education Council of England and Wales (1973) and the British Journal of Religious Education (1978). Professionalisation is defined as a collective historical process in terms of three inter-related concepts: (1) professional self-organisation and professional politics; (2) professional knowledge; and (3) initial and continuing professional development. The article sketches the history of non-denominational religious education prior to the focus period, to contextualise the emergence of the professionalising processes under scrutiny. Professional self-organisation and professional politics are explored by reconstructing the origins and history of ICE, which became the principal body offering professional development provision for RI/RE teachers for some 50 years. Professional knowledge is discussed in relation to the content of Religion in Education which was oriented around Christian Idealism and interdenominational networking. Changes in journal name in the 1960s and 1970s reflected uncertainties about the orientation of the subject and shifts in understanding over the nature and character of professional knowledge. The article also explores a particular case of resistance, in the late 1960s, to the prevailing consensus surrounding the nature and purpose of RI/RE, and the representativeness and authority of the pre-eminent professional body of the time. In conclusion, the article examines some implications which may be drawn from this history for the prospects and problems of the professionalisation of RE today.     

Christianity in Turkish religious education

This article aims to examine the presentation of Christianity in terms of selected Turkish textbooks. Particular attention is given to three issues: Jesus, the role of Paul in the development of Christianity, and the Scriptures. These topics are frequently dealt with and emphasized by the textbooks. Other themes related to Christianity are also mentioned, as well as its visual presentation. Before this examination, in order to provide a background for the presentation of Christianity in the textbooks, the history of religious education and the teaching of non‐Islamic religions in schools are briefly investigated. The examination notes the explicit influence of the confessional approach in Turkish religious education. Consistent with this attitude, non‐Islamic religions are generally externalized as religions. Thus, Christianity has been treated in terms of an Islamic understanding of religion, and the dominant influence of the Qur'dn and the traditional Islamic viewpoint aboutahl al‐kitab (People of the Book) has been observed.     

Moral and religious issues in education

Difficulties in liberal secularism are considered in relation to the views of ethnic minorities and in terms of the misleading nature of its supposed neutrality and objectivity. Cultural liberalism is seen in contrast to be committed to the preservation of other cultures and to celebrating diversity. This might avoid relativism and, within the Wisdom Tradition, offer a mutual enrichment and better access to truth. The practice of religious education can be seen as implicating the general behaviour of the teacher and the ethos of the school. A postmodernist pedagogy, involving dialogue with text and teacher, might both respect diversity and recover a sense of mystery. Reassessment of the relationship between knowledge and morality might lead to new practice in moral education, with relevant activities leading beyond the facts towards reflection on values. Moral education might also go beyond the intellect to encourage appropriate emotional dispositions in a communicative ethics. The dominance of certain metaphors in the language of cultural identity and authenticity channels thinking: this needs to be questioned.     

Fostering critical religious thinking in multicultural education for teacher education

Religious diversity as a consequence of global immigration has become a cultural phenomenon of pluralism in society. The fear of indoctrination and the desire for religious freedom fuel the debate on whether to remove religion from school education. Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed offers a positive perspective on the debate by calling attention to the pedagogy of religious education in the pursuit of religious freedom for all human beings. Rather than transferring religious knowledge to students, the challenge for religious education is to foster critical religious thinking in them. Unfortunately, many teachers lack the confidence to address religious issues, as well as lacking support in the professional development of critical religious thinking. Hence, this article proposes a tentative model for fostering critical religious thinking that might fit into a course in multicultural education for teachers.     

Part One: the hermeneutics of modern religious education

Hermeneutical reflection on the nature, process, and scope of understanding tends to flourish whenever standard procedures of interpretation begin to falter. The contemporary study of religion is a case in point: conflicting results reflect a lack of consensus regarding appropriate methods of investigation. As a result, hermeneutics enjoys an increasingly significant role in religious and theological exploration. The discipline of religious education, despite constant wrestling with the ambiguity of religion, has not followed suit: it possesses no developed and sustained tradition of hermeneutical deliberation. This attempt to open up hermeneutical debate within the field of religious education begins by identifying romanticism, post‐modernism and critical realism as three key perspectives within contemporary hermeneutical theory (Bleicher, 1982; Jeanrond, 1994; Mueller‐Vollmer, 1986; Palmer, 1969; Thiselton, 1980, 1992). This article offers an account of the hermeneutics implicit in religious education from 1960 to the present, arguing that the subject has—at considerable cost to its integrity—drawn uncritically on the traditions of romanticism and post‐modernism. A second article will propose a critical theory for religious education rooted in the hermeneutics of critical realism.     

Drawing a line between the religious and the secular: the cases of religious education in Sweden and India

Abstract

Religion as a school subject – Religious Education (RE) – is handled differently in various national contexts. This article discusses two different systems of managing (or avoiding) RE: those used in non-denominational Swedish and Indian schools. The article focuses particularly on what is allowed in the classroom with regards to religion. Both countries are secular, but where is the line drawn between the secular and the religious? Allowing the two contexts to meet reveals the particularities of each. The impact of Protestant Christianity, specifically Lutheranism, is evident in Swedish RE: religion is to be defined through beliefs and words, and religious actions should be excluded from classrooms. The Swedish context highlights ‘knowledge of’ religions, but avoids religious action. In India, there is no explicit RE, but Indian education does include learning from religion as well as ‘doing religion.’ The Indian approach is very inclusive, to the point of emphasising, as teachers put it, a common core of all religions. Both systems of RE offer particular opportunities and face certain difficulties in dealing with the contemporary globalised world.     

Change in religious beliefs, parental pressure, and attitudes of college students toward higher education as related to religious fundamentalism

Men (n = 55) and women (n = 99) college students (M age = 22.3 yr., SD = 6.1, range 18 to 58 years), from a moderate-sized midwestern university reported attitudes toward the goals and purposes of higher education, perceptions of parental pressure and support, and change in religious beliefs. The Religious Fundamentalist Scale, the Quest Scale, Faith-keeping, and Obedience to Parents Scales were also administered. Students classified as religious fundamentalists had more negative attitudes toward the goals and purposes of higher education goals and toward faculty. An interaction of Sex x Fundamentalist Classification indicated that nonfundamentalist college men reported greater change in their religious beliefs, relative to other groups. Perceptions of parental pressure or support were unrelated to scores on fundamentalism. The implications of students' religious backgrounds in relation to academic success were discussed.