Despite the importance of religion to identity formation, there has been little research on religious identity, resulting in a limited understanding of the development of religious identity, especially among strictly religious adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine religious identity formation changes during post-high…

In the field of education concerning cultural diversity it has been recognized as vital to address justice in social structures. Although justifications for religious education in non-confessional contexts are heavily based on religious diversity, their advocates have paid little attention to justice and power relations. In this article, I analyse…

This study developed and tested a Turkish translation of the 23-item Sahin-Francis Scale of Attitude toward Islam (containing six negatively-voiced items) on data provided by 493 participants (191 school students and 302 undergraduate students). Two research questions were tested on these data. First, exploratory factor analyses suggested that…

This study examines the perceptions of students in the Israeli public education system regarding secular interpretations of Judaism. The study analyzes a curriculum unit that was taught to Israeli high school students, which engaged the students with textual study of biblical, rabbinic and secular-"h?alutzic" sources. Applying…

This article overviews the contemporary context for teaching Religious Education (RE) in Ireland and profiles changing religious demographics in an increasingly secular context. It presents the findings of a two-year mixed-methods study undertaken in two third-level Catholic colleges in Ireland, investigating four hundred third-level Initial…

The Irish religious landscape is changing. Census data reveal that the percentage of those who identify as Catholic is in steady decline, while the proportion of those with no religion continues to rise. Christian religious practice in Ireland is also decreasing, especially among young people. Catholic schools, once the dominant provider of second…

In this paper, we draw on interim findings of our research project on Religious Education (RE), knowledge and big questions. We have found Miranda Fricker's concept of epistemic injustice useful in our analysis--that is, the notion that a person can be wronged "specifically in their capacity as a knower (Fricker 2007, 1). In interviews with…

John Greer first introduced the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity in 1979 into his programme of research designed to chart the religious trajectory of students attending Protestant and Catholic schools in Northern Ireland. The present study conducted in 2011 builds on earlier studies conducted in 1979, 1984, the early 1990s, and 1998.…

Teacher self-efficacy is understood as a teacher's belief in his or her ability to successfully accomplish a specific teaching task in a particular context. Studies have been undertaken to determine preservice teachers' self-efficacy in particular curriculum areas, but none have been completed that relate to the teaching of Religious Education…

This study set out to explore levels of religious affect (measured by the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity) and personal affect (measured by the Oxford Happiness Questionnaire) among samples of Catholic students in the Republic of Ireland attending fifth- and sixth-year classes (N = 3015) and Catholic students in Northern Ireland…

This qualitative research aims to explore the experiences of teachers in the implementation of prayer services in religious high schools for girls in Israel. Twenty teachers from three different schools were interviewed as part of this qualitative research study. Interviews were conducted during 2017-2018. The research focused on what teachers…

The purpose of this article is to discuss the role of religious education and ethics instruction in the development of worldviews in public education using empirical data. The research question of the article is: How is the contribution of RE and Ethics in the development of worldviews perceived among 9th grade students? The study is based on…

The aim of this study was to explore preservice teachers' religion self-efficacy beliefs and the relationship those beliefs have with regard to their internship experiences. In this paper, we examined participants who are education majors at a religious university. The measure selected for this study included a reflection journal. Qualitative…

The aim of this study is to explore pupil perspectives on religions and worldviews in a mutual integrative space of religious and worldview education in a Finnish context. Analysing group interview data (N = 38) gathered from lower secondary school pupils attending mutual classes of religious and worldview education, the article explores how…

In Latvia the implementation of the new National Curriculum is oriented towards a competence based approach that focuses on learning by doing and is based on theoretical constructs of constructionism and social constructivism. For the first time since Latvia gained independence in 1990, the new National Curriculum will provide a unique opportunity…