Nobody Stands Nowhere: Why Stories from the Real Lives of Religious and Non-Religious People Transform RE

We all carry ways of understanding life that shape how we see the world, relate to others, and make sense of everyday experiences. These understandings aren’t just beliefs – they’re lived and shaped by our relationships and choices. Personal worldview stories bring this to life, showing how religious and non-religious worldviews are experienced in practice. Alongside substantive and disciplinary knowledge, these stories invite students to reflect on their own perspectives in relation to others, supporting their development of personal knowledge.

The Power of Personal Stories

Personal stories matter because they show how religious and non-religious worldviews are lived, not just believed. Ideas about meaning, morality, or belief can feel abstract until they are grounded in real human experience. Stories reveal how values are formed and help us understand not only what people believe, but why those beliefs matter in the context of everyday life.

Stories also reveal complexity. Few people hold neat, internally consistent worldviews. Personal narratives make space for doubt and development over time, challenging simplistic or stereotypical representations of religious and non-religious traditions. Bhabha (1994) introduces the concept of hybridity which describes how identities and practices can blend influences from different traditions, showing how worldviews are often mixed and evolving.  Through stories, we see how individuals interpret, negotiate, and sometimes resist inherited ideas, reflecting the reality that worldviews are dynamic rather than fixed or uniform.

Insider and Outsider Perspectives

The academic study of religion and worldviews has long drawn on the distinction between insider and outsider perspectives. Insiders speak from within a worldview, drawing on lived experience, while outsiders approach a worldview from beyond it, often bringing comparison and critical distance. Scholars such as Ninian Smart have highlighted the value of both perspectives, while recognising their limitations (Smart, 1998).

Personal worldview stories centre insider voices, giving space for people to explain what beliefs and practices mean in the context of their own lives. At the same time, a disciplinary approach goes beyond simply listening. Following Robert Jackson’s interpretive approach, these insider perspectives are explored alongside broader social, historical, and conceptual understandings, helping students to engage critically as well as empathetically (Jackson, 2004).

More recent work in the human and social sciences challenges the idea that insider and outsider are fixed categories. Crossley, Arthur, and McNess argue that these positions are fluid and relational, shaped by context, purpose, and relationships (Crossley, Arthur & McNess, 2003). Kim Knott similarly emphasises positioning and reflexivity in the study of religion (Knott, 2005). For students, this matters because they are rarely pure insiders or outsiders. Personal worldview stories reflect this complexity far better than fixed labels.

Cumbria Virtual Voices in Religious Education

The Cumbria Virtual Voices in Religious Education Project, developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, offers a practical example of how personal worldview stories can be used. The project brought together a group of voices with connections to Cumbria and worked intentionally to build a supportive community.

Before working with students directly, the community of voices took part in sessions rooted in Philosophy For Chidren (P4C[1] ) informed pedagogy, focusing on enquiry, reflection, listening, and dialogue. As a community, they explored creative ways of telling their personal worldview stories, drawing on storytelling techniques and the use of objects and artwork.

Each story was shaped by the individual voice. One Buddhist voice used a Russian doll to describe the layered experiences that led them to become a Buddhist while at university. An Orthodox Christian voice used an icon to articulate their personal worldview story. These objects acted as meaning-making tools rather than explanatory props.

Around twelve short films were created, each lasting 2–3 minutes, with no set structure. Together, they offered students rich insider perspectives that resisted stereotypes and highlighted diversity within and across worldviews. Used as preparation before facilitated events with other schools, the films supported more thoughtful dialogue and continue to be used today as a legacy resource.

Listening, Dialogue, and Understanding

In a diverse and often polarised society, personal worldview stories support respectful dialogue. They shift learning away from debates about right or wrong belief and towards understanding how worldviews are formed, lived, and sustained. Listening does not require agreement, but it does require curiosity, reflexivity, and awareness of one’s own standpoint.

Personal worldview stories are not add-ons to substantive knowledge. As part of a disciplinary approach, they connect insider experience with outsider analysis, personal meaning with social context, and empathy with critical thinking – while also creating space for pupils to reflect on their own developing worldviews.

Bibliography

Bhabha, H. K. (1994). The Location of Culture. London: Routledge.

Crossley, M., Arthur, L. & McNess, E. (2003). Insider–Outsider Research in Comparative and International Education. Oxford: Symposium Books.

Jackson, R. (2004). Rethinking Religious Education and Plurality: Issues in Diversity and Pedagogy. London: Routledge Falmer.

Knott, K. (2005). The Location of Religion: A Spatial Analysis. London: Equinox.

Smart, N. (1998). The World’s Religions. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

The Cumbria Virtual Voices in Religious Education (VVRE) was a collaborative project between Cumbrian SACRE and Cumbria Development Education Centre (CDEC) funded by Culham St Gabriels Trust.  You can access the virtual resources on:  https://www.cdec.org.uk/what-we-offer/projects/cumbria-virtual-voices-in-religious-education/ or find similar examples on the RE hubs film section: https://www.re-hubs.uk/upskill/resources/films-in-re/

[1] P4C – Philosophy for Children P4C  https://www.sapere.org.uk/