Global terms: Other Evidence Informed Practice & Research

Introducing ‘Big Ideas’ to UK Religious Education

Research Summary: Introducing ‘Big Ideas’ to UK Religious Education

This report details the research undertaken at the University of Exeter to apply the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ model (Harlen 2010) to Religious Education. The notion of ‘Big Ideas’ has been mooted as a suitable tool with which to negotiate the tricky task of curriculum reform. At the University of Exeter, the ‘Identifying Principles and Big Ideas for Religious Education’ project sought to follow Harlen’s example, given the lack of coherence in the RE curriculum at present (OFSTED 2013). A symposium of academics, consultants and RE specialists met on Dartmoor to try to identify Big Ideas for RE with the purpose of improving curriculum content selection and sequencing, and these have since been released in a wide-ranging report (Wintersgill 2017). Professor Rob Freathy, who was one of the lead researchers on this project, has also conducted research into how RE might take full advantage of the insights found in Harlen’s work by focusing not only on Big Ideas ‘in RE’ but also by considering methodological questions: Big Ideas ‘about RE’.

Researchers

Professor Rob Freathy & Dr Helen John

Research Institution

University of Exeter

What is this about?

The RE curriculum has long been recognised to be a problematic issue, with OFSTED describing it as overcrowded, incoherent, and confusing for pupils (OFSTED 2013). The Science curriculum faced similar problems and has been revised based on a ‘Big Ideas’ model (Harlen 2010, 2015), drawing on the research of Wiggins and McTigue (1998). At the University of Exeter, Dr Barbara Winstergill and Professor Rob Freathy sought to identify Big Ideas that would apply to the RE curriculum. Working with Professor Michael Reiss (UCL Institute of Education), who was on the team of international scientists who produced the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ (Harlen 2010), they convened and directed a symposium on Dartmoor. Academics, RE specialists and consultants drafted the ‘Big Ideas for Religious Education’, which were published by the University of Exeter in 2017 (Wintersgill 2017; available online).

However, while the ‘Big Ideas for RE’ document focuses squarely on curriculum content and sequencing, Professor Freathy was also interested in developing Big Ideas about methods, methodology and epistemology. In other words, he felt it important for pupils to consider how the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) is conducted. His research thus extends onwards to consider the ‘Big Ideas about’ angle, as well. The ‘find out more’ article below illustrates how that distinction might come into play.

The key questions in the Big Ideas project can thus be summarised as follows:

  • How can we improve selection and sequencing of curriculum content in RE? Might the ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ project provide a means?
  • What would ‘Big Ideas for RE’ look like?
  • ‘Principles and Big Ideas of Science Education’ listed (a) 10 Big Ideas of Science and (b) 4 Ideas about Science. How might we map that distinction onto RE?

What was done?

A symposium of experts met to draft the Big Ideas for RE. Further reflections and feedback were requested from participants. The final report was edited by Dr Wintersgill. Professor Rob Freathy and Dr Helen John wrote an article engaging in critical reflection on the Big Ideas for RE report.

Main findings and outputs

The symposium found that Big Ideas for RE could usefully be used to select and sequence content in RE. They could be modelled on the Big Ideas in Science Education project. Six Big Ideas for RE were identified, and are entitled as follows (see the report for full descriptions):

  1. Continuity, Change and Diversity: this big idea reflects on continuity and diversity within and between religious and non-religious traditions.
  2. Words and Beyond: this big idea reflects on the difficulty in expressing some of our deepest-held beliefs in everyday language.
  3. A Good Life: this big idea reflects on the concerns religious and non-religious traditions have with striving towards living a morally good life.
  4. Making Sense of Life’s Experiences: this big idea reflects on religious, spiritual and transformative experiences.
  5. Influence, Community, Culture and Power: this big idea reflects on the interactions between religious/non-religious worldviews and wider communities and cultures.
  6. The Big Picture: this big idea reflects on the ‘grand narratives’ put forward by religious and non-religious worldviews to explain how and why the world is as it is.

Freathy and John’s article goes on to suggest that big ideas are also required to reflect on how we study religions and worldviews. They identify the following 4 ‘Big Ideas about the Study of Religion(s) and Worldview(s)’ that pupils should also be introduced to:

  1. Encountering Religion(s) and Worldview(s): Contested definitions and contexts: this big idea recognises how contested descriptions/definitions are of the nature of religions/worldviews, the concepts of ‘religion’/‘worldview’ themselves, and the dynamic nature of the contexts involved, for example.
  2. Encountering Oneself: Reflexivity, Reflectivity and Positionality: this big idea recognises that who we are affects (and sometimes determines) how we study, what we study, and what we find out about it.
  3. Encountering Methodologies and Methods: Discernment and Diversity: this big idea focuses on the multi-disciplinary and methodologically diverse nature of our field of enquiry.
  4. Encountering the Real World: Relevance and Transferability: this big idea recognises that the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) is a vital tool in understanding the world around us.

