Ethnography, Religious Education, andThe Fifth Cup

Abstract

This article comments on issues of concern to religious educators that emerged from ethnographic studies directed by Robert Jackson at the University of Warwick. The research in question focused on U.K. communities of north Indian background, whose members identified themselves-in some contexts at least-as Sikh or as Hindu. The comments are made in the light of a play, The Fifth Cup, and pertain to how world religions are defined and how they are represented in religious education. In particular, with regard to the sensitivity of the issue of caste for pupils of South Asian origin, the article suggests that the training of religious education teachers needs to be informed by both ethnography and historical context and also raises questions about curriculum content. I suggest that the interpretive approach entails a necessary attentiveness to pupils' experiences and perceptions, and that some issues may additionally call for expertise in pastoral care and conflict resolution.