Global terms: Religion and Worldviews

Research Spotlight: Primary Practitioners Research

July/August 2023

During July and August, we are featuring the research of primary practitioners from the 2022-23 Culham St Gabriel’s master’s community of practice. See their presentations below:

Ian Coles looks at the impact that using worldview community visitors in the Primary RE curriculum has

Nadia Nadeem on creating a series of sequential and progressive lessons and resources on Christian ethics and farmed animal welfare

Killian Barrett on our mission to the poor: rhetoric or reality within a Catholic Primary School

Using the voices of worldview community members in the classroom

Ian Coles

Some questions to consider:

Do you use the voices of worldview community members effectively in your classroom?
Are your pupils brave enough to satisfy their curiosity by asking important questions?
Are they brave enough to engage with the answers in a way that might change their own beliefs?

My research aims to discover the impact that using worldview community visitors in the Primary RE curriculum has. I am looking at this from four angles: the academic impact; the impact on pupils’ prejudices; the vicarious impact that this might have on parents; and the impact that these events have on the worldview community members themselves. Next year, as part of my MA, I will be conducting a small scale, practitioner research project at my own school, however I will be backing this up with research drawn from a wide variety of sources.

I have been particularly interested in the use of worldview community visitors for a number of years now. The schools in which I have worked have been populated overwhelmingly by White British staff and pupils. In my twelve years and three schools, I have never worked with a teacher or teaching assistant who was not either Christian or non-religious. I have wondered whether this has contributed to a lack of awareness, knowledge and understanding of peoples from non-Christian religions amongst the pupils, and I have always felt that worldview community members could be a significant resource in addressing these issues.

In regards to the academic impact that such visitors can have, they can of course be effective in overcoming a number of obstacles to teaching RE in the classroom. Insight’s 2021 report on the state of Hinduism in RE, which analysed data from Hindu parents of primary school children, stated that ‘76% of primary school parents are unhappy about RE teachers’ knowledge of Hinduism’ (INSIGHT UK, 2021[1]). Given that many teachers get little to no RE input in their training, it is worthwhile to assume that this lack of subject knowledge extends to other worldviews as well. This issue, which is particularly acute for primary school teachers who are required to be experts on a seemingly unending number of topics, is something that can be addressed by bringing in an expert. It also resolves the worry that many teachers have of misrepresenting a religion when trying to teach it themselves. Most importantly, worldview community members provide pupils with an example of lived religion. Real lives and real authenticity can have a real impact on pupils.

Using ‘live contact’ as opposed to videos also enables pupils to partake in, what I have noticed to be the most effective part of any faith visit, the Q&A session. Studies have shown that pupils ask considerably more questions of a visitor than they do of their teacher (Jackson, 2014[2]; Riegel and Kindermann, 2015[3]). In these situations, pupils are able to satisfy their curiosity in not just a safe space, but a ‘brave space’. A space where people are empowered to articulate their own understanding, but also willing to be vulnerable and allow their beliefs to evolve. This is effective for our children but is also a useful experience for worldview community members themselves.

Research has been done into the benefits of vicarious contact (Mazziotta, Mummendey and Wright, 2011[4]), and it will be interesting to see if any weakening of the pupils’ prejudices can be transferred to their parents. Prejudice may often arise from a lack of understanding, and a lot of research has been done into contact theory and using peer to peer contact experiences to break down prejudicial barriers (Peacock, 2020[5]; Peacock, 2023[6]; Allport, 1979[7]). However, in situations like the one I and many other teachers face it is incredibly difficult to create these experiences for our children. My hope is that my research will provide further insights into the issue of whether worldview community members can be effective in recreating the effects of peer-to-peer contact in reducing religious prejudice amongst pupils.

[1] INSIGHT UK (2021) A report on the state of Hinduism in Religious Education in UK schools. Available at https://insightuk.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Hinduism-in-RE_Project-report.pdf (Accessed 12 June 2023)

[2] Jackson, R. (2014) Signposts – Policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education, Strasbourg: Council of Europe Publishing.

