Global terms: Religion and Worldviews

Research Summary: What Can RE Teachers Learn From Contemporary Biblical Studies?

What does it mean to be a Muslim young woman in Britain today? With which religious and social values do these young women identify? This research tests the idea that Muslim identity involves having particular values, among female adolescents (13 to 15 years of age). The data demonstrate that for these female adolescents, self-identification as Muslim meant a distinctive profile in terms both of religiosity and social values.

Researchers

Ursula McKenna & Leslie Francis

Research Institution

University of Warwick

What is this about?

What values do young Muslim women in Britain have?
How can their religiosity be described?
Do young Muslim women in Britain have a particular profile, in relation to values and religiosity?

What was done?

The young Muslim women participated in a survey conducted across the four nations of the United Kingdom. From the 11,809 participants in the survey, the research compares the responses of 177 female students who self-identified as Muslim with the responses of 1183 female students who self-identified as religiously unaffiliated. Comparisons are drawn across two themes,
religiosity and social values.

Main findings and outputs

Religious identity is important to young Muslim women in Britain: 84% agreed that this is so, and 88% said that being Muslim was the most important factor in their identity.
Further, they tend to be surrounded by family and friends who think religion to be important.
Nearly three quarters regarded themselves as a religious person (71%) but only one quarter regarded themselves as a spiritual person (26%).
At least three in every five often talked about religion with their mother (66%) and slightly less frequently with their father (49%).
Studying religion at school had helped 90% to understand people from other religions and 81% to understand people from different racial backgrounds. 78% found learning about different religions in school interesting, and 68% found studying religion at school had shaped their views about religion.
89% believed in God, 94% believed in heaven, and 89% believed in hell.
The majority supported the views that we must respect all religions (94%) and that all religious groups in Britain should have equal rights (90%).
82% agreed that having people from different religious backgrounds made their school an interesting place.

Relevance to RE

There are two main ways in which this research is relevant to RE. Firstly, the findings can help teachers to be accurate when teaching about Islam in Britain today. Secondly, they can help teachers to understand the values and views likely to be held by their own female Muslim pupils.

Generalisability and potential limitations

These findings are generalisable, arising from a large survey analysed with high expertise.

Find out more

Ursula McKenna & Leslie J. Francis (2019) Growing up female and Muslim in the UK: an empirical enquiry into the distinctive religious and social values of young Muslims, British Journal of Religious Education, 41:4, 388-401.

https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2018.1437393 (open access)

Research Summary: What does it mean to be Jewish today?

This research is about how US Jews engage with Judaism today. It shows the importance of considering different dimensions of Jewish life and identity. The key finding is that ‘cultural Jews’ (who do not regularly practice Jewish rituals or join with synagogues) still feel strong connections to the Jewish community. The research suggests a new way to understand Jewish identity.

Researchers

Janet Krasner Aronson (et al)

Research Institution

Brandeis University

What is this about?

Judaism
How Jewish people identify as Jewish
Jewish communities in the US

What was done?

Survey data on the Greater Boston Jewish community were used. Fourteen measures of behaviour were analysed, to identify a series of types of Jewish identity.

Main findings and outputs

You cannot (as many studies do) really typify Jews as ‘religious’ or ‘unreligious’. It isn’t that simple.
Instead, you have to consider different factors of Jewish identity and how they interact, especially as increasing numbers of Jews do not affiliate to any denomination such as Orthodox or Reform.
(From related studies) 62% of US Jews report that their Jewish identity is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture – only 15% name it as mainly religion.
Formal affiliation with Jewish institutions, particularly synagogues, is not necessarily as strong a marker of Jewish identity as it is often considered. It does not appear to translate into bringing Judaism into the home or developing emotional connections to the Jewish community.
But ‘cultural’ Jews, though less likely to be members of synagogues, feel far more connected to the local and worldwide Jewish communities and to Israel.

Relevance to RE

The research can certainly be of use in developing teachers’ knowledge of contemporary Judaism. It also opens up wider questions, that can be discussed as part of RE lessons in order to develop pupils’ knowledge and understanding of religion as a conceptual category: what are some of the different forms that religious identity takes? Can you be religious without participating in worship or rituals? Can you even be religious without believing in God?

Generalisability and potential limitations

The survey analysis methodology sets out to be generalisable and has evidently been applied with great care. Whether the findings would be repeated in the UK is an open question. The analysis is very detailed, much more so than can be reflected here – those interested are strongly encouraged to refer to the original article.

