Global terms: Religion and Worldviews

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.

Find out more

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

Research Spotlight: The Worldviews of the so-called ‘Nones’ Listening, Understanding & Teaching in Rural Lincolnshire

September 2023

Professor Andy Wright and Dr Elina Wright

At the start of a new academic year, we are sharing some early-stage research being done by Professor Andy Wright and Dr Elina Wright. Alongside other current developments in the subject, their work builds on the Commission on RE (2018) and explores new ways of thinking about a religion and worldviews approach. They use their local context, rural Lincolnshire, to exemplify their approach.

Download these resources

Powerpoint slides from the presentation

PDF — 563 KB

Research Spotlight: Religion and Worldviews in an Andalucian pueblo

July/August 2022

Dr Kevin O’Grady

Castillo de Locubín is a traditional pueblo blanco (white village) in the Sierra Sur mountains of Jaén, Andalucía, Spain. In 2022 its population is around 4,500 and some 90% work in agriculture, these days not the subsistence culture of centuries past but mainly olive oil production for sale and export.

he village, usually referred to as Castillo or just El Pueblo, has a strong Catholic identity. As we’ll remark, this is nevertheless not straightforward, neither historically nor in the contemporary sense. We’ll focus on the 2022 Semana Santa (Holy Week) celebrations and develop the discussion from there.

Semana Santa begins with Domingo de Ramos, an evocation of Palm Sunday that can’t strictly be called a procession since no sacred image is involved. Instead, villagers follow a child mounted on a donkey through the streets. As well as the story of the entry into Jerusalem, the event calls up Castillo’s agricultural past and present: until late into the last century most villagers (Castilleros) farmed with animals who lived in the upstairs parts of their houses, and, as you’ll see next, the palms are sometimes substituted by olive branches.

For other nearby towns, Domingo de Ramos begins a series of daily or nightly rituals that continue through the week, but not in Castillo’s case. Because most of its sacred images were destroyed at the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936, their associated processions vanishing with them, Castillo’s Semana Santa doesn’t pick up again until midnight on Viernes Santo (Good Friday; that’s to say, 00.00 on Good Friday itself).

Castillo’s midnight Vía Crucis procession defies easy description. You could see it as blending austere mysticism, Biblical narrative, and street theatre (but more about that suggestion later). By torchlight, an image of Cristo del Perdón, Christ crucified, is processed through the streets to the sounds of a solitary drumbeat and chains rattling, with pauses to read each station of the cross.

Later in the morning of Viernes Santo come two processions that combine to create an encuentro(meeting) between Jesus and Mary. The image of Jesus is Nuestro Padre Jesús Nazareno (usually shortened to Padre Jesús), that of Mary, La Virgen de los Dolores (the Virgin of Sorrows). These two images attract particularly strong devotion in Castillo, especially Padre Jesús: you could even compare loyalty to Castillo with loyalty to Padre Jesús. Again, more on that in due course, but a mention of the main Padre Jesús myth might help now. Around 1700, the image, an acknowledged masterpiece, was in transit through Castillo on its way to its intended home, the sculptor’s birthplace. The donkey providing the transport died, and this was taken as a sign from God that Padre Jesús should stay in Castillo for good; the Ermita (shrine, small church) in which he has since been housed was built on the spot. Padre Jesús is a depiction of Christ on Calvary at deepest resignation and despair; the encuentrore-creates his meeting with his mother.

On the night of Viernes Santo, a second pair of processions creates a second encuentro, this time between Santo Entierro (Christ taken down from the cross) and the Virgin of Sorrows.

That this encuentro is the climax of Castillo’s Semana Santa can seem strange, but only to outsiders. Theologically, the resurrection would be expected to take centre stage. But Castillo’s Cristo Resucitado (Christ resurrected), is a recent image that has not built up a devotion comparable to those of Padre Jesús or the Virgin of Sorrows, and the Domingo de Resurrección (Easter Sunday) procession has been muted in the memories of most. This year attempts were made to create a fuller Domingo de Resurrección celebration, by creating an encuentro between Cristo Resucitado and La Virgen de la Cabeza. The image of La Virgen de la Cabeza commemorates an appearance of the Virgin Mary to a shepherd on the side of a head-shaped hill in nearby Andújar in the thirteenth century, so also attracts strong devotion in the locality. However, you might note in the next picture the smaller dimensions and simpler working of the images, as well as the reduced atmospheric intensity and, indeed, turnout.