Relevance to RE

The Big Ideas are designed to be overarching concepts that help draw together and make sense of the many disparate facts that pupils might encounter in the classroom. Using the Big Ideas report (Wintersgill 2017), teachers might be encouraged to think about how they could orient schemes of work around Big Ideas. In addition, they might introduce pupils to different ideas about the study of religion(s) and worldview(s) from Freathy and John’s article. The RE-searchers approach (a primary resource but adaptable for secondary; see resources on RE:Online) could be used to encourage reflection on the Big Ideas about side of this research.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The Big Ideas for RE body of research is in its infancy but, given the success of the Science Education project, there is great promise for its success in RE. Teachers are encouraged to offer feedback to Professor Freathy.

Find out more

23. Freathy, R. and John, H. (2019). Religious Education, Big Ideas and the Study of Religion(s) and Worldview(s). British Journal of Religious Education. 41(1): 27-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2018.1500351

https://socialsciences.exeter.ac.uk/media/universityofexeter/collegeofsocialsciencesandinternationalstudies/education/research/groupsandnetworks/reandspiritualitynetwork/Big_Ideas_for_RE_E-Book.pdf

How has the internet impacted on the relationship between Sikhs and the Guru Granth Sahib, and on Sikhism in general?

Research Summary: How has the internet impacted on the relationship between Sikhs and the Guru Granth Sahib, and on Sikhism in general?

The main article reported here focuses on the emergence of online versions of the Guru Granth Sahib, their impact on the transmission of Sikhism, and on religious authority. It looks at the consequences of the emergence of online translations and issues faced in engaging with the ‘digital Guru’. The second article, more briefly covered, presents some more, general, related findings from the same research project as the first.

Researchers

Jasjit Singh

Research Institution

University of Leeds

What is this about?

How has the digital environment impacted on the relationship between Sikhs and the Guru Granth Sahib? How has the evolution of the online environment changed the ways in which the Guru Granth Sahib is presented; and how have technological changes affected the ways in which Sikhs engage with and relate to the Guru Granth Sahib? Also, in general, how has the internet affected the practice of Sikhism?

What was done?

The research was carried out though an online survey (645 respondents), interviews, focus groups and participant observation. As a whole, the study was of religious transmission among 18-30-year-old Sikhs in Britain.

Main findings and outputs

  • For over 20 years, the digital environment has impacted on the ways in which British Sikhs engage with their religious tradition.
  • It enables them to engage with the Guru Granth Sahib but in a very specific way. English translations mean more of them can read the text but the pros and cons of translation are little-discussed.
  • Traditional authorities (preachers, gurdwara officials) can be bypassed – but inner, deeper meanings, that depend on sound and poetry, can be lost in translation. Strictly, the Guru Granth Sahib cannot be translated. Accurate, nuanced translations are needed, as far as possible, but many British Sikhs not taught Punjabi as children learn it as adults, in order to understand their tradition.
  • More general findings: the internet enables Sikhs to know different views on Sikhism than those held by their families, though this can be confusing. It brings more Sikhs into a personal relationship with the Guru Granth Sahib, because a hukamnama (‘order’) can be received from the Guru Granth Sahib whenever wished, without needing to visit a gurdwara. Finding out about sangat (congregation) events is easier, as is finding and purchasing religious resources or looking into the legal position on e.g. turban wearing, or mobilising on social or religious issues.

Relevance to RE

There are several messages for teachers to bear in mind from this research:

  • The importance of language within religious traditions, and how it is used, e.g. poetically rather than literally – and the need to devise ways for pupils to grasp this.
  • The need to listen to and not just read texts.
  • Issues of translation, and how teachers should try not to simply impose meanings from English / Christianity on to non-Christian worldviews (e.g. God, heaven, hell, angels are reported as sometimes imposed on to the Sikh tradition).
  • The need to include the effect of the internet on religion & worldviews in the curriculum.

Generalisability and potential limitations

According to the author, the study, or specifically the survey part, did not seek to represent young British Sikhs as a whole but gather the views of a number of individuals to highlight possible trends.

Find out more

The original articles reported (main one first) are:
Jasjit Singh (2018): Lost in translation? The emergence of the digital Guru
Granth Sahib, Sikh Formations, DOI: 10.1080/17448727.2018.1485355

Jasjit Singh (2014) Sikh-ing online: the role of the Internet in the religious lives of young British Sikhs, Contemporary South Asia, 22:1, 82-97, DOI: 10.1080/09584935.2013.870974

How eco-friendly is Buddhism, really?

Research Summary: How eco-friendly is Buddhism, really?

Different Buddhist texts and beliefs offer different kinds of attitudes to nature. Sometimes Buddhism appears to view all living beings as equal, whilst at other times it seems to place human beings at the centre of its universe and to give particular significance to them. The difference appears in the philosophy and norms of Buddhism, and this researcher wanted to investigate how it is worked out in daily life. Therefore he carried out a study of a Vietnamese Buddhist monastery in the USA, observing its daily life closely for about sixty days in total. He found that whilst in theory the monastery is eco-centric, in practice, there are aspects of its life in which humans are valued more than other life-forms, in which its motivations for environmental lifestyles are to benefit humans and in which it limits non-violence in order to favour humans. The research offers interesting material for RE teachers to consider when presenting Buddhism; and interesting questions about religion and the environment for pupils to discuss and analyse.

Researcher

Daniel Capper

Research Institution

University of Southern Mississippi

What is this about?

  •  This is about problems faced by Buddhists when they try to put very pure spiritual ideals into practice. You could say that it is about the relationship between spiritual ideals and life in the material world, more generally.
  • The background is the Buddhist teaching of the interdependence of all life, especially as represented in the ecological Buddhism of the Vietnamese teacher Thıch Nhat Hanh (“every Buddhist practitioner should be a protector of the environment”).
  • According to this teaching, everything in the universe is interconnected, humans are equal partners in a larger system and no distinction should be made between inanimate and animate beings.
  • The Buddhists in this monastery see natural beings as enlightened and as spiritual teachers to people. Consumption is kept to a minimum, the diet is vegan and strenuous efforts are made to avoid harming life-forms.
  • However, compromises are sometimes made. The researcher finds that inevitably, human interests surface and that when pushed, the sangha (community) members have to recognise this. (More detail is given below, in Main findings and outputs.)

What was done?

The researcher observed the life of a Vietnamese Buddhist monastery in the USA for about sixty days in total, participating in many of its activities, also carrying out formal interviews with ten monks.

Main findings and outputs

  • Different Buddhist beliefs offer different attitudes to nature. In Thailand, trees have been symbolically ordained as monks; but still, it is taught that for purposes of attaining enlightenment, a human rebirth is the most favourable of all.
  • The sangha members studied are strongly committed to the Buddhist teaching of the interdependence of all life. Their form of Buddhism has itself been influenced by the ‘Western’ conservation and ecology movement.
  • According to Thıch Nhat Hanh’s teaching, everything in the universe is interconnected, humans are equal partners in a larger system and no distinction should be made between inanimate and animate beings.
  • The Buddhists in this monastery see natural beings as enlightened spiritual teachers. Spiritual practice such as walking meditation involves a deep appreciation of the natural enivironment. Consumption of natural resources such as water is kept to a minimum, the diet is vegan and strenuous efforts are made to avoid harming even animals that might normally be regarded as pests.
  • However, compromises are sometimes made. Two stray dogs who were interfering with the contemplative atmosphere of the monastery were eventually removed (the researcher was asked to do this). Pesticides are used against red fire ants whose bites are very painful and can be fatal. Thus, the monastery puts human comfort and safety higher than the intrinsic value of the ants. Generally the researcher wonders how pure the Buddhists’ ideals can be, in that their ecological lifestyle sometimes seems motivated by their own spiritual wishes.

Relevance to RE

  • The material could be of great use to RE teachers when planning curriculum and in pedagogy – the issues raised invite critical pupil engagement.
  • At one level, the problems met by the Buddhists in practising their beliefs can be used as evidence of the challanges faced by people in sustaining an ideals-based religious lifestyle. When pupils learn about the problems it will deepen their understanding of the beliefs.
  • At a more critical level the problems can be offered to pupils to analyse, once they have heard and spent some time discussing the ‘story’. (They could first look up the monastery online at http://magnoliagrovemonastery.org/ ) This level of work may suit older or more able secondary pupils. If you believe that all of life is equal and interconnected, can the use of pesticides be justified? If you believe that all of life is equal and interconnected.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This research identifies some mixed messages in Buddhism in general, then investigates how – or whether – the issues are resolved in a single monastery. Rather than high generalisability, it offers a very interesting illustrative example.

Find out more

Learning Love from a Tiger: Approaches to Nature in an American Buddhist Monastery, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 30:1, 55-71 (published online 23 December 2014) dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2015.986976

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2015.986976

Humanism – good without God

Research Summary: Humanism – good without God

This research examines conceptions of happiness and pleasure among secular humanists in Britain. Based on fieldwork among members of the British Humanist Association, and its associated local groups, it is found that happiness for the humanists means enlightenment, or an appeal to reason over and against what they see as the irrationality of religion. For them, happiness and pleasure are subjective experiences, but they also reflect philosophical and ethical commitments. For the humanists, to be happy is to be secular.

Researcher

Matthew Engelke

Research Institution

London School of Economics and Political Science

What is this about?

  • Humanism
  • Happiness
  • Secularism
  • Ethics
  • Humanism in Britain

What was done?

The research methodology is not spelled out, but it appears to be an informal, ethnographic one: spending time with humanists, observing their behaviour and emotions, carrying out conversations with them and, it can be imagined, making notes then or later. The research reads somewhat like journalism.

Main findings and outputs

  • Happiness is part and parcel of humanism. Humanism in contemporary Britain is driven by a passion for the pursuit of happiness.
  • To humanists, being happy and being “good without god” is a commitment both to pleasure and to progress. It isn’t just a state of mind but a measure of living well. It’s connected with the Enlightenment ethic of thinking for yourself and finding meaning in life now.
  • For humanists, critique of religion and cultivation of humanism go hand in hand. Religion is humanism’s opposite and other. Christianity, in particular, is heavily criticized. But it’s because it’s seen as irrational – humanism has its own forms of wonder and celebration. Humanists are also observed holding lengthy ethical discussions; they meet to hold ‘ethical juries’ about how to really, objectively, help others, in different situations. Importantly, the fact that they are deliberating rationally is just as significant as any conclusions that are drawn – it means a ‘happy virtue’ and the ‘only authentic option’.

Relevance to RE

The research is very relevant to any teaching about non-religious worldviews. Teachers can read it to develop subject knowledge, and build the findings into presentations about Humanism they make to students. Some of these findings set up good class or small group discussions, or extended writing topis. How important or wise is it always to think for yourself? How justified is it to say that religion (especially Christianity) is irrational? Or that being happy is a sign of living well?

Generalisability and potential limitations

The informal nature of the research makes it hard to judge whether it represents UK humanists in general, but it is well-backed by wider literature and has an authentic feel. Comments are welcomed!

Find out more

The original article is Matthew Engelke, “Good without God” Happiness and pleasure among the humanists, Hau: Journal of Ethnographic Theory (2015) 5 (3): 69–91. It can be accessed freely from DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.14318/hau5.3.005

Human rights and religion in the English secondary RE curriculum

Research Summary: Human rights and religion in the English secondary RE curriculum

The relationship between religion and human rights is an ambiguous and complex one, but there are academic, moral and political arguments for the inclusion of human rights in religious education (RE). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights advocates education in human rights and the English school curriculum aims to encourage a commitment to human rights. This article examines the arguments for the inclusion of human rights in RE. It explores whether English secondary RE curricula encourage the study of human rights and the link with religion. This is perceived through a post secular context, one which is marked by the continuing presence of religion in the modern world. The article suggests that there are compelling arguments for the inclusion of human rights in RE, but identifies a questionable variability among local agreed syllabi and GCSE specifications which makes RE an inconsistent ally for the national and international human rights education movement.

Researchers

Dr Robert Bowie

Research Institution

Canterbury Christ Church University

What is this about?

This is a policy study of recent changes around the moral and values aims of education in English schooling. It shows the transition from a values vision framed around human rights to one that is framed around British values.

What was done?

The analysis of policy documentation used a triangulation of conceptual frames: Schwartz’s theoretical structure of values, Baxi’s conceptualisation of rights and Lohrenscheit’s notion of learning about and learning for human rights as these.

Main findings and outputs

Governments offer different political conceptions around what the moral formation of children in schools should encourage, in terms of social change or conservation, local or international allegiances, and moral education as state protection or advocacy around protection from the state. Different governments, at different times and facing different situations, come to different conclusions about what values education should encourage or facilitate. Policy change indicates underlying change, inconsistency and uncertainty around the negotiation of national and international values in English schools. It is clear that there has been a significant change of direction in education policy since 2007 driven by PREVENT and fundamental British values and the concerns around international terrorism and cohesion. However much there might be a feeling that the 2016 political events reflect a sudden unexpected change towards nationalism and away from internationalism, education policy was a signpost towards that direction of travel. Whether this marks an abandonment of human rights education, or a new phase of development towards a locally, nationally conceptualized HRE remains to be seen. This need not necessarily be interpreted as a loss of an ideal or indeed an obituary for HRE.