[3] Riegel, U. and Kindermann, K. (2015) ‘Why leave the classroom? How field trips to the church affect cognitive learning outcomes’, Learning and Instruction, 41(2016), pp. 106-114.

[4] Mazziotta, A., Mummendey, A. and Wright, S. (2011) ‘Vicarious intergroup contact effects: Applying social-cognitive theory to intergroup contact research’, Group Processes and Intergroup Relations, 14(2), pp. 255-274.

[5] Peacock, L. (2020) Contact in the classroom: School linking: A research evaluation report. Faith & Belief Forum and the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University. Available at https://faithbeliefforum.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Contact_in_the_Classroom.pdf (Accessed 26 January 2023)

[6] Peacock, L. (2023) ‘Contact-based interfaith programmes in schools and changing religious education landscape: negotiating a worldviews curriculum’, Journal of Beliefs and Values, 44(1), pp. 1-15.

[7] Allport, G. (1979) The Nature of Prejudice. 25^th Anniversary Edition. New York: Perseus Books Publishing.

Christian Ethics and Farmed Animal Welfare

Nadia Nadeem

Questions for consideration:

Why should pupils discuss controversial issues in lessons?
How can we help pupils to learn deeply?
How can we help them to consider their future roles as adults?

I initially learnt about the Christian Ethics and Farmed Animal Welfare project (CEFAW) when I was completing stage 1 of the Culham St Gabriel’s Leadership Programme. I was fascinated to discover the harsh realities of the treatment of farmed animals in the UK. Subsequently, I completed a MA module on Research for Teaching at the University of Chester, as a Culham St Gabriel’s scholarship student.

As part of the project, I collaborated with 2 other primary school teachers to create a series of sequential and progressive lessons and resources that built on prior learning and included links for future learning.

I created lessons that were discursive in nature because from previous research experience (British Religion in Numbers in the classroom), I learnt that RE lessons are much more effective when they are discursive as they allow deeper thinking to take place.

Using discursive strategies enables pupils to apply their learning and understanding outside the classroom and potentially in later life. Using statistics to facilitate a discussion makes the experience real, purposeful and provides context with the possibility of having real impact.

Giving pupils statistics on farmed animal welfare raised many questions including: how does poor treatment hinder the animal’s ability to flourish? Here pupils had to consider what flourishing is. How is flourishing established/reduced? How can limitations on flourishing impact the quality of the animal’s life? Can they result in stress hormones being present in the animal’s meat? How does this meat impact humans after it is consumed? Would it be better to become vegan rather than put an animal through suffering – especially if it is a result of trying to meet supply and demand needs?

Moreover, I wanted pupils to think about the ethical aspect of the treatment of farmed animals and the key concepts of flourishing, stewardship, and dominion in relation to CEFAW but also other facets of life. Can they take responsibility for the flourishing of others around them? How important is flourishing for development and wellbeing?

In my opinion, R&W curriculum needs to teach ethics. In this modern era of social media where pupils have access to surplus information which they are not always mature enough to interpret or fully understand the implications of, it is pertinent for pupils to have ethical values that enable them to develop characters with moral compasses. Teaching ethics supports character building, character education and is learning that can be applied in later life.

After trialling my lessons, I felt they could be adapted further. For example, take the children to a farm, allow them to interview farmers on their practice. This would provide a concrete experience and allow pupils to think deeper and reflect on why certain practices are followed and what changes may be put in place to make a difference.

My message to other teachers is:

Use discursive/controversial lessons even if it seems daunting to begin with; they enable pupils to think in depth and breadth – use discussions regularly.
Controversial questions are great for unpicking pupils’ opinions and thinking. They help to stretch and extend pupils understanding of a particular concept/idea and how it can connect to other learning and aspects of life. Encourage pupils to analyse what they have learnt and what they are going to take away.
Lastly, use statistics because when you provide real a snapshot of society and how it really thinks and works: it compels pupils to consider the type of society they want to live in and what they need to do as the next generations of adults.