In fact, theology stays in the background. There’s little discussion of the meaning of the rituals, questions about it surprise people, but that’s not to say there’s little meaning. It appears mediated more through the beauty of the images and the ritual choreography, music also playing an important role in ways that my photos can’t show. Visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9oASrnUEHs to hear how traditional band and flamenco styles create different accents at different stages of Castillo’s Semana Santa.

Social media is an increasingly used resource, in various ways. Emigration from Castillo means a diaspora whose members engage with Semana Santa via Facebook, where one group is solely dedicated to its imagery. A post on another Facebook page, El Pueblo es Tranquillo, concerning the 2022 Vía Crucis procession generated an intense discussion by comment and reply. Did Castillo’s various images of Jesus refer to the same reality? For believers, yes: but on another view, as a symbol of popular local religiosity, Padre Jesús is a singular figure whom all can understand and respect. Similarly, Semana Santa is a mixture of elements with something for everyone, even if just as spectacle or affirmation of the community (atheists and agnostics can be found in Castillo, though not non-Christian faith; and aspects of the history of the Catholic Church in the village are painful).

Digging deeper and more speculatively, there’s evidence that considerable numbers of Castillerosare descended from the once-Muslim population. Aspects of its culture linger, some visibly, such as the Arab irrigation system, and the remains of the fort that tower above the plain it continues to water: if you’ve visited Granada, 37 miles south of Castillo, this may sound familiar. It’s known that Sufism was influential in medieval Andalucía. Look back at the photo of the Padre Jesús procession and the purple capirotes (pointed hats) worn by some participants. They’re known as symbols of penitence, and related to the Spanish Inquisition, as those arrested were made to wear them. This is probably enough explanation for present purposes, but a visit to the tomb of Rumi in Konya, Turkey made me wonder – his own tombstone hat sits on it, and they are worn by dervishes of his order as reminders of mortality. In Spain, they don’t appear on Easter Sunday.

In summary, religion in Castillo de Locubín should usefully be seen in a worldview perspective. It helps to:

Look at the historical context.
Consider local traditions. The version of ‘Catholicism’ might not be recognisable elsewhere.
Hesitate to expect that only those identifying as Catholic join with thetraditions, or that the traditions only contain Catholic elements.
Think about emerging forms of tradition, especially digital.
Look for the lived elements. An over-emphasis on theology, or doctrine, may not be appropriate.
Think about how these lived elements add up: the aesthetic, ritual, social and ethical dimensions all connect.

In other places or cases, it might not be these elements that figure most powerfully. And, of course, you may not be considering a majority Catholic situation. However, related to the points above, here are some general questions to consider, that apply whenever you approach localised religion in a worldview perspective, whether in planning teaching or in teaching.

How has local history, tradition or custom influenced what can be seen now?
Are these religious expressions distinctive to the locality, even if related to a wider tradition? In what ways?
How do people from outside the tradition but from within the locality relate to these expressions? And is there evidence of inclusion of elements from outside the main tradition?
How have social media or other digital resources developed the local religious expressions, or how people can participate in them?
What are the main lived elements of the local religious expressions? How, for example, do artistic, ritual, community, ethical or other elements figure, and how do they relate to one another?

A discussion between colleagues in a planning or INSET session might not cover all these questions, but even one or two of them would generate a good analysis. Similarly with classroom teaching: any of the questions provides a good enquiry basis.

You may be travelling this summer. I hope you have opportunities to experience and take photos of local celebrations, talk to people about their history and significance, and listen to stories about them. If you’re in Spain on the 15^th of August, look out for celebrations of El Dia de la Virgen (the feast of the assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven); we’ll close with a picture of Castillo’s 2017 Dia de la Virgen procession.