Find out more

The original article is Janet Krasner Aronson et al, A New Approach to Understanding Contemporary Jewish Engagement, Contemporary Jewry (2019) 39:91–113. It can be freely accessed via the link below.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12397-018-9271-8

Research Summary: Understanding Christianity

Disagreements about how Christianity should be taught in state-funded school RE have a long history. In this article are considered debates that have arisen about theologically-based pedagogy. The focus is Understanding Christianity, a resource inspired by recent developments in hermeneutics. When studying the Bible, should pupils should be viewed as insiders or outsiders? The argument is that hermeneutics offers a robust model for an academically rigorous approach that enables pupils to be both insiders and outsiders. There is explanation of how Understanding Christianity has attempted to embody this aspiration.

Researchers

Stephen Pett & Professor Trevor Cooling

Research Institution

RE Today Services / Canterbury Christ Church University

What is this about?

How should Christianity be approached in state-funded school RE? Especially, how should the Bible be approached?
Are theological approaches to Christianity appropriate in state-funded school RE?
Hermeneutical approaches to Christianity are argued to be appropriate: academically rigorous, requiring pupils to examine the nature of the text but also attending to their own backgrounds and responses.
It is shown how the Understanding Christianity resource puts this approach into practice.

What was done?

The article is a scholarly essay on theological approaches to RE, examining the different arguments for and against and presenting the strengths of a hermeneutical theological approach, as exemplified in the Understanding Christianity resource.

Main findings and outputs

There is suspicion that using theology as a pedagogy of RE is hijacking RE for faith formation.
However, Understanding Christianity and its hermeneutical approach answers this concern.
Julia Ipgrave’s work is cited, whereby it is possible for students as academic outsiders to learn from the Bible as insiders with personal integrity, without being treated as Christian insiders.
Pupils should ask what their ‘pre-understanding’ of texts is; from what point of view do they interpret?
They should try to discern its originally intended meaning, through study of the various background factors, then ask about its significance (if any) for themselves.
In these ways, there can be responsible interpretation and awareness of diversity.
The selection of material for and pedagogy of Understanding Christianity reflect these priorities.

Relevance to RE

The article presents and defends the merits of an increasingly known though contested approach to Christianity in RE. It offers thought-provoking points for teachers to consider when preparing lessons (e.g. on page 265 where we are asked to consider the effect of offering pupils various titles for the same parable: Prodigal Son, Wasteful Son, Lost Son, Foolish Father, Careless Country, Forgiving Father or Two Lost Sons). Many RE teachers will be familiar with the Understanding Christianity materials and readers are encouraged to read the original BJRE article.

Generalisability and potential limitations

Because this is a scholarly essay, the question of generalisability does not really apply. Rather, readers are encouraged to try out and evaluate the approach in their own classrooms.

Find out more

Stephen Pett & Trevor Cooling (2018) Understanding Christianity: exploring a hermeneutical pedagogy for teaching Christianity, British Journal of Religious Education, 40:3, 257-267.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01416200.2018.1493268?journalCode=cbre20

Research Summary: What are the effects of migration on religion? Polish Catholics in the UK and Ireland

The question is often asked, how does migration affect religion? The number of Polish Catholics in the UK and Ireland has grown rapidly, but little is known about the religious aspects of their journey. This report is based on the researchers’ fieldwork with Polish migrants in the UK and Ireland. Drawing on interviews and participant observation with Polish migrants of various ages and class backgrounds, three possible outcomes are identified for Catholics transplanted to a new context. Firstly, they continue to practise in the same way as they did in their home country. Secondly, they begin to question their faith and leave the church altogether. Thirdly, they take the opportunity to explore their faith in a flexible and relatively independent manner.

Researchers

Kerry Gallagher & Marta Trzebiatowska

Research Institution

University of Maynooth, University of Aberdeen

What is this about?

When people migrate, how does it effect their religion.
Specifically, when Catholics migrate from Poland to the UK or Ireland, how does it affect their religion?
What kinds of continuities and changes can be found in their religious views and practices? How are these religious views and practices affected by the transplantation of themselves and their Catholicism to the new country?

What was done?