Our Mission to the Poor: rhetoric or reality within a Catholic Primary School

Killian Barrett

Questions to consider:

Where does our language of ‘the poor’ come from? How might we reflect on and critique our language of ‘the poor’?
How might we critique images and appeals we encounter through our studies that influence our attitudes to ‘the poor’?
How might we challenge neo-colonial stereotypes through this theme in RE?

The aim of my dissertation project is to explore and examine if the traditional view of duty and service to the poor and disadvantaged is evident in contemporary Catholic education today.

The research and study of literature included biblical, historical and contemporary perspectives of the poor and disadvantaged in relation to the Catholic Church’s Mission, together with a examination of challenges and opportunities related to leadership in fulfilling this mission in a meaningful and practical way today. The dissertation focused on research evidence and example through the examination of a case study school. This case study school is located in Lurgan, Co. Armagh, Northern Ireland and caters for children 4 – 11 years of age.

I was keen to examine how schools can practically improve their care and support to children who may be experiencing poverty. I was interested in investigating our school curriculum (RE programme), Personal Development and Mutual Understanding Program (PDMU), World Views on Poverty, and various other initiatives and outside agencies who visit our school to explore if these subjects and programmes in the school, alongside the pastoral care, are actively and adequately helping to fulfil our mission in helping to serve ‘the poor’.

I undertook research through the mediums of face to face interviews with our current Principal, Vice Principal and one other member of our School’s Senior Leadership Team. These interviews were followed by questionnaires for all of our permanent and temporary full-time teaching staff as well as our SEN and general classroom assistants. These forms of research involved quantitative and qualitative methods of gathering data.

After analysing the data collected it was clear to see that there was a strong agreement from all members of it staff towards supporting the poor in our society. They believed that our school was contributing to this mission by supporting various charities throughout the year, quietly helping families in need and teaching children this moral issue through our curriculum. It was interesting to note that all admin staff believed our curriculum was sufficient in helping teach children about our true Catholic mission towards helping the poor.

Furthermore, a challenge faced by schools in upholding this Mission towards the poor was the negative influence from parents and lack of support from the local parish. Through the data collected, it was clear to see that staff believe there is not enough support from families or the parish community in helping support schools in this mission and instead there is too much of a focus on academic results.

Through the use of findings in the literature reviewed and the subsequent qualitative and quantitative research methods it is recommended that teachers and staff continue to support and build upon the work already done in fulfilling our Catholic mission of helping the poor, no matter what extrinsic challenges they may face. These findings are not just for schools that are solely Catholic but can also be linked to schools of various faith denominations as it is everyones moral duty, regardless of religion, to help those in need.

References:

Byron, W. J. (2015) “What Catholic Schools Can Do About World Hunger.” International Studies in Catholic Education 7 (2): 201–209.

Grace, G. (2002) ‘Mission Integrity: Contemporary Challenges for Catholic School Leaders.’ In K. Leithwood and P. Hallinger (Eds) Second International Handbook of Catholic Educational Leadership and Administration, Dordrecht. Kluwer Academic Press.

Groome, T. (2014) ‘Catholic education: from and for faith’, International Studies in Catholic Education, 6:2, 113-127.

Lydon, John. (2011) The Contemporary Catholic Teacher, Saarbrucken, Germany: Lambert Academic Publishing.

McKinney, S.J (2018) ‘The roots of the preferential option for the poor in Catholic schools in Luke’s Gospel,’ International Studies in Catholic Education, 10:2, 220-232.

O’Malley, D. SBD (2007) Christian Leadership, Bolton: Don Bosco Publications.

The Congregation for Catholic Education (2007) The Catholic School on the Threshold of the Third Millennium’.

Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2011) The influence of parents, places and poverty on educational attitudes and aspirations

Research Spotlight: Primary pupils can! A richer encounter with parables

A research spotlight for Primary Focus Week

In this short film Dr Ryan Parker, RE Adviser and previously a teacher of primary age pupils, explores whether 9 and 10 year olds can engage with deep questions about meaning and interpretation of parables. He used a series of practical strategies in his sample lessons, all the resources he used in his lessons, based on the parable of the Good Samaritan are available to download at the bottom of this piece. I was struck by his initial questions for pupils after reading the parables:

What stands out for me in this parable?
Are there any parts that don’t add up or make sense? Why not?
What information might help us to understand this text more?

Ryan’s work will be of interest to all but certainly builds on the work in this area by Pett et al. In ‘Understanding Christianity’.

As you watch and read consider;

Are too many encounters with texts in RE too narrow and predetermined? How can we enable reflective, knowledge-rich encounters with sacred texts?
How can we help primary pupils reason through why different people, including themselves, read a text the way they do?
What do you think is the value of more open pedagogies, which enable pupils to use their volition and voice as interpreters, in enriching pupils’ religious literacy?

An emerging question from the chalkface

As a primary practitioner, I was – and still am – struck by how often curriculum resources on the parables do not invite pupils to reflect upon diverse interpretations. Too often, students are directed to a single, incontestable meaning. ‘Success’ in these lessons is determined upon whether or not they can parrot back that particular meaning on the lesson plan. With pupils essentially told how to read these texts, opportunities for them the share their own ideas and questions are stymied. This sits uneasily with me. As parables stimulate different readings, surely pupils should encounter and reason across/through diverse interpretations in religious education (RE)? Furthermore, wouldn’t pupils’ religious literacy be enriched if they also engaged with deeper questions around why different people (including themselves) interpret a parable differently? Sadly, there remains a view in RE (entrenched since the 1960s) that primary-aged pupils are not cognitively ready to engage meaningfully with the parables of Jesus; better to communicate one meaning or simply present as stories to enjoy until the secondary phase.

I wished to challenge this assumption. Through part-time doctoral research (University of Birmingham), I designed and trialled two lessons with pupils aged 9-11 to develop their hermeneutical awareness and construct informed responses to the enquiry question, ‘Why do different people interpret a parable differently?’. The parable used was The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10: 25-37). Such an enquiry was designed to contribute meaningfully to pupils’ substantive, disciplinary and personal knowledge (Ofsted, 2021).

Aspects underpinning the lessons

Three key aspects emerged from my engagement with literature which informed the envisioning, exemplification and evaluation of these lessons: pupil agency, dialogic learning and reception history of the parables.

Pupil agency. Pupils are not passive recipients of content; they are agentive hermeneutics who construct meaning and pursue lines of enquiry through engaging with subject matter and others. Through the lessons, I employed a slow, open pedagogy to provide a range of opportunities for pupils to use their volition and voice to reason through different aspects linked to the enquiry question.

Dialogic learning. According to Gadamer (2004) and Ricoeur (1992), it is through encountering views which are new to, of differ from one’s own, that we understand others and ourselves better. I therefore provided numerous opportunities for pupils to encounter diverse views within a shared enquiry, both presented within the subject matter and emerging from students themselves. This included reasoning through a range of interpretations and hermeneutical issues constellating around the parable to help them more efficaciously understand why different people, including themselves, interpret a parable differently.

Reception history. The hermeneutical issues mentioned above were sourced from parabolic scholarship. Such scholarship includes a vast array of views on the parables, with various ideas about the original context within which the parable was first spoken and read, as well as questions around the positionality of readers in encountering these texts.

Also valuable was the field of reception history (e.g. Lyons, 2010; Beal, 2011). I considered it purposeful to enable pupils to engage with a range of authentic interpretations and their interpreters, from different times and places. This would, I hoped, help pupils recognise that interpretation of texts is often a dynamic, ongoing, contextual conversation, one which they are also contributors.