A note on methodology

I’ve been visiting Castillo de Locubín regularly since 2012 and lived there from 2015 to 2018. Though I’ve never thought of this in terms of a formal research project, several of my interactions with Castillo and its people have taken on research-like aspects. These include photography collection, participant observation during processions and other events, interviews with participants, reading, and discussions with researchers including local historians and a US-based anthropologist who completed a doctoral study on Castillo in the 1970s.

Research Summary: Sunday Assembly – an atheist church?

The Sunday Assembly has a complex relationship with atheism and religion. It holds events which look and feel like religious worship, but uses this format to create a ‘godless congregation’. Described as an ‘atheist church’ by the media, members prefer to talk about inclusive communities. If the Sunday Assembly simultaneously embraces and rejects both atheism and religion, then how do attendees identify and describe themselves? A qualitative study based on interviews with Sunday Assembly attendees is presented. The findings show that a significant number of attendees publicly identify as indifferent towards religion, while privately maintaining a more strongly non-religious identity, thus suggesting that for Sunday Assembly attendees, inclusivity is imperative.

Researchers

Melanie Prideaux & Tim Mortimer

Research Institution

University of Leeds

What is this about?

This research is about the Sunday Assembly, a movement with 80 chapters in 8 countries that focusses on community, service, a lack of doctrine or deity and inclusivity. Meetings resemble Anglican church services but the structure is used to create a godless alternative. The movement began in London in 2013, receiving a considerable amount of media attention as an ‘atheist church’. But the Sunday Assembly publicly rejects an atheist label or concern with related themes. The Sunday Assembly thus presents a good opportunity to study a range of issues related to religion and non-religion.

What was done?

The data were gathered through an online survey, promoted through social media, and semi-structured interviews and participant observation over a six-month period at two different Sunday Assembly meetings in the UK: Leeds and London. Thirty individuals were either interviewed or responded to the survey. The fieldwork was conducted during 2013–2014 in the first year of the Sunday Assembly.

Main findings and outputs

The expressed identities of Sunday Assembly attendees are complex.
The three concepts of non-religion, the secular sacred and indifferentism help to explain them.
The data show that attendees of the Sunday Assembly reject classification, both of the poles of observant religion and overt irreligion, and further of classifying their identity between these poles.
Sunday Assembly attendees often identify publicly with indifferentism or indifference to issues of religion or belief, though the details of their interview answers often suggest that they are not so indifferent.
Privately, respondents regularly identify as non-religious.
Many are reluctant to be identified with the Richard Dawkins style of atheism, which, together with organised religion, is sometimes described as aggressive.
The public display of indifference is due to a secular sacred boundary around the concept of inclusivity.
It is non-negotiable for Sunday Assembly members that all should be included without judgement.
An abrupt distinction between non-religion and the secular is problematic. Sunday Assembly members do not primarily identify as non-religious, but inclusive.

Relevance to RE

Within RE, there is continuing discussion of the nature of non-religious worldviews and how to approach teaching about them. The research provides evidence, insights and discussion on an interesting example. RE teachers might use it to help develop their knowledge base on non-religious worldviews (even though the researchers find that non-religious is not the best way to describe the Sunday Assembly). They could also find the material useful in preparing to teach about the Sunday Assembly, e.g. as preparation for hosting visitors in lessons and thinking about the questions pupils could ask and explore with them.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The researchers discuss some limitations of the research. The scale is quite small and the study took place when the Sunday Assembly was in its infancy. They suggest, however, that the study raises questions that would repay more detailed, updated studies.

Find out more

The full article is: Tim Mortimer & Melanie Prideaux (2018) Exploring identities between the religious and the secular through the attendees of an ostensibly ‘Atheist Church’, Religion, 48:1, 64-82.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0048721X.2017.1386135

Research Spotlight: Sikh Religious Authority in a Digital World

Dr Jasjit Singh

In this video Dr Jasjit Singh talks about the impact of the online environment on Sikhs in diaspora and how the online environment impacts on religion and particularly on religious authority. Questions raised include:

What role does the internet play in religious transmission and learning? What can people do now that they couldn’t do before?
How does different digital tools present different types of information about religion? Are there different types of religious authority?
Think about issues of translation, and what might be lost when simply imposing meanings from English / Christianity on to non-Christian worldviews – e.g. the word Gurdwara. Emphasises the importance of the Guru for Sikhs, unlike ‘Sikh Temple’ which doesn’t.
How might family background and religious affiliation impact on online engagement.

