This article is a response to Michael Hand's critique in this issue of my response to his use of the epistemic criterion as the sole means for identifying whether or not an issue should be identified as controversial. I argue that he has misunderstood my intention in suggesting that I was seeking to replace the epistemic criterion. Rather my…

In other work I have argued that decisions about what to teach directively and what non-directively should be governed by an epistemic criterion. Trevor Cooling has recently advanced some objections to my defence and application of the epistemic criterion and proposed an alternative to it. Here I reply to his objections and comment on his proposed…

In this article, author Trevor Cooling presents a review of three books that disseminate recent research on religious schools. The first, "Leadership and Religious Schools: International Perspectives and Challenges," edited by Michael T. Buchanan, is an edited volume of essays about leadership in religious schools. Editor Michael…

This article, written from an insider perspective, and in a personal capacity (the author has been involved with the Council of Europe's work on religion and education since its inception in 2002), gives an account of the developing interest in the study of religions (and latterly non-religious convictions) in publicly funded schools by the…

A sample of 661 churchgoers from a range of Christian denominations in the United Kingdom was asked about Darwinian evolution (defined as the common origin of all species, including humans). Respondents were categorised as those who accepted the idea, those who rejected it, and those who were unsure or neutral. People in each category were given a…

There are a range of communities within the Anglican communion that seek to maintain a more orthodox or Catholic emphasis. One of these is the Traditional Anglican Communion. In 2009 the Vatican announced a special accommodation to allow these Anglicans to enter the Catholic Church and to retain key aspects of their Anglican usage and practice. As…

Divided into four parts, the article explores the relationship between literature and faith. The first part examines the connection between literature and the pursuit of truth and the second shows that literature can offer a challenging encounter with different beliefs. Part three examines some examples of the imagination at work in illuminating…

Practices derived from the "vita contemplativa" and other spiritual sources are drawn upon by management, but as the power of human resources management (HRM) is extended so the relationship between "contemplation" and the surrender of self-identity required by HRM demands critical examination. The conscious construction of the…

Etched on a stone from a monastery from the Middle Ages at a small village in County Roscommon in Ireland is a combination of Jewish and Christian symbols. The Menorah sits atop a cross. At the base of the cross and at both ends of the crossbar are three small extensions. The image is one of religious integration. Augustine, whose argument for the…

This study considers how religious individuals may be more likely to entertain doomsday scenarios, such as the December 21, 2012 Mayan prophecy, particularly when juxtaposed with the occurrence of several recent adverse and cataclysmic events. One hundred forty two undergraduates were asked to assess their belief as to whether they believed that…

In common with a number of recent studies of religious change that have taken a gendered approach, this article takes older women as its focus and considers the role the emotions play in religious change, adopting Riis and Woodhead's new conceptual framework of religious emotion. Emotions, they argue, are not merely private, personal and…

The New Indices of Religious Orientation (NIRO) proposed and tested by Francis have been found in later studies to satisfy the requirements for internal reliability among samples where there are comparatively high levels of religious activity, and usually of predominantly older adults. The present study takes a sample of 393 individuals who…

Dealing with values and moral issues is recognised as an integral part of teachers' roles. Especially in culturally heterogeneous societies teachers face multiple values that students and their families may hold. The study reported in this article explores different conceptions of teachers' moral roles aiming to develop an instrument for assessing…

The problems that this article seeks to address are those that are raised in the context of the bilateralism that is established when we think in terms of secularism as primarily orientated towards reason and post secularism, towards faith. The objective of the article is to show that the distinction between the two can be collapsed. Post…

Inter-faith or inter-religious dialogue takes place for a range of reasons and comes in many guises, from the reconciliatory encounter to ease rivalry, to an engagement with the other in an exploration of the meaning and purpose of the human condition. This article examines the process of dialogue in a religious education context and proposes a…