Conclusions

‘It’s quite interesting to see how [other interpreters] think…It just made me really think about the different times, the different cultures, the different backgrounds and experiences that lead up to similarities, differences…and unique people thinking different things’ (Pupil CA)

This research demonstrated compellingly that primary-aged pupils are able to reason meaningfully through why different people interpret a parable differently; this has not been revealed before in formal research. Some key conclusions are:

With appropriate support, space, pedagogies and resources, pupils aged 9-11 can ably engage in rich reasoning pertaining to why a parable is interpreted differently by different people. In considering a range of questions taken from parabolic scholarship, pupils’ substantive, disciplinary and personal knowledge developed;
In encountering a range of ideas and interpretations (from their peers and interpreters across different times and places), pupils stood self-consciously in front of a parable. In other words, they recognised that their own positionality informed how they engaged with this text. They were also able to appreciate how others arrived at the interpretations they did; and
this deep thinking empowered pupils to express their views, questions and developing thinking within an open enquiry. They used their volition and voice to explore interpretive issues. This was valued by pupils – they and their perspectives were ‘heard’ (Pupil BD) in a way not always granted in textual enquiry.

The full thesis and all lesson plans and resources can be found here.

Dr Ryan Parker, RE and Christian Ethos Adviser, Diocese of St Albans

Reference List

Beal, T. (2011) ‘Reception History and Beyond: Toward the Cultural History of Scriptures’, Biblical Interpretation, 19 (4): 357-372.

Gadamer, H-G. (2004) Truth and Method. London: Continuum.

Lyons, W. J. (2010) ‘Hope for a Troubled Discipline? Contributions to New Testament Studies from Reception History’, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 33 (2): 207-220.

Ofsted. (2021) Research review series: religious education. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/research-review-series-religious- education/research-review-series-religious-education

Pett et al (2016) ‘Understanding Christianity: Text Impact Connections’ Birmingham: RE Today.
Ricoeur, P. (1992) Oneself as Another. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press.

Research Summary: Living the Bhagavad Gita at Gandhi’s Ashrams

The Bhagavad Gita is a philosophical Hindu scripture in which the god Krishna imparts lessons to the warrior prince Arjuna about sacred duty (dharma) and the path to spiritual liberation (moksha). This classical scripture has had a long and active life, and by the 19th century it had come to be regarded as a core text, if not the core text, of Hinduism. During the colonial period, interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita considered the relevance of Krishna’s lessons to Arjuna in the context of British colonial rule. While some Indians read a call to arms into their interpretation of this scripture and urged their fellow Indians to rise up in armed resistance, Gandhi famously read a nonviolent message into it. This research argues that equally as important as Gandhi’s hermeneutics of nonviolence is his commitment to enacting the lessons of the Bhagavad Gita as he interpreted them in the daily life of his ashrams (communities). When explored through the lens of daily life in these ashrams, we see that Gandhi’s interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita emphasized not just nonviolence but also disciplined action, including self-sacrifice for the greater good.

Researcher

Karline McLain

Research Institution

Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA

What is this about?

The Bhagavad Gita.
Mahatma Gandhi.
Life and ethics in Gandhi’s ashrams.

What was done?

This is a scholarly essay, analysing source material to cast light on Gandhi’s interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita.

