The Ninian Smart Archive and Bibliography

The late Professor Smart wrote extensively, at many different levels, on a wide variety of topics, with papers and articles appearing in a bewildering variety of publications worldwide. Previous bibliographies of his work have proved to be incomplete and inaccurate. An accurate, comprehensive bibliography is attempted here, along with a summary of the contents of the Ninian Smart Archive.     

The Ninian Smart Archive and Bibliography

The late Professor Smart wrote extensively, at many different levels, on a wide variety of topics, with papers and articles appearing in a bewildering variety of publications worldwide. Previous bibliographies of his work have proved to be incomplete and inaccurate. An accurate, comprehensive bibliography is attempted here, along with a summary of the contents of the Ninian Smart Archive.     

A Personal Tribute to Ninian Smart

The assertion of Hindu identity in contemporary India takes two characteristic forms: organized movements notable for their effective action; and uncontrolled mob violence. Understanding this apparent paradox entails both general religio-historical explanation and culturally specific interpretation. From a general perspective, organized movements and mob violence each offers a means of identifying with the same religious object—in this case, the Hindu nation, newly valorized in urban India. But the specific relationship between the two can be interpreted through themes of control and violence in Shaivite myth.     

Ninian Smart and the Phenomenological Approach to Religious Education

This essay reviews and assesses Ninian Smart's contribution to religious education. Attention is given to his account of the nature and purpose of religious education as expressed and developed in a series of works published between the late 1960s and the early 1970s, beginning with The Teacher and Christian Belief (1966) and ending with Schools Council Working Paper 36, Religious Education in the Secondary School (1971), which was produced under his direction. Continuities and tensions in his thought are identified and discussed in the context of recent debates within religious education and the academic study of religion. Smart’s case for non-confessional religious education is considered, as is his support for a phenomenological approach to religious education. Although serious criticisms are raised, it is concluded that his work is of abiding significance and relevance to both British education and beyond.