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Research

Reviving the conversation between religious studies and RE

Denise Cush & Catherine Robinson

Research Summary

In the early days of non-confessional, multi-faith RE in the UK, there was close collaboration between religious studies academics, teacher educators and teachers. These conversations should be picked back up, say the authors, and they aim to start the process. They go through some recent developments in university religious studies and spell out some possible implications for RE. These implications are that RE should take an anti-essentialist approach to religions (by stressing diversity within and between religions), take into account local and global contexts, recognise that society is complex and changing, focus on real people and seldom-heard voices and criticise dominant views (e.g.patriarchal or colonialist). The research offers RE teachers and other RE professionals a lot to consider, particularly in relation to whether the picture of religion and religions offered to pupils is accurate and fair.

Researchers

Denise Cush & Catherine Robinson

Research Institution

Bath Spa University

What is this about?

  • What can university religious studies contribute to school RE, through a conversation between the two
  • In particular, how can recent developments within university religious studies be taken on board by RE teachers and other professionals, to help ensure that religion and religions are presented to pupils in a fair and accurate way?
  • In regard to the latter question, specific recommendations are made: that RE should take an anti-essentialist approach to religions (by stressing diversity within and between religions), take into account local and global contexts, recognise that society is complex and changing, focus on real people and seldom-heard voices and criticise dominant views (e.g.patriarchal or colonialist).

What was done?

This is a research essay, reviewing developments in religious studies and religion via literature, and identifying links to RE curriculum and teaching, with an emphasis on how these should be developed so as to reflect the field appropriately.

Main findings and outputs

  • The authors stress that they do not wish to cascade knowledge ‘down’ to teachers – the model sought is a partnership.
  • Ethnographic approaches in religious studies have much to offer RE, emphasising lived, contemporary, people-centred accounts of religion.
  • So do Feminist approaches, by challenging accepted accounts of religion or religions, uncovering abuses, requiring that resources be checked for gender equality, and giving confidence to pupils to voice their own experiences and views of religion.
  • Queer theory has directed attention to how religions define and evaluate sex, gender and sexuality. Teachers can adapt this, given the need for respect for people whatever their gender or sexual identities.
  • Postcolonial theory contributes the skill of describing religions through indigenous voices and indigenous concepts – learning not to see different religions as exotic or in need of comparison with Christianity, but able to speak for themselves.
  • In the UK the religious landscape is changing all the time and becoming plural in different ways, e.g. there are increasing numbers of people with hybrid spirituality that draws on several religious traditions. Non-religious world-views and new religious movements also have to be taken into account. Some religious or spiritual communities are transnational.

Relevance to RE

The article offers a stimulating, potentially very useful set of curricular and pedagogical checks: does teaching include lived, contemporary, people-centred accounts of religion? Are resources and teaching sensitive to the needs for balanced, equal representation by gender and sexuality? Are religions and their members allowed to speak for themselves? Do curriculum and pedagogy reflect different kinds of plurality, e.g. people whose spirituality draws on several religious traditions?

Generalisability and potential limitations

The article does not present data that can be generalisable, or not, as such; its contribution is to focus on an important issue (the relationship between religious studies and RE) and to identify useful, challenging questions for consideration and debate, amongst RE professionals in general.

Find out more

Developments in religious studies: towards a dialogue with religious education British Journal of Religious Education 36.1 pages 4-17 (published online 11 September 2013)

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01416200.2013.830960

 

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