Main findings and outputs

Firstly, it is clear that Gandhi sought to find the meaning of the Bhagavad Gita in practice, and through life in a community.
For Gandhi, the battlefield scene of the Gita was an allegory: “it described the duel that perpetually went on in the hearts of mankind (sic),and that physical warfare was brought in merely to make the description of the internal duel more alluring.”
The path of karma yoga was understood as disciplined action in pursuit of self-realisation, in the course of everyday life.
For over 40 years, when Gandhi was not residing in prisons run by the British colonial government, he was living on back-to-the-land intentional communities (ashrams) that he founded in South Africa and India. They tried to live out the Gita’s message.
The ethic of the ashram was not a neutral shared space but a ‘nonviolent neighbourliness’. Social ‘equals’ were treated as friends, ‘subordinates’ with service and superiors through civil disobedience. All this was worked out in local situations as self-discipline in everyday life.
In 1906 Gandhi took a vow of celibacy. He did this to better practice the Gita’s principle of self-sacrifice and service of others; he would lessen his attachments to his possession of a wife and four sons and treat all ashram members as co-equals.
When imprisoned, e.g. for refusing to carry an identity card (in South Africa in 1908), he read the Gita in prison and later wrote that its teachings should be carried out fearlessly – people should do their duty by what was right, even at the cost of their lives.
The practice of selfless service was the basis of Gandhi’s ashrams in India. Duncan Greenlees, a British resident, wrote –
Then began the day’s work in earnest. Some went daily to the stables to scrub the floors and milk the cows; others swept the Ashram paths with brooms; others again prepared the morning meal in the fine kitchen. All in their turn went to clean the latrines. This was indeed a sacramental, purifying work that, bringing us at once into sympathy with the lowest castes of men, taught us to see God in everything, even in what the ignorant have named unclean.
On the morning of the Salt March in 1930, Gandhi insisted that only ashram members prepared to be killed should join him. They were allowed to take no food or drink, only a copy each of the Gita.

Relevance to RE

The research will develop teachers’ knowledge of Hinduism (the original article is very detailed, fascinating and to be recommended strongly). The material can certainly be of use in classroom teaching. The various stories can be told and discussed: why did Gandhi insist that only those ready to be killed should join him on the Salt March (note: ‘ready’ included having taken vows of celibacy)? Why were none allowed to bring food or drink? Why were all required to bring a copy of the Gita? Students can carry out their own research into life and ethics in Gandhian ashrams, drawing comparisons with communities of which they are members themselves and evaluating how people benefit from different kinds of community membership.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This research does not provide generalisable data as such, more a distinctive case study with which to deepen knowledge and understanding of the Hindu tradition.

Find out more

The original article is Karline McLain, Living the Bhagavad Gita at Gandhi’s Ashrams, Religions 2019: 10 (11), 619.

The article is available open-access at https://doi.org/10.3390/rel10110619

Research Summary: Non-religious worldviews in RE: teachers’ perspectives

In this article, findings from a qualitative study of the views and experiences of 25 RE teachers in England are used to identify and explore a range of issues, in relation to national and international debates and research. Examples of inclusion and the models that they suggest are considered and it is argued that major obstacles, such as limited time and lack of a framework for the integration of religious and nonreligious worldviews, can be overcome. However, it is concluded that this will require further research and curriculum development work and that international collaboration should be pursued.

Researcher

Dr Judith Everington

Research Institution

University of Warwick

What is this about?

Teaching of nonreligious worldviews in RE is recommended in several influential documents, but what are the issues that need to be dealt with?

The views and experiences of 25 teachers are given.
There are obstacles such as lack of time and an agreed framework.
However, it is argued that though further work will be needed, the obstacles can be overcome.

What was done?

The study was undertaken between 2014–16 and employed qualitative research methods. Questionnaires were completed by 25 teachers. Eleven of these (4 men and 7 women) agreed to participate in one-to-one, semi-structured interviews of 45–90 min duration. Participants responded to an invitation disseminated through RE networks. All were RE specialists.

Main findings and outputs

There is controversy about the inclusion of nonreligious worldviews in RE, some viewing it as essential to an inclusive RE, others as diluting RE’s distinctive content, but so far we know little of teachers’ views.
Most teachers were unsure how to define a nonreligious worldview but referred to institutional systems as ways of making sense of human experience or providing beliefs and values, almost all mentioning Humanism but not limited to Humanism.Most encouraged nonreligious students to express their views in the classroom.
All felt that nonreligious worldviews should be included in RE. It would build academic skills, for instance, and social cohesion. But the main reason given was to develop students’ own beliefs or spirituality.
The teaching approach most often referred to was to make frequent reference to nonreligious views or perspectives in RE lessons and to ensure space for the expression of students’ nonreligious views, though specific units or lessons were also included, if rarely on a systematic basis.
The main issue mentioned was lack of time. Others were lack of resources and knowledge. Also, do nonreligious worldviews ‘fit’ in a framework for studying religions?