The data come from two research projects conducted between 2008 and 2013. The interview material from England and Scotland is drawn from a larger study of Polish priests and parishioners in Great Britain, carried out simultaneously in London, Nottingham, and Aberdeen. The Irish portion of the data comes from a project based in County Dublin. Both projects comprised interviews with Polish migrants as well as participant observation at masses and social and cultural events. Overall, data from 71 interviews inform this research: 10 from Scotland, 20 from England, 41 from the Republic of Ireland. All participants had been residents in the UK and Ireland for at least a year. Of the 71 interviewees, 58 were female.

Main findings and outputs

Polish migration into the UK and Ireland has been significant. Official statistics from 2011 and 2008 show that Polish is the second most spoken language in the UK, 600,000 people of Polish background live in the UK, and 200,000 in Ireland.
There is a deep link between Polish identity and Catholicism. The presence of Polish migrants has ‘transformed’ Catholic parishes in the UK, with comparable effects in Ireland.
But little is known of the effect of the journey on migrants’ religion. Does it strengthen or weaken it, for instance? Faiths moving from one place to another has always been part of the religious landscape.
There is some evidence that the migrants’ Catholic identity is unchanged by the move. Masses are in Polish, people stay connected to the Church, or their connectedness increases and helps negotiate the change to the new country.
Yet there is also evidence that migrants feel freer in the new setting, presented with new choices and opportunities including the decision not to stay part of the faith community.
There is also evidence that some people use the change as a way to explore their faith in a more individual, open, personal manner, which has also altered the status of priests.

Relevance to RE

RE sets out to prepare young people for life in twenty-first century Britain, and the research is an example of how the country’s social and religious make-up changes all the time; teachers need to keep in touch with this. The relationship between migration and religion is a significant one but is perhaps under-explored in RE. Young people can sometimes express prejudices about it. Perhaps the researchers’ methodology offers a good model for a community or lived religion RE topic where pupils meet members of different communities and talk with them about how the experience of moving countries has affected their religious beliefs and practices.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The data are drawn from two fairly large-scale quantitative studies. The researchers acknowledge that their ‘snowball’ (spreading via networks) sample is not representative, but does reflect different settings and chime with other relevant literature.

Find out more

The full article is: Kerry Gallagher & Marta Trzebiatowska (2017) Becoming a ‘real’ Catholic: Polish migrants and lived religiosity in the UK and Ireland, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 32:3, 431-445.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13537903.2017.1362883?journalCode=cjcr20

Research Summary: What Can RE Teachers Learn From Contemporary Biblical Studies?

Religious Education naturally draws on various aspects of the academic study of religions to ensure the accuracy and currency of its content and pedagogy. This paper sets out the case for a more intense dialogue between RE and the field of biblical studies, by explaining two recent major shifts within biblical scholarship: a greater understanding of the first century Jewish context within which Christianity was formed, and the emergence of new forms of biblical interpretation which draw on the perspectives of previously marginalised groups, including women, people of colour, and the disabled. It then shows how these might fruitfully be applied to the teaching of RE in schools.

Researcher

Susan Docherty

Research Institution

Newman University Birmingham

What is this about?

The paper brings perspectives from current biblical scholarship to bear on teaching the bible in RE in schools.

What was done?

Some recent trends in academic biblical scholarship were identified and explained. It was then shown how they might be applied to topics commonly taught in secondary school RE, such as the identity of Jesus, the problem of evil, or ethical issues.

Main findings and outputs

Lesser known primary texts are analysed to reveal: the common roots of Judaism and Christianity; the variety and historical development of these religions; and the plurality of interpretation of texts and issues possible within them. Contemporary works of biblical scholarship are then investigated to draw out some ways in which the use of the bible in schools can be enhanced by attending to previously neglected interpretative voices and to global perspectives.

Relevance to RE

This paper sets out to address weaknesses highlighted by recent Exam Board reports and other studies in the teaching of Christianity in UK schools, and specifically in the use of biblical material in the classroom. It discusses developments in academic biblical studies which potentially have important and positive implications for RE: demonstrating the breadth and variety of the religions of early Judaism and Christianity; offering new information about central topics on current RE syllabi; raising important wider questions about the plurality and ‘ownership’ of the interpretation of sacred texts; encouraging greater nuance in applying biblical texts to contemporary theological and ethical debates; and providing space for people from varied backgrounds to engage directly with the biblical texts in informed and innovative ways.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The research aims to support all teachers in making effective use of the primary texts of the Christian scriptures (the New Testament) in their teaching and in preparing students for public exams in RE. It is therefore more useful for those working with syllabi which cover Christianity in detail.

