This paper presents a tentative argument for the application of a unique methodological approach in researching convert Muslims in contemporary Britain. By throwing into relief some of the theoretical limitations of previous studies on the topic, a case is made for a dialectical model of thinking that foregrounds Islamic epistemology and places it…

This paper examines the possible relationship between religious education and social justice. A consideration of what it is that education in the public sphere should seek to achieve, in a normative sense, is followed by an explanation of how we conceptualise social justice in this paper. This leads us to be able to explain why the relationship…

The argument is put forward that for pupils in Religion and Worldviews to have an understanding of the existential crisis we now find ourselves in, the curriculum must offer a deliberate analysis of power, whether power over people or the natural world. This call is supported by liberal educational thinking. A liberal education approach is…

This paper is a critical analysis of the use of metaphors in English Religious Education (RE). It is grounded in the educational theory of Anna Sfard (a professor of Mathematics) who has written about learning metaphors, before considering some of the metaphoric language used in English education generally and RE specifically. It will examine…

Jesus' appearance is not recorded in the New Testament, apart from some incidental mentions of his clothing. Nevertheless, his appearance is the most recorded feature in the history of world art. None of these images is based on primary sources; most, especially the most popular and influential images, tend to portray Jesus in the guise of a…

We present the process, collaborative management, and impact of a pilot leadership programme created to help teachers of Religion and Worldviews (R&W) (We are using the phrase 'religion and worldviews' to reflect a change in approach advocated in the Commission on RE (2018). We use the abbreviation R&W throughout. We acknowledge and accept…

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…

Catholic schools share in the preferential option for the poor that is an essential part of following Jesus and the mission of the Church. Catholic schools in many parts of the world have an historical and contemporary mission for the care and education of the poor. This article uses key passages from the Gospels of Luke and Matthew to illustrate…

Religious education was established as a compulsory curriculum requirement in all schools by the 1944 Education Act. It was intended to provide instruction to all pupils in the basic tenets of the Christian faith and ensure that every successive generation of pupils understood the role of Christianity in British history and the national sense of…

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.…

Finding Common Ground (FCG) is an interreligious dialogue program hosted in the Multi Faith Facility of Swinburne University of Technology. This article evaluates the interreligious learning elements as one aspect of the program's social inclusion and intercultural literacy objectives. The grassroots dialogue principles that FCG follows are ground…

This article examines the conditions for designing an epistemologically grounded teaching about religions through an identification of what knowledge is central to the subject of Religious Education (RE). A starting point for the analysis is a discussion of Michael Young's well-known concept of powerful knowledge, as a possible platform for…

In contemporary theological research on childhood, there is considerable interest on the social agency of children. This interest is situated within a global concern for the dignity of children as complex human beings, propelled by the articulation of their participatory rights in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). This turn to…

There has been a rise in claims of LGBTI youth in schools generally across the UK with a surge in young people self-identifying. This is a 'theme' or 'matter' or 'question' that has been insufficiently ventilated in relation to the Catholic school. It is shrouded in inhibition, confusion, evasion or fear. Burying our heads in the sand is not…

The Commission on Religious Education's Final Report, "Religion and Worldviews: The Way Forward, a national plan for RE" (https://www.commissiononre.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Final-Report-of-the-Commission-on-RE.pdf, 2018), has been given a mixed reception by advocates and leaders of Catholic education in England and Wales. The…