You can find a research report here on RE:ONLINE summarising Jasjit’s research with links to the original articles.

Research Summary: LGBT Muslims – a different view of Islam?

The research builds on the idea that religions can be a cultural resource from which people can draw rather than a controlling background framework. In relation to Islam, different Muslim groups are seen to present different expressions of their own, that bypass traditional authorities. Anti-LGBT violence and pro-LGBT activism can both be viewed in this way. The research focuses on LGBT Muslims and their improvements on traditional Islamic scholarship, aimed at presenting Islam as a religion which embraces sexual and other forms of diversity. Teachers should take note of their challenges to notions of Islam as homophobic or authoritarian; their ‘different view’ of Islam points to diversity within the religion and how it can act as a vehicle for social justice.

Researcher

Shanon Shah

Research Institution

King’s College, University of London; William Temple foundation; Information network on religious movements; the Muslim Institute.

What is this about?

Can people use religions ‘independently’, without referrring to official authorities?
What are the experiences snd beliefs of LGBT Muslims?
Can Islam be presented as a religion of equality and diversity?
How can stereotypical views of Islam as homophobic or authoritarian be challenged?
How might RE teachers consider these issues in their teaching?

What was done?

The researcher conducted in-depth interviews with 29 individuals – 17 in Malaysia and 12 in Britain, also observing and participating in their various social activities, including recreational sports, nightclubbing and activism, and in public events related to Islam and/or LGBT issues; and attended and made notes on congregational Friday prayers and sermons in both countries to assess if or how gender and sexuality were discussed. Media analysis was also carried out.

Main findings and outputs

Traditionally, homosexuality is often viewed as ‘forbidden’ in Islam.
However, some LGBT Muslims are taking charge and reinterpreting Islam to expand its notions of equality, diversity and social justice. The research looks at how they have created educational projects to spread their beliefs.
For example, educational workshops are held during which Qur’anic passages often held to condemn homosexuality are re-interpreted: are these passages, which refer to Lut (the Biblical figure Lot), about loving, consensual same-sex relationships or sexualised forms of assault, exploitation and violence? How can these passages be squared with others that emphasise equality and diversity?
A small number of UK Muslims are developing their religious literacy to form new Islamic groups that embrace gender and sexual diversity. They do this to reconcile their own personal identities with their faith, but also to re-shape Islam’s public profile.

Relevance to RE

RE policy should reflect that religions need to be represented fairly and recognised as internally diverse. This research is a compelling example of these needs.
Curriculum also should be planned to ensure that a range of views and practices within each religion is covered.
In terms of pedagogy, the research offers rich resources. When teaching about Islam, family life and sexuality, teachers can ask pupils to consider: what are the different beliefs about these issues, within Islam? How might the different texts be intepreted, in different ways?
Important reflective questions for pedagogy are also posed by the research. Having learned about LGBT Muslims and their understanding of their faith, pupils could be asked to reflect on how their own view of Islam has been affected by what they have learned.

Generalisability and potential limitations

By its nature, the research focuses on a minority group, but this is its appeal. It seems clear that the experiences reported are generalised, e.g. the author is right to suggest that several Islamic authorities state that homosexuality is forbidden and that gay Muslims have to work out how to react.

Find out more

Constructing an alternative pedagogy of Islam: the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Muslims, Journal of Beliefs & Values 37:3, 308-319 (published online 1 August 2016), 10.1080/13617672.2016.1212179

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2016.1212179

Research Summary: Paganism: hard to live by, but still relevant to 21st century life?