Find out more

Susan Docherty (2018) A new dialogue between biblical scholarship and Religious Education, British Journal of Religious Education, 40:3, 298-307, DOI: 10.1080/01416200.2018.1493272

https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/Yup26q3NkKDaPIbSqye6/full

Research Spotlight: Worlds Apart

December 2022

Emily Downe & Nick Spencer

Science and religion’ is one of the most interesting discussions it is possible to have in the classroom – not that you would necessarily know that from the wider public debate.

That debate has often treated science and religion as different (and competing) theories about the way the world is, and so reduced the ensuing conversations to an either/or: evolution or creation? God or the Big Bang? Religious experience or brain chemistry? Science and religion become worlds apart – and even worlds at war. Discussion slides into debate and debate slides into argument.

This animation is based on a three-year research project conducted by Theos and The Faraday Institute for Science and Religion. The researchers conducted over a hundred in-depth interviews with experts (scientists, philosophers, theologians, etc.) and commissioned a 5,000+ national survey of the general public, to get an unprecedentedly deep understanding of how people, at different ‘locations’ in society, conceive of science and of religion.

The research made it clear that the topic was huge and sprawling. Indeed, it is more of a series of topics than just one. Much of this was drawn out in the research report Moving away from the shallow end, and more will emerge in two books on the topic that are due for publication in 2023 and 2024.

However, we are conscious that only a comparatively small number of people read books or research reports on these topics, and we wanted a way to reach a wider audience. Hence the animation.

Worlds Apart sweeps us through a universe of questions surrounding the science and religion debate. Dynamic, fluid visuals illustrate topics such as cosmology, evolution, anthropology, neuroscience, and ethics in a way that engages the imagination and brings the words to life. This allows a young audience to connect with these important concepts in a different way. The overarching idea is moving from seeing things from far off to looking closer at the details of the conversations. The film is bookended with being above the clouds, which acts as the metaphor for how things look different from a distance, and the film takes the audience below the clouds into the details of the conversations. The purpose is to inspire interest in the questions about science and religion, seeing that they are not simply in conflict with each other, and to invite people to join the conversation.

The overall intention of Worlds Apart is to inspire interest, provoke questions, open horizons, and improve conversations. We hope that the resource– along with the on-line Science and Religion Compass which is be launched in autumn 2023 – will (re)kindle students’ interest in a topic that encompasses some of the most important questions in life.

Some discussion questions from the animation follow below. Regarding how to use them, we imagine that teachers will show the animation and then discuss some or all of the questions with pupils, so that the film and questions work together. We would emphasise that the animation should be used to inform and steer the discussion, rather than just being a launch point: the animation serves as an interpretation of what each question means – the bad science vs. good poetry one being a particularly good example of this.The animation and questions seem suited to the secondary phase, but teachers will need to modify the questions depending on the age of pupils within this phase and their state of readiness: in this light, the animation and questions could also usefully guide a department meeting or CPD session during which their use in the classroom is being planned or discussed.

Discussion Questions

When did we become recognisably human, and what makes us different from other animals?
How should we read holy books? Are creation stories bad science or good poetry?
Are spiritual experiences a sign of something deeper, or are they simply an illusion of the brain?
If nature obeys laws, does that mean there is a lawgiver?
Is altruism just an evolutionary trick or a glimpse of who we were meant to be?

Emily Downe and Nick Spencer

Research Summary: The Art of Narrative Theology in Religious Education

This project, funded by the Bible Society and Westhill Endowment Trust, developed curriculum resources for use with Key Stage 3 pupils using the contemporary biblical paintings of Brian J. Turner (www.bibleproject.co.uk) which show biblical scenes in a quirky, contemporary style that is both engaging and thought-provoking. This use of art serves to bring the idea of interpretation to life for pupils, giving license to their own, personal interpretations of the narratives, and introducing the concept of participation in respectful dialogue with the beliefs and interpretations of others. Over the course of 12 lessons, pupils are introduced to the Bible and explore a selection of eight significant biblical narratives. They also consider the single, over-arching narrative of the Christian faith – the story of creation, fall and redemption – that runs through the Bible as a whole, and to which each of the individual narratives contributes.

Researchers

Professor Rob Freathy, Professor Esther D Reed, Dr Anna Davis & Dr Susannah Cornwall

Research Institution

University of Exeter

What is this about?

The project seeks to develop a pedagogy of Religious Education (RE) based upon a narratival framework informed by both narrative theology and narrative philosophy. Working from the narrative assumption that individuals and communities are formed by reading, sharing and living within stories, the project team suggest that such a narratival pedagogy of RE might encourage pupils to think about how the lives of Christians are shaped by their interpretations of biblical narratives, to offer their own interpretations of biblical and other texts, and to consider the stories – religious, non-religious or both – which shape their own lives. In so doing, the project seeks to move away from a ‘proof-texting’ approach to the Bible towards one in which pupils are enabled to think about the significance of biblical narratives for both Christians and themselves. The resultant pedagogy comprises four phases of learning: (1) encountering narrative; (2) interpreting narrative; (3) understanding narrative in community contexts; and (4) reflecting on narratives of self and others. This pedagogy has been implemented in practice to form a set of commercially-published curriculum materials for use with KS3 students (Freathy, R., E. D. Reed, A. Davis, and S. Cornwall [2014]. The Art of Bible Reading. Buxhall: Kevin Mayhew Ltd).

What was done?

Curriculum materials for an initial 3-lesson block were designed and trialled. A workshop for local schools was held in Exeter Cathedral based on the materials. A further 7-lesson block was designed and trialled. An academic article was published on the approach, outlining the underlying theories.

Main findings and outputs

Narrative theories are widely accepted as proposing that human beings – both as individuals and within societies – experience, understand and explain life not as a succession of disconnected momentary occurrences but primarily in ‘story’ form, as a series of on-going, interconnected narratives that are subject to time and bound up with history, culture and context. These narratives comprise multiple interweaving layers that include, but are not limited to, shared texts, histories and traditions, and the realities of daily life experiences.
Narrative theories have been adopted by many Christian theologians as a way of talking about the doctrines and practices of their faith. These theologians understand the Bible first and foremost not as a set of abstract moral commands or doctrinal edicts but as a collection of stories that tell about the revelation of God through history, and perceive communities of faith as ‘living stories’ comprising individual members whose community life is an on-going interpretation of biblical narratives. Less widely known or developed is a similar embracing of narrative theories by scholars of Judaism and Islam among other faiths.
We understand narrative as a descriptive (rather than prescriptive), flexible and inclusive term that can hold shared meanings for both faith traditions and a range of pragmatic thinkers, including those of non-foundationalist and other perspectives. The term does not presuppose the acceptance of particular worldviews or beliefs but can be accepted by theists, atheists, agnostics and others. It is equally important, however, to ensure that each of the faith traditions can recognise and share the narrative approach that is developed.
A narrative approach – drawing upon narrative theology and narrative philosophy – makes possible the study of how people understand the narratives – faith-based or otherwise – that make up their own lives, and how they understand the narratives of the lives of others, challenging the commonly-held view that we exist as neutral individuals with uniformed and objective identities and outlooks.

Relevance to RE

Teachers may wish to explore and experiment with a narrative approach in the classroom. Explanations and lesson resources are available in the YouTube video (URL above), the academic article (Esther D. Reed, Rob Freathy, Susannah Cornwall & Anna Davis [2013] ‘Narrative theology in Religious Education’, British Journal of Religious Education 35[3]: 297-312), and the textbook (student and teacher editions).

Generalisability and potential limitations

The main limitation is that people often assume a narrative approach must be based solely on narrative theology, and that narrative theology must be inherently Christian. It will take further work to convince people that a narrative methodology can be used effectively to conceptualise any faith tradition, and that a narrative pedagogy can be inclusive of all students, regardless of their own faith/non-faith position. Understanding that a narrative approach should also be considered as merely one of many possible and legitimate approaches is also required.

Find out more

Esther D. Reed, Rob Freathy, Susannah Cornwall & Anna Davis [2013] ‘Narrative theology in Religious Education’, British Journal of Religious Education 35[3]: 297-312

Research Summary: The Good Samaritan: what was his religion and does it still exist?

Everybody knows the Good Samaritan parable, but who were, and are, the Samaritans? This research tells you about the history of the group – an ancient minority whose religion is close to Judaism, but from which they differentiate themselves – as well as their culture, its relationship to tourism, and how Samaritanism has been internationalised, e.g. to Brazil. Samaritans are a good case of ‘religious transnationalisation’, of more interest than the tiny size of the group suggests.

Researcher

Fanny Urien-Lefranc

Research Institution

Institut interdisciplinaire d’anthropologie du contemporain, Paris (original article in English)

What is this about?

