Viewing archives for Non-religious worldviews

Research Summary

“Most U.S. adults identify with a particular religious denomination or group. They describe themselves as Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Jewish, Mormon or Muslim– to name just a few of the hundreds of identities or affiliations that people give in surveys. Others describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or say they have no particular religious affiliation. These are the conventional categories into which Americans sort themselves. But a new Pew Research Center analysis looks at beliefs and behaviors that cut across many denominations – important traits that unite people of different faiths, or that divide people who have the same religious affiliation – producing a new and revealing classification, or typology, of religion in America.” (Summary taken from original press release at http://www.pewforum.org/2018/08/29/the-religious-typology/ downloaded on September 12 2018.)

Researcher

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

Research Institution

Pew Research Center, Washington DC

What is this about?

This is about the different religious groups in the US, and how they vary internally, in terms of religious commitment, behaviour or attitudes to religion. Survey data were used to generate seven categories of religiosity that cut across religious boundaries. E.g. ‘Sunday Stalwarts’ are the traditionalist, highly engaged members, ‘Diversely Devout’ are those who whilst traditionalist are also open to ‘New Age’ beliefs such as reincarnation or psychic power and ‘Religion Resisters’ are those who think that institutional religion does more harm than good. The other categories are ‘God-and-Country Believers’, ‘Relaxed Religious’, ‘Spiritually Awake’ and ‘Solidly Secular’.

What was done?

A survey of 4729 respondents was done. It included 16 questions about their religious and spiritual beliefs and practices, the value they place on their religion, and the other sources of meaning and fulfillment in their lives. The typology groups were then created using cluster analysis, a statistical technique that identified homogeneous groups of respondents based on their answers.

Main findings and outputs

The findings are quite extensive and readers are directed to the main report (link below), but some examples can be given so as to provide a flavour. What is interesting is how the categories cut across traditional religious and non-religious lines:

• Some data may be unsurprising (76% of the ‘Solidly Secular’ have no religious affiliation).
• However, it raises questions that 17% of the ‘Solidly Secular’ category identify as Christian.
• Within Religion Resisters, non-Christian religious faiths contribute their highest overall percentage (11%).
• They only make up 6% of the ‘Sunday Stalwart’ category, which could be down to population or survey factors; the word ‘Sunday’ is used because 90% of the group belong to Christian churches and it did not figure in survey questions.
• There are interesting sub-findings, e.g. 19% of ‘Sunday Stalwarts’ and 12% of ‘Solidly Secular’ believe in reincarnation; 98% of ‘Religion Resisters’ believe there is spiritual energy located in physical things such as mountains, trees or crystals.

Relevance to RE

The final Commission on RE report speaks of the need for a deeