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Research

RE, extremism and human rights

Joyce Miller

Research Summary

This article is an educational justification for the British Government-funded project, Resilience (2009-2011), on addressing contentious issues through RE, which was carried out by the RE Council of England and Wales. A number of issues relating to the inclusion of religiously inspired violent extremism in the curriculum are raised. How do you define extremism? What are the political and educational issues and how should they be dealt with?A solution is offered which focuses on human rights in two ways: the right to freedom of religion and belief, and the promotion of pupils’ moral development through human rights issues. It is suggested that the work of the moral philosopher Kwame Antony Appiah is relevant to this; in particular, his concept of ‘honor’ which can be used by teachers as the basis for teaching about violent extremism and related topics in the classroom. The research is clearly of strong relevance to RE teachers, because issues of religiously inspired violent extremism will have to dealt with with pupils, whether as part of the planned curriculum or through questions raised by pupils.

Researcher

Joyce Miller

Research Institution

University of Warwick

What is this about?

  • This is about the UK government-funded project Resilience, carried out by the RE Council of England and Wales, on addressing controversial issues through RE (including extremism).
  • The project had critics – whose criticisms are noted – but the notion that RE should address extremism is defended.
  • It is argued that a human rights-based approach offers RE a way to do this well, focusing on the right to freedom of religion and belief and the promotion of pupils’ moral development.
  • Ideas from the moral philosopher Kwame Antony Appiah are joined to this argument, in particular, his concept of ‘honor’.

What was done?

This is a research essay, reviewing different materials and ideas on RE and religiously-inspired extremism, elements of human rights policy and moral philosophy in order to draw out recommendations for RE curriculum and pedagogy.

Main findings and outputs

  • There is a tendency to treat words such as ‘fundamentalist’, ‘radical’, ‘terrorist’, ‘extremist’ and ‘violent extremist’ as if they are synonymous, when they are not. Care must be taken: a person with a radical religious perspective is not necessarily a terrorist, for instance.
  • Teachers will have to deal with political issues, too, including the representation of extremism and religion in the media.
  • Educationally, dealing with extremism should be a whole school matter but there is little doubt that RE will have a high profile because of widespread concerns over ‘Islamic’ terrorism.
  • This puts RE teachers in a difficult position, especially because of criticisms that RE’s role should not be reduced to serving the state. Guidance is needed and teachers must respond in a balanced, critical way.
  • A human rights approach will help. Firstly, people’s freedom of belief must be respected, though secondly, pupils have the right to critical discussion of religions and world-views, including engaging with the social and political dimensions of religions. Human rights declarations support these principles, state that they should be adhered to in schools, and have many countries as signatories, including the UK.
  • Kwame Antony Appiah discusses honour. Practices such as slavery, binding girls’ feet and duelling vanished because they were eventually condemned as unworthy of respect. The idea of honour is potentially useful to RE pedagogy. In considering beliefs, practices and issues, pupils could be asked to evaluate whether they are honourable, dignified and worthy of respect.

Relevance to RE

The research arises out of concerns over RE’s place in the curriculum of the twenty-first century and how the subject might contribute to the future social well-being of the UK. Furthermore, it offers a possible approach to dealing with religious extremism within RE, for teachers to consider – this is evidently an area where many colleagues would appreciate ideas and guidance. The author recognises that the issues are far from easy and her suggestions are courageous and well-considered.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The discussion is generalisable to all RE teachers, since we are all highly likely to have to deal with the issues it raises in the classroom – and also in the sense that it offers an approach to questions of religion and extremism which colleagues could consider and try.

Find out more

REsilience, violent extremism and religious education, British Journal of Religious Education 35.2 pages 188-200 (published online 23 November 2012), 10.1080/01416200.2012.740444

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01416200.2012.740444

 

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