Who were and are the Samaritans, of ‘Good Samaritan parable’ fame?
What do we know about their history, religion and culture?
How do they understand themselves today, and how does this link to tourism?
Why are the Samaritans generating new members in Brazil – and what is ‘religious transnationalisation’?

What was done?

The research was done through a broad, mixed methods approach. Field visits were made and surveys and interviews carried out over the internet. The article also shows evidence of very detailed engagement with relevant published literature.

Main findings and outputs

The Samaritans of today are a community of about 810 people split between Mount Gerizim, their holy place near Nablus (West Bank) and Holon (Israel).
According to them, their name comes not from the province of Samaria from which they originate, but from the Hebrew word Shômrîm, which means “the keepers” and, by extension, “the keepers of the Law.”
There is dispute over their origins, but Samaritans are now considered Jews by the Israeli state.
Kyriat Luza, their village on Mount Gerizim, attracts more and more tourists each year, particularly on the Samaritan Passover, during which about fifty sheep are sacrificed. The ceremony brings together Palestinians, Israelis, and many foreign tourists curious to attend a ritual supposedly representing a centuries-old heritage.
‘Cultural entrepreneurs’ make full use of this: there is a market in ‘authentic’ Samaritan foods, amulets, texts, music, etc.
There are now about 300 Brazilian ‘entrants’ into Samaritanism (there is no concept or method of conversion). The movement began in 2015. Many have Jewish links and seek an authentic, pure, ancient form of Judaism. Religiously, Samaritanism accepts the Pentateuch and rejects later tradition. Migration is not a part of this spreading of Samaritanism out of its historical / geographical roots: it tends to be fuelled by the internet, e.g. a way of identification is to post a Facebook photo of yourself holding a laminated amulet containing a verse in Samaritan Hebrew.
Are these new modes of religiosity and new relationships between ethnicity and religion? More research is needed.

Relevance to RE

The research offers a welcome addition to ‘standard practice’. Teachers could use it to supplement teaching about the Good Samaritan parable by introducing contextual material on the Samaritans, including their place in the 21st century. Pupils could be helped to consider challenging questions such as the relationship between religion and tourism, and challenging concepts such as transnationalisation.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This is probably as detailed a study of contemporary Samaritanism as a teacher would use, though for those with special interests in the area, the article has a very full bibliography.

Find out more

The original article is Fanny Urien-Lefranc, From Religious to Cultural and Back Again: Tourism Development, Heritage Revitalization and Religious Transnationalizations among the Samaritans: Religions 2020, 11, 86

https://doi.org/10.3390/rel11020086

Research Summary: The lived religious beliefs and experiences of English Hindu teenagers at home and at school

This is a study of the lived religious identity and practice of Hindu teenagers in the UK. Utilising an ethnographic approach, it investigates how Hindu teenagers in the UK experience their religion at home and at school. There is found a contrast between these teenagers’ home life and school experience. Hindu teenagers experience a strong sense of cognitive dissonance pertaining to their religious identity: their home life being a healthy relationship with their religion but their school experience being a sense of anger and shame. There is an outline of what the teenagers themselves believe is lacking in the RE classroom and what they regard as the key features of their Hindu faith.

Researchers

Joseph Chadwin

Research Institution

University of Vienna

What is this about?

How do Hindu teenagers in England experience their religion, at home and at school?
Are there contrasts between these two arenas?
What do Hindu teenagers in England see as the key features of Hindu faith?
What do they believe is lacking, or would like to see more of, in the RE classroom regarding Hindu tradition?

What was done?

There was a prior survey of existing relevant literature, and an ethnographic study of 30 London secondary pupils who self-identified as Hindu. The ethnographic study consisted of a series of semi-structured interviews.

Main findings and outputs

There is immense variety within the category of Hinduism; researchers should accept the multiplicity and fluidity of lived religious identities and experiences.
Such acceptance characterises much recent RE literature but Hinduism is still a ‘blind spot’ sometimes significantly mishandled in school RE.
12 of the pupils were apathetic to their Hindu identity, 18 highly engaged with Hindu beliefs and practices. 25 stressed how Hinduism is highly internally diverse. 28 were unhappy about absence from or superficial treatment of Hinduism within the school curriculum. Only 1 was happy; the school in question received visits from Hindu community members. The unhappiness is a source of anger for them and means that Hinduism, in their view, is really for the home.
A ‘secularised’ ‘yoga-for-relaxation’ type of activity offered in school added to the Hindu teenagers’ sense of anger.

Relevance to RE

The findings include the Hindu teenagers’ views on what is lacking (or needed) in school RE:

26 referred to the importance of Hindu values, and the need to reflect these in curriculum coverage: equality, honesty, non-violence and love.
These can be, but should not be, obscured by attention to Hinduism’s ‘strangeness’ or exotic appearance.
Informed teaching about the meaning of yoga is lacking, but should be included; the same also applies to puja.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The author acknowledges that his is a small and localised sample. However, he argues that the ‘small window’ of the ethnographic data is much needed, providing an in-depth examination.

Find out more

The original article is available on an open-access basis: Joseph Chadwin (2023) The lived religious beliefs and experiences of
English Hindu teenagers at home and at school, British Journal of Religious Education, 45:3, 251-262, DOI: 10.1080/01416200.2023.2184326

Research Summary: The Stickiness of non-religion

‘No religion’ is on the rise in many countries. But how is this taking place? Some studies show that changes during adulthood are less important than inter-generational non-religious transmission or failure of religious transmission. E.g. Woodhead (2017) reports that 45% of those children raised Christian become non-religious, but 95% of those raised non-religious stay so. So, how do various influences (family, school, peer, others) join in determining children’s non-religious identities? The research shows different processes at work. In families, there are both active non-religious upbringing and implicit expressions of non-religiousness. In school RE and assembly, children’s unremarked non-religiousness becomes marked. Yet the processes are not passive. Children exercise agency over them.

Researcher

Anna Strhan and Rachael Shillitoe

Research Institution

The Stickiness of non-religion

What is this about?

What are the different ways in which children are brought up as non-religious – or come to understand themselves to be non-religious?
How does family life shape this?
How do school experiences contribute?
What is the role of children’s own agency?

What was done?

Ethnographic studies were made in three English primary schools, lasting 6-7 weeks each and combining participant observation. paired interviews with children who had answered ‘no’ or ‘not sure’ to a worksheet question ‘do you believe in God?’, plus interviews with parents and teachers. The schools were in different kinds of location: inner city ‘high nones’, NW ‘Bible Belt’ and suburban.

Main findings and outputs

Religion is rarely mentioned at home or with friends; it comes up in school assembly or RE.
Many children don’t know whether their parents are religious and refer instead to grandparents.
Sometimes a lack of home religious practice becomes a marker of children’s non-religious identity. However, parents too are often unaware of their children’s religious or non-religious identity.
Lack of family discussion of religion is a factor in transmission of non-religion – it makes religion marginal in respondents’ culture – but this contrasts with school, where in RE and assemblies religion is discussed frequently.
In RE, teaching is modelled on a religious / non-religious binary, but children sometimes resist it. They express hybrid worldviews drawing on science and religion. But sometimes the binary is reinforced, when, for instance, they cannot write prayers.
Children say that as they get older, their ability to make these decisions increases, and that this individual choice is important to them.
Non-religion is dissimilar to any form of organised religion. It rejects its elements but also its type of element (authoritative scripture, person, or authority in general).

Relevance to RE

The research findings may relate to RE / R&W practice in different ways. First, by showing that the subject ought give more attention to processes of religious and non-religious transmission, in curriculum development. For example, Big Ideas 1 and 3 (Continuity, Change and Diversity and The Good Life) touch on without really developing it. Second, by illustrating how what’s studied in RE / R&W is not separate from who studies it: the RE lessons covered in the research themselves form part of the children’s non-religious socialisation. Third, the research shows that the 7-13 age range may be a long phase of identity-shaping for children, meaning that KS2 / KS3 curriculum and pedagogy should respond by offering plenty of space for reflection on meaning.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The study is of three schools and a fairly large number of children (30 to 40 per school); with parents of 15 children per school, and 4 teachers per school. Schools were carefully selected to reflect various populations. The findings are drawn carefully and the research set within a broader range of studies.

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Anna Strhan and Rachael Shillitoe, The Stickiness of Non-Religion? Intergenerational Transmission and the Formation of NonReligious Identities in Childhood. Sociology (2019) 53(6) 1094–1110. See also Linda Woodhead, The rise of ‘no religion’: Towards an explanation. Sociology of Religion (2017) 78(3) 247–262.

The article is online at https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038519855307