This article treats the various forms of adjustment between scientific and religious discourses at school. It aims to analyse the beliefs and practices of schoolmasters and to explore how the oppositions between the "dominant" discourses of Western science and those of religion are addressed in secondary education in Senegal. The…

Language does not only play an active part "in all processes" of comprehension, recognition and learning, it is also essential for "specific religious learning processes." Religious experiences and traditions have their own characteristic linguistic forms, and religious education has come to realise the necessity for an…

This article argues relational consciousness of Self and Other is influenced by multiple significant relationships--what are termed "Spiritual Friends". The research on which this article is based explores the spirituality of children within the context of British urban secondary education, and identifies significant relationships in…

In geographical areas bordering those of other states, the function of educational systems, as the means for states to foster their citizens, is challenged by ambiguities and tensions connected to intercultural experiences. In this article, I illustrate some of the findings from a project that studies religious education in four border areas…

The aim of this study was to assess the self-evaluations of Finnish secondary school students' (N?=?549) interreligious sensitivity. The data were collected from 12-16-year-old young people with a 15-item Interreligious Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (IRRSSQ). The IRRSSQ is based on Abu-Nimer's Developmental Model of Interreligious…

Islamic fundamentalism is an extreme perception of Islam that views "the 'Other' as the enemy demonized" against the "West", which also views the Muslim "enemy within". In contrast, pluralism perceives 'others' as different people, with different values from us. While the fundamentalist seeks to…

This article explores the potential for critical and informed engagement with biblical texts to form a key element of the study of Christian perspectives on ethical issues at GCSE and A level. Given the current dominance of philosophical and ethical topics, and weaknesses in the engagement with biblical texts within existing curriculum materials,…

The article reports the findings of a qualitative study of Hindu, Muslim and Sikh teachers of religious education and the relationship between their biographies, professional beliefs and use of personal life knowledge in English, secondary school classrooms. This relationship was explored through a study of five beginning teachers and provided…

Drawing on sociocultural perspectives on educational design, this article presents a qualitative study investigating how religious texts emerge as educational objects and mediating artefacts in Norwegian textbooks of religious and moral education. The article describes how the distribution of text references in textbooks influences the formation…

Religion Education teaching in post-independence Zimbabwe has remained bible-oriented and confessional at a time when most Religion Education stakeholders expect an "open", plural and authentic multi-faith Religion Education curriculum. Despite curriculum innovation initiatives aimed at introducing new approaches such as experiential…

In England and Wales, religious education (RE) in non-faith schools has gradually changed from Christian education to the study of many religions and philosophies. However, the core values of RE have continued to be related to concerns about social cohesion and the building of shared values. The article briefly discusses changes in RE since 1944…

Religious education (RE) in Catholic high schools in Australia and Canada is compared by examining some of the underlying structural factors that shape the delivery of RE. It is argued that in Canadian Catholic schools RE is diminished by three factors that distinguish it from the Australian experience. These are: the level and history of…

The aim of this article is to analyse the educational and spiritual legacy of Mordechai (Motti) Bar-Lev, one of the pillars of religious education research in Israel. We first analyse the ideological-theoretical foundations that underlay his thought and provided inspiration for his scientific writing. Next, we analyse the principal dilemmas on…

This study builds on the research tradition modelled by the Francis Scale of Attitude towards Christianity, the Katz-Francis Scale of Attitude towards Judaism, the Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude towards Islam and the Santosh-Francis Scale of Attitude towards Hinduism to propose a generic instrument concerned with attitudes towards theistic faith.…

The "purpose" of this article is to illustrate how potential learning is related to hegemonic speech genres. This we do through examples from two religious education (RE) classrooms, one Norwegian and one Swedish. By presenting important dimensions of speech genres used in RE classrooms, the article also contributes to developing theory. The…