Neo-paganism – contemporary ‘Western’ paganism, as distinct from the animist beliefs of ‘traditional’ people – is an international movement with branches in 30 countries. The Pagan Federation, founded in Britain in 1971, has as its first principle ‘Love for and kinship with nature’. But what does this mean for contemporary pagans? Is it really a description of their way of life, or is it metaphorical language, or is it romantic wishful thinking? The article gives an account of neo-pagan beliefs and practices. Neo-pagans do identify their beliefs with those of traditional animist peoples, and the article also spends some time giving accounts of those. The researcher shows that they are not totally comparable. Neo-pagan belief in kinship with nature is restricted to belief and ritual, whilst in traditional animist societies, it actually determines all of the rules of life, something which is impossible in a contemporary, pluralist society. Yet neo-pagan principles of kinship with nature are still important to the huge task of shifting people away from the damaging ideology of consumerism.

Researcher

Kathryn Rountree

Research Institution

University of Massey, New Zealand

What is this about?

Who are Neo-Pagans and what do they believe and practice?
How does their principle of ‘kinship with nature’ affect their lifestyles?
They identify their principle of ‘kinship with nature’ with the beliefs and cultures of traditional animist peoples, but to what extent can they be compared to such peoples? (What, in turn, do such peoples actually believe and practice?)
Neo-Pagans see their commitment to ‘kinship with nature’ as a solution to problems caused by twenty-first century consumerism, especially environmental problems. To what extent is this view justified?

What was done?

Mostly, the author’s research method is to review existing literature on Neo-Paganism and on traditional animist societies, but some communication via email with contemporary practitioners of neo-paganism is also evident.

Main findings and outputs

Neo-Paganism is an international movement with diverse members: Pagans, Wiccans, Heathens, Earth Goddess-Worshippers, Druids and Shamans. Most Neo-Paganists are animists, believing that all things on Earth have spirits. Humans are one kind of ‘people’ amongst ‘bird-people’, ‘waterfall-people’ and so on. All such ‘people’ have rights, all are inter-linked.
The key belief in Neo-Paganism is ‘kinship with nature’: humans have a familial relationship to all things on Earth. Some Neo-Pagans, especially in Britain, express this through environmental activism or protest. Participation in ancient rituals at sacred sites e.g. stone circles or springs is common. During such rituals, Neo-Pagans report feelings of intense communication with or non-separation from nature, or abilities to connect with local spirit beings or human ancestors.
Neo-Pagans choose these beliefs and rituals, but ‘traditional’ animists inherit animism as a matter of culture and law. Their kinship is with particular places, animals and / or plants. Various examples are given: for the Kamea of New Guinea, strict marriage laws mean that husbands and wives each have specific plants to grow, pieces of land take the names and identities of those working on them, trees are given names and young girls grow up eating food produced on their future husband’s land (marriages are arranged at birth).
Neo-Paganism is a radical alternative, hard to establish as ‘normal’, whilst traditional animism is taken for granted (though under pressure from Westernisation). It may be romantic, but ‘kinship with nature’ could be a useful strategy for working towards Earth’s sustainability.

Relevance to RE

The research offers very interesting and useful background information for those RE teachers seeking to include studies of Paganism in the curriculum.
Pedagogically speaking, the approach taken by the research could well be fruitful in the classroom. It is enquiring, sympathetic yet critical. Pupils could look into Paganism in a variety of ways (listening and responding to teacher presentations based on the article and other sources1, carrying out their own background research, receiving and interviewing a visitor, etc.) Some of the critical questions posed by the article could then be offered to pupils for discussion and debate, e.g. is it true that we are related to all other forms of life on Earth? Is it actually possible to live as if all other forms of life belong to your family? What are the strengths and weaknesses of Paganism as a way of life or philosophy, in relation to protecting the Earth for future generations? Does it have more or less to offer than the ‘mainstream’ religions which the pupils have studied?

Generalisability and potential limitations

The study is of the broad international Pagan movement, The Pagan Federation. It takes account of the fact that this movement is diverse in its membership. In comparing the beliefs of neo-pagans to traditional animist beliefs, it gives several different examples of these. The environmental issues that it raises are of very wide relevance and good for pedagogy.

Find out more

Neo-Paganism, Animism, and Kinship with Nature, Journal of Contemporary Religion, 27:2, 305-320 (published online 23 April 2012), 10.1080/13537903.2012.675746

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13537903.2012.675746