Relevance to RE

There are key issues for schools, as well as researchers, to consider further. Much appears to depend on:

School support for RE, in providing curriculum time and encouraging the development of innovative approaches.
Teachers’ development of appropriate subject knowledge.

It also seems pertinent to consider other countries’ experiences, e.g. Norway, where nonreligious worldviews have been taught within RE since 1997. In general, work is also needed to identify which worldviews could be studied in addition to Humanism and to develop criteria for making decisions on this.

Generalisability and potential limitations

As the author says on page 20 of the text:

It is not possible to generalise from the findings of a qualitative study which relied on those with sufficient interest in the subject to volunteer their participation. However, the value of the research lies in the rich data provided by teachers who responded in some detail to questions about their views, experiences and concerns.

Find out more

Judith Everington (2019) Including nonreligious worldviews in religious education: the views and experiences of English secondary school teachers, British Journal of Religious Education, 41:1, 14-26.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01416200.2018.1478277

Research Spotlight: Ijtihad

February 2023

Zameer Hussain

This month’s research is a follow-up from Zameer Hussain’s highly appreciated RExChange session on Ijtihad. Questions for discussion are:

Why is it harder to find the truth for Muslims the further we are from Muhammad?
How should we read scripture such as the Quran and Hadith? Does everything it says apply to today?
What is the difference between the text and the principles of the text?
Who decides what is true for Muslims today?
Should everyone be able to perform ijtihad or just Muslim scholars? What is the potential problem for each side?

According to my research, which is primarily my own classroom experiences and observations, ijtihad is a concept that is taught far too late. If teaching the Islam component at A-Level, it is certainly explored there but I argue that students should be taught this in KS3 (or even KS2) so that when they are presented with diverse Muslim conclusions on an issue, it should come as natural to them. If not, we are in danger of a single dominant Islamic worldview deemed as most authentic and alternative opinions dismissed as irrelevant or not authentic. This is not to dismiss Islamic tradition where there is consensus on several issues but Islamic tradition also has a rich history of diversity where healthy scholarly debate takes place on several issues – every topic is up for discussion.

Teaching students about ijtihad will allow students to recognise that when Muslims seek to answer questions, they are merely trying to find what is the truth. Post-Muhammad, they are not able to ask Muhammad himself. The Quran, although believed to give eternal principles and guidelines, doesn’t cover every single issue that will ever arise so the need for ijtihad becomes even more important. However, just like different doctors may give different prescriptions to a patient based on the same illness, different scholars will give various opinion on the same moral issue based on their own understanding of the sources and reasoning. Ijtihad unlocks this world of diversity within Islam that removes the binaries of ‘forbidden’ and ‘permissible’ and gives students the understanding of how, particularly in Islamic legalism, there are several conclusions on one issue.

In a lot of classroom practice, when presenting different views on an issue within Islam, especially a moral one, teachers may often default to using phrases such as ‘X type of Muslim would believe…’, ‘Y type of Muslim would say…’, ‘Z type of Muslim would do…’. We may add labels in front of the word ‘Muslim’ such as ‘liberal’, ‘conservative’, ‘progressive’ or ‘reformist’ (despite these labels not existing in Islamic terminology). This can especially affect teachers who are teaching the components of GCSE RE that require diverse views on moral and ethical issues. The end answer to different Muslim views on gender roles, for example, might be presented but do students know how different Muslims came to those conclusions apart from using an isolated quote from a source of authority? Students must not just learn scholarly views but literally be walked through and almost mimic what a scholar of Islam does to come to a conclusion – they should be empowered to perform ijtihad as an activity on a topic so they can see how complex it is for a Muslim scholar to come to a conclusion. It allows students to engage with hermeneutics by reading Islamic sources and asking questions about it: What is being said? Who is it being said to? Is the source authentic? What was culture and custom at the time this was written? Do any of the Arabic words have different translations? If there is a command, is it a binding command or a recommendation? Does what is written apply today? Do we take it literally or draw principles from it? Having students ask these questions empowers them to truly become scholars and ask similar questions when engaging with any religious text, which is powerful RE in itself.