Relevance to RE

RE engages with international dimensions in that religions and belief systems reach beyond national boundaries. The article provokes reflection on the extent to which RE might be focussed on a vision of education that is framed exclusively by national interests or whether there is scope for an internationalist vision of RE.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This is a conceptual study – focussed around policy formation. It charts developments rather than proposes solutions.

Find out more

Bowie, R. (2017) The rise and fall of human rights in English education policy: Inescapable national interests and PREVENT. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 12 (2). pp. 111-122.

http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/15514/#rVylRH5sJ3uxeTwO.99

Karen Steele: Analysing Islamic Texts at GCSE

Teacher Case Study: Karen Steele

Beyond the ‘Proof Text’: Analysing Islamic Texts at GCSE

It took just moments to decide the focus of my project for the Edge Hill RE Subject Knowledge Summer School in 2021. I’ve always loved teaching Islam and enjoyed the challenge of developing my subject knowledge for the 2016 specification. The support of people like Zameer Hussain with Shi’a Islam has been greatly appreciated. However, at times my lessons felt a bit plodding and superficial. I recognised immediately the Ofsted Research Review [i] reference to the use of ‘proof texts’ in GCSE. I’ve been guilty of that. Although I had included some textual analysis and scholarship into my lessons, I still felt I could do better. I knew straight away, therefore, I wanted to develop my confidence with Islamic texts and consider how to deliver the content in a more memorable, engaging and meaningful way. After attending the Summer School, I developed a student anthology with carefully selected and sequenced readings, clearly linked to the specification content.

Day 1 of the Summer School included an inspiring session on text and story by Mary Myatt. She reminded us of something we all know, but too often forget when preparing students to sit exams: humans love stories and stories matter. Daniel Willingham claims ‘our brains privilege story’[ii]. RE has an abundance! Text and story are a wonderful way into learning about the Islamic traditions and can be used to enhance our GCSE. That’s what I set out to do.

Islamic texts are daunting: the many collections of Hadith, the varied commentaries and interpretations. Even as an RE specialist, I worried about my ability to get it right. This is why Edge Hill’s offer is so important. Surrounded by specialists including RE teachers and academics, I could ask questions, share ideas and consider feedback. The very patient Dr Harith Ramil supported me with my project, answering my endless questions, offering suggestions and critiquing my work. If only every RE teacher had opportunities like this.

The ‘final product’ is by no means final. Like the tradition of textual interpretation in Islam, it will continue to evolve. Not everyone will agree with my selections and the interpretations I have offered. However, I’m now able to justify my choices and engage my students in a deeper dialogue about the ways texts and story are used in the tradition. The anthology includes 7 texts from the Qur’an and Hadith, chronologically covering key events in the early development of Islam.

Back in the classroom I have been using the anthology with my students. Together we have analysed and annotated Al-Fatihah (Surah 1:1-7) and an Al-Bukhari Hadith narrating the Night of Power among other texts. I can see that they have developed a strong foundation for investigating Islam. They are instinctively referring to the texts they have studied to support their claims rather that ‘sticking in a quote’. Will this have the desired impact? Time will tell, but the early signs are good; students are showing a richer and more contextual knowledge.

You can find all of my resources on the Edge Hill website alongside those produced by others who attended the Summer School. I have included a list of the many resources I discovered and notes for each text designed to help busy teachers.

I feel privileged and grateful to have had this opportunity. If you get the chance to apply to the Summer School, I recommend you go for it.

i Ofsted Research Review Series: Religious Education

ii Mary Myatt’s blog: Using stories in the curriculum

Is religious experience realistic?

Research Summary: Is religious experience realistic?

Religious experience – communication with God, or spiritual realisation of ultimate reality – is normally held to be an unusual form of experience. However, does it share features in common with ordinary experience of the world? If so, religious experience might be viewed as realistic, in the senses of being experience of a real object and telling a credible story. Often, people object to the idea that religious experience can be compared to ordinary experience. They argue that its object is a highly unusual one, that it takes place in highly unusual circumstances and that unlike ordinary experience, it varies substantially from religion to religion. The writer responds that religious experience, like ordinary experience, can be predictable; that not all ordinary experiences are straightforward; that moral or aesthetic circumstances can be just as unusual as religious experience circumstances; and that religious traditions may only be incompatible on the surface. The material will be of direct use in teaching about religious experience on A level philosophy and ethics courses.

Researcher

David Brown

Research Institution

University of St Andrews

What is this about?

  • Philosophically speaking, is religious experience realistic?
  • The question can be interpreted in two ways: is the object of religious experience (usually God) a real object? Are religious experience accounts credible?
  • The writer’s approach is to show how religious experience may not be so different from ordinary experience as is often assumed. Like ordinary experience, it may be predictable. Ordinary experience can be just as complex as religious experience. Ordinary experience can depend just as much on the emotions.
  • Religious traditions describe religious experiences in different ways, but this is also true of how different cultures and languages describe ordinary experience.

What was done?

This is a scholarly philosophical essay, reviewing ideas on religious experience and whether it can be compared to ordinary experience and drawing original, interesting conclusions.

Main findings and outputs

  • Religious experience may be predictable in similar ways to ordinary experience: just as we might predict when we might meet people, so it can be predicted that beautiful landscape or music may suggest divine presence.
  • Experiences of God’s love are held to be unusual, but ordinary experience is less than straightforward (a tomato is red only in a certain light, its is hard to explain how we experience that a person is intelligent, etc.). Experiencing all of God’s divinity is as problematical as experiencing a person’s entire personality.
  • Religious experience is argued to be impossible without conditions such as joy, awe, orwonder. But the emotions are also involved in aesthetic or moral experience (e.g. appreciation of music, or loving care setting a good example to people).
  • It is often argued that whilst it is easy to communicate about ordinary experiences with a range of others, communication about religious experiences is different, because of religious conflicts.
  • However, each could be seen as describing experiences which are true within its own ways of describing the truth (as not all languages distinguish between colours in the same way).
  • This would not mean that religions cannot communicate and interact. Hindu polytheism seems far from Judaism, for instance, but the quantity of gods could be argued to stop any one from being dominant, guarding against idolatry.
  • The argument is not that differences between religions might dissolve, but that the distinction between ordinary perception and religious complexity is simplistic.

Relevance to RE

  • The essay has use as a resource for teaching about religious experience in A level philosophy and ethics. If possible, teachers should read it first (it is clear and reasonably concise); if not, use could be made of the main findings and outputs above, perhaps as a powerpoint presentation.
  • An outline lesson plan follows. Students might first be asked to mind-map differences and similarities between ordinary experience and religious experience (or, one or more groups to mind-map differences, others similarities). After discussion of the mind-maps the teacher could then introduce the article and talk through the main findings and outputs. Students could then go back into their groups to discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the main findings and outputs (or perhaps each group could be given one of the points to work on). They could next feed back their findings. Finally all could offer a personal conclusion, giving the argument of the essay a mark out of 10 and providiing reasons for their marks.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The ideas and arguments developed in the essay are applicable to any discussiion of religious experience, because the writer looks across broad issues and into various religious traditions.

Find out more

Realism and religious experience, Religious Studies 51, 497–512 (published online 12 October 2014), doi:10.1017/S0034412514000389

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/religious-studies/article/div-classtitlerealism-and-religious-experiencediv/092712366074464469A555DBFC37C922

Is God male?

Research Summary: Is God male?

Is God male? Or should God be referred to in gender terms at all? This philosophical essay takes issue with the traditionalist practice of referring to God in male terms. A very close and detailed argument is developed, through which it is established that it is not more accurate to characterise God as male rather than female, or vice versa. The argument is based neither on the view that God is a human concept and therefore beyond gender nor the view that God is absolutely transcendent and therefore beyond gender. It is based on two other principles, namely that human beings are created in God’s image and that God is a perfect being. In relation to the ‘image of God’, the argument is that God must be visible as much in female as male characteristics; in relation to God as a perfect being, the argument is that if God has gender attributes at all, God must have these equally. The conclusion of the article is that there should be no problem in describing God as female in settings such as liturgy, moral discussion, etc. Teachers will find the ideas challenging, but of use in responding to questions often posed by children and in preparing A level philosophy and ethics materials and lessons.

Researcher

Michael Rea

Research Institution

University of Notre Dame, Indiana

What is this about?

  • Is it right to describe God as male? This appears to be a traditionalist assumption, or even a safe option.
  • But the traditional practice has been harmful to women, implying that their characteristics are less ideal, and to men, encouraging a false view of their superiority. It doesn’t seem to be necessary or helpful, so it ought to be questioned.
  • It doesn’t appear in the Bible. Jesus may be male, but this is offered as proof of his divinity no more than are his musculature or hair.
  • Of course people have challenged the traditionalist view before, but here is a novel argument against it, based purely on analysis of theological principles.
  • The argument given will be presented below, but key points are: if people are created in God’s image, equally, characteristics of women are no more or less reflective of God’s image than those of men.
  • Also, if God is a perfect being, and has gender attributes, these attributes must be equally female and male, since there is no reason to say that one is better than the other, or vice versa.

What was done?

This is an essay in philosophical theology, reviewing various ideas and practices concerning God and gender from the Christian tradition and arguing for criticism and reform.

Main findings and outputs

  • God is most accurately characterised as masculine (say) only if God is masculine and God is not equally feminine.
  • However, God is masculine or feminine only if God is equally masculine and feminine. This is because of God’s status as a perfect being. There is no reason to say that masculinity is better than femininity or vice versa, so it would not be perfect for God to have a preponderance of either.
  • Therefore, God is not most accurately characterised as masculine.
  • All human beings are created equally in the image of God; the characteristics that contribute to making someone a woman are no more or less relevant to her bearing the image of God than those that contribute to making someone a man.
  • If the Bible or tradition portray God as masculine, they do not insist that God is masculine in metaphysical terms. In the same way, there is no insistence that God should only be discussed via Hebrew, Aramaic or Greek. The ‘Biblical pattern’ should not be taken as evidence of God’s will to be described as male.
  • A just God would not insist on unequal gendered description. Gendered forms of speech such as ‘Heavenly Father’ or Julian of Norwich’s ‘as truly as God is our Father, so truly is God our Mother’ are still important, but are metaphors (as the logical arguments prove).
  • In conclusion, there is no problem with referring to God as female, though if God is masculine or feminine at all, then God is equally masculine and feminine.

Relevance to RE

  • Teachers will find this essay to be demanding and thought-provoking subject reading. Summaries of the key points and arguments could certainly be offered to A level philosophy and ethics students for discussion and debate.
  • The essay resonates with questions that children, even relatively younger ones, often raise and are keen to explore in RE. Teachers may find that consideration of the ideas in the essay offers some preparation in dealing with such questions as they arise.
  • The essay is also evidence that such questions need to be taken up rather than dismissed. They are evidently relevant to developments and issues within Christianity; and to questions over belief in God, and the nature of God, in general.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The issue of generalisability probably could not apply to an essay such as this; its strength is in its originality, force and capacity to provoke further reflection and debate.

Find out more

Gender as a Divine Attribute, Religious Studies 52, 97–115 (published online on 5 February 2015) , doi:10.1017/S0034412514000614

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/religious-studies/article/gender-as-a-divine-attribute/A9898720F077356CDF468DB9FB273CBF

Is Christianity dying out?

Research Summary: Is Christianity dying out?

There is growing evidence that Western societies are becoming less religious, though a ‘core’ of religious believers remains. But to what extent are remaining Protestants more religious than before, and compared with remaining Catholics? Analysing survey data from 1985 to 2012 in the US, Canada, and Great Britain, the researcher finds that, in most cases, Protestant affiliation has declined more significantly than Catholic affiliation. Yet, individuals who declare themselves as belonging to a Protestant denomination have higher rates of regular service attendance, prayer, and Christian beliefs than those previously. They have also surpassed these same rates among Catholics in both the US and Canada and are on track to do so in Britain in the coming years. The research is of interest and use to RE teachers who teach about contemporary Christianity or deal with pupils’ questions about the ‘dying out’ of Christianity or religion – it provides data that show how complex the issue is.

Researcher

Sarah Wilkins-Laflamme

Research Institution

University of Waterloo, Canada

What is this about?

Within the general trend (backed by evidence) that Western societies are becoming less religious:

  • To what extent are those who remain Protestant more religious than before?
  • To what extent are those who remain Protestant more religious than those who remain Catholic?
  • What answers are suggested to these questions by data collected in the USA, Canada and Britain?

What was done?

Large national annual data sets from 1985 to 2012 were analysed: the 1985–2012 American (US GSS) and Canadian General Social Surveys (CAN GSS) as well as the British Social Attitudes Surveys (BSA). These provide indications of levels of religious belief and practice.

Main findings and outputs

  • Numbers of people identifying as Protestant have declined more than those identifying as Catholic: e.g. a decline of 28.8% among Protestants in Great Britain, compared with 17.9% among Catholics over 1985–2012.
  • Those remaining Protestant have seen an increase in levels of church attendance and prayer, especially compared to remaining Catholics.
  • Fewer remain affiliated to Protestantism, but those who do are more practising. Consider Quebec: In 1965, 90% of this Canadian province’s residents identified themselves as Catholics and 87% attended mass at least once a week; in 2012, 77% still identified with Catholicism, but only 12% declared that they attended mass at least once a week; 47% declared that they never attended religious services.
  • Something makes non-practising Catholics hold on to their religious identities, in ties that remain for a long period. However, fewer parents attending church and bring children to mass, so this may not last.
  • Regarding beliefs, however, increasing levels of believing are found amongst those who remain Protestant or Catholic. Levels of Christian beliefs have increased among both religious groups in the USA and Great Britain between 1991 and 2008 (beliefs in God, in life after death, in Heaven, in Hell, and in miracles).
  • Traditional thinking which sees Catholics as more religious as Protestants should be re-considered. General religious decline is changing the picture: in the UK, religious believers are a diverse minority (just under 50% in 2009), differing from the majority who are removed from religion.

Relevance to RE

There are different ways in which this research is relevant to RE pedagogy. Firstly, in dealing directly with the issues – when teaching courses or lessons about Christianity in the contemporary world – teachers may wish to use the data as content. If so, colleagued would be well advised to read the original article in its entirety, as only ‘headline findings’ have been presented here and the original data set and analysis are extremely rich and interesting. Secondly, the data open up questions about the nature of religion and Christianity that could be explored with pupils: why might people hang on to their religious identities even if belief and practice have faded? What does it mean to be religious (might this mean different things)? Why might those who continue to believe and practice do so more strenuously, as a minority in society? Finally, if the researcher is right to suggest that the gap between the non-religious majority and the religious minority is increasing, teachers ought to assume less background knowledge about religion within the majority, even less readiness to engage. Explanation may need to begin from further back and bridges to understanding built more patiently.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The data are characterised by high levels of generalisability and reliability (large sets, finding common trends in different countries and distinct trends over time).

Find out more

Protestant and Catholic Distinctions in Secularization, Journal of Contemporary Religion 31.2 pages 165-180 (published online 6 May 2016), 10.1080/13537903.2016.1152660

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13537903.2016.1152660

Intersections between religion and science

Research Summary: Intersections between religion and science

“Over the centuries, the relationship between science and religion has ranged from conflict and hostility to harmony and collaboration, while various thinkers have argued that the two concepts are inherently at odds and entirely separate. But much recent research and discussion on these issues has taken place in a Western context, primarily through a Christian lens. To better understand the ways in which science relates to religion around the world, Pew Research Center engaged a small group of Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists to talk about their perspectives. These one-on-one, in-depth interviews took place in Malaysia and Singapore – two Southeast Asian nations that have made sizable investments in scientific research and development in recent years and that are home to religiously diverse populations.”

Researchers

Courtney Johnson, Cary Lynne Thigpen & Cary Funk

Research Institution

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

What is this about?

  • What is the relationship between religion and science – or, more precisely, what are some of the relationships between religion and science?
  • What do Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists think about how religion and science relate to one another?
  • How are these questions answered within the particular contexts of Malaysia and Singapore, where investment in scientific research and religious diversity are both high?

What was done?

72 individual interviews with Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists were conducted in Malaysia and Singapore between June 17, 2019 and August 8, 2019. This included 24 people in each of the three religious groups, with an equal number in each country. All interviewees said their religion was “very” or “somewhat” important to their lives, but they varied in terms of age, gender, profession and education level.

Main findings and outputs

  • There is no single, universally held view of the relationship between science and religion.
  • But there are some common patterns and themes within each of the three religious groups.
  • Many Muslims expressed the view that Islam and science are basically compatible, acknowledging some differences – such as the theory of evolution conflicting with religious beliefs about the origins and development of human life on Earth.
  • Hindus tended to differ from Muslims, describing science and religion as overlapping spheres. As with Muslims, many Hindus maintained that their religion contains elements of science, and that Hinduism long ago identified concepts that were later illuminated by science; many Hindus said that the theory of evolution is encompassed in their religious teachings.
  • Buddhists generally described religion and science as two separate spheres. Several talked about their religion as offering guidance on how to live a moral life, while describing science as observable phenomena. Often, they named no areas of scientific research that concerned them for religious reasons. Nor did Buddhists see the theory of evolution as conflicting with their religion.

Relevance to RE

  • The data can be used as resources in religion and science topics. The article whose headlines are reported here needs to be viewed in full – it’s detailed, beautifully illustrated and contains much of potential classroom use, e.g. illustrative quotations and statistical tables.
  • The interview respondents express personal worldviews. Their words show how their organised worldview membership (Islam, Hinduism or Buddhism) combines with other elements (influence from or attitude towards science). In this way, the material from the article can be used for Religion and Worldviews teaching. It helps to show what Religion and Worldviews teaching could look like.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The researchers recognise the limits of a series of interviews with individuals, and therefore don’t claim that the individuals represent the traditions. Again, however, see the full article. What they do to address the problem is include statistics from other Pew Center global surveys, so you can check the individual accounts with the bigger picture. Overall, it’s an excellent resource.

Find out more

On the Intersection of Science and Religion, Pew Research Center, published August 2020 (see link for open access below)

https://www.pewforum.org/essay/on-the-intersection-of-science-and-religion