Sacrificing Cinderella: will giving up Religious Education help to establish a more promising successor?

Schweitzer, Friedrich

doi:10.1080/13617672.2018.1542792

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…The suggestion that the name be changed provoked a flurry of objections. Professor of Philosophy at the University of Birmingham, Michael Hand, called the suggestion 'eye catching and headline grabbing' (Hand, 2018) while others argued that the concept was flawed, muddled and lacking in coherence (Schweitzer, 2019, Barnes, 2021.…”

Section: Religion and Worldviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is true that the criteria which determines whether a view can be considered a Worldview, or more specifically a Worldview that should be discussed in schools, is not explicit. This ambiguity raises the question of whether it is acceptable to accord space on the curriculum to undemocratic Worldviews such as fundamentalism, ethnocentrism and racism (Schweitzer, 2019). It would also be the case that if the limited time that most schools allocate to the teaching of religion was shared with secular and individual Worldviews the time spent on traditional religions would be less.…”

Section: Religion and Worldviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Worldviews and diversity: freedom of expression and teaching about the mosque

Revell

Christopher

2021

j. relig. educ.

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The ability to encourage pupils to engage with diversity is crucial for Religious Education (RE) teachers who believe that the capacity to negotiate difference with integrity and openness is key to living well in a modern liberal society. This article is not about the need to address diversity in RE, that argument has been made thoroughly from a number of perspectives (Barnes, 2014;Jackson, 2004). The focus of this article is the way we engage with diversity, that is a plurality of often opposing views, ways of living and community living. We argue that the dominant paradigm within RE, the World Religions model, works to minimise difference through the presentation of essentialised constructs of religiosity. We contrast the World Religions approach to a liberal educational model which encompasses difference as part of a deep engagement with knowledge itself. Using examples from lessons available from a widely used teachers' web site in the UK on the mosque we show how the World Religions approach ignores or downplays the significance of historical, cultural, social and theological differences between beliefs and thus serves to discourage exploration of issues that may be controversial or offensive. After a consideration of the educational benefits of a liberal approach to learning, we show how, using the example of teaching about the mosque, a Worldviews approach, can facilitate a focus on difference and the individual, that upholds the liberal educational promise for a multidisciplinary understanding of religion and belief. Throughout the article we draw on examples of work designed to create resources for teaching Islam through a Worldviews approach funded by Culham St Gabriel.

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Section: Religion and Worldviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Religion and Worldviewsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Worldviews and diversity: freedom of expression and teaching about the mosque

Revell

Christopher

2021

j. relig. educ.

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“…Scholarship also contests instrumental purposes for RE. In response to the National Entitlement Schweitzer (2018) and Hannam and Biesta (2019) offer pragmatic challenges to romantic notions that learning about the religious and non-religious orientations of others leads pupils to wholesome self-reflection and attitudes of understanding, respect and acceptance of others. Hannam and Biesta argue that 'it is wonderful […] when enhanced understanding does lead to a change in attitude, but the claim that understanding is the key 'mechanism' here, cannot be substantiated […] enhanced understanding can lead to the opposite: to disrespect, hate, and so on' (2019, 58).…”

Section: Social and Personal Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

A critical reflection on the Commission on Religious Education’s proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales

Salter

2021

j. relig. educ.

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This paper responds to the Commission on Religious Education’s proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales. Qualitative data were collected from nine English primary Religious Education (RE) teachers to establish their responses to the proposed National Entitlement from their perspectives as RE practitioners. Findings show that teachers were supportive of the high ambitions the National Entitlement has for RE, that they saw opportunities for pupils’ social and personal development as well as advancement in substantive knowledge, but that they were concerned about content-heavy curricula and structural barriers to implementing the National Entitlement. In response, the paper examines ‘cumulatively sufficient’ curricular design and ‘pedagogical reduction’ as strategies to activate the National Entitlement, and raises questions about ‘instrumental purposes’ in the conceptualisation of Religion and Worldviews. The paper recommends sharper account of the originality of Religions and Worldviews in order to advance the cause of the National Entitlement.

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“…The Commission on Religious Education, to which they refer approvingly, is one response to what is widely perceived as a ‘crisis’ (Chater, 2012; Parker et al., 2015), the term most commonly used to describe the current travail of English multi-faith religious education (responses to which are reviewed in Barnes, 2020). The findings of the resultant Report of the Commission (2018) have also attracted criticism (Barnes, 2020: 80–84, 189–193; Hannam and Biesta, 2019; Schweitzer, 2018) for largely ignoring the systemic and serious weaknesses that are widely acknowledged: ‘specific weaknesses in the teaching about Christianity’ (Ofsted, 2010: 6), ‘scant subject knowledge and understanding’ (Ofsted 2013: 4), lack of a critical element in the study of religions (Conroy et al., 2013: 48–49), agnosticism towards religious truth regarded as a basis for tolerance and respect for others and so on (see Barnes, 2020: 9–23). English religious education may be open and inclusive as Gracie and Brown report, but it is undergoing a crisis of identity.…”

Section: Towards the Futurementioning

confidence: 99%

The character of Controlled schools in Northern Ireland: A complementary perspective to that of Gracie and Brown

Barnes

2021

International Journal of Christianity & Education

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The aim of this article is to interact with Anita Gracie and Andrew W Brown’s recent account of the historical development and nature of Controlled schools and of religious education in Northern Ireland in this journal. A complementary perspective is used to illustrate how the relationship between the Protestant churches and Controlled schools has evolved, and the bearing this has on how best to describe them. This is followed by a consideration of their claim that the type of education and of religious education practised in Anglican schools in England provide a model for Controlled schools to emulate.

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Sacrificing Cinderella: will giving up Religious Education help to establish a more promising successor?

Cited by 8 publications

References 1 publication

Worldviews and diversity: freedom of expression and teaching about the mosque

Worldviews and diversity: freedom of expression and teaching about the mosque

A critical reflection on the Commission on Religious Education’s proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales

The character of Controlled schools in Northern Ireland: A complementary perspective to that of Gracie and Brown

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