Further resources

My blog on classroom ideas at KS3: Teaching diversity of opinion in islam
Katie Gooch’s blog on classroom ideas at KS2: What might teaching diversity of opinion in Islam look like in KS2
My full talk at RExchange 2022: Ijtihad: The Key That Unlocks Islamic Thought

Research Summary: Islam without stereotypes

This article explores the ways in which Islam is presented in an essentialist way in RE in England and Wales, leading to stereotypes that are embedded in resources and agreed syllabi. It provides a critique of essentialism, and makes a case for the role of hermeneutics in teaching and learning about Islam. A hermeneutical approach is argued to be a sound way to conceptualise Islam and a pedagogical opening to make sense of it, that may help overcome some of the weaknesses of the current ways of teaching about Islam.

Research Title

Religious education and hermeneutics: the case of teaching about Islam

Researchers

Dr Farid Panjwani & Dr Lynn Revell

Research Institution

Institute of Education, University College London / Canterbury Christ Church University

What is this about?

In what ways do stereotypes enter presentations of Islam in RE?
How can these be overcome?
What contribution can hermeneutics make to the improvement of teaching and learning about Islam?

What was done?

This is a scholarly, analytical discussion of Islam and educational practice, focussed on the dangers of essentialism – defined as follows on page 268 of the article:

“Essentialism is the belief that a thing has a set of characteristics which make it what it is. Often this is accompanied with an assumption that how an idea or a phenomenon was in its original state, determines its essence.”

This limits engagement with the varieties of Islam and may set up Islam as the antithesis of ‘Western values’.

Main findings and outputs

Academics often criticise essentialist views of Islam, but the tendency persists in RE resources and curricula.
From p.270: “In endless textbooks we can see the playing out of this narrative as adherence to the same markers (dress, beliefs, festivals, rituals) are identified as the defining characteristics of belonging to religious communities. Approaches to the teaching of Islam that define Muslims through a focus on essential, ahistorical features are in effect creating and legitimising a stereotype.”
Ibid.: “Even where diversity within Islam is recognised it is represented within cultural silos so that ‘different types’ of Muslims appear as a series of stereotypes, the liberal Muslim, the extremist Muslim, the Pakistani Muslim etc.”
A second problem is to describe Islam as a ‘world religion’ by the use of common themes, beliefs, practices and concepts rooted in Christian traditions.
Rather than just presenting diversity we need to explore why there is diversity in the first place. It is because of a hermeneutical process; when people first heard the Qur’an, different kinds of responses were made depending on the situations of the hearers. This process continues. There is no single teaching on attitudes to other religions, for example. Different communities place different boundaries and “Muslims make Islam as much as Islam makes Muslims”. (p.274)

Relevance to RE

Readers are strongly encouraged to read the original article in full, as lack of space here prevents sufficiently detailed summary. However, two clear pedagogical recommendations are made in its conclusion. First, rather than posing questions such as ‘what is Islam’s view on Christianity?’, it is better to ask ‘how have Muslims understood Islam’s relationship with Christianity?’. Second, the role of pupils should change – they should be enabled to enquire into different meanings; this is how religions continue to remain relevant and pupils can participate in this process for themselves.

Generalisability and potential limitations

As it is not a presentation of empirical data, the factor of generalisability does not really apply in this case. Rather, teachers are invited to weigh up the article’s arguments and try out and evaluate its pedagogical recommendations in practice.

Find out more

Farid Panjwani & Lynn Revell (2018) Religious education and hermeneutics: the case of teaching about Islam, British Journal of Religious Education, 40:3, 268-276.

https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01416200.2018.1493269?journalCode=cbre20

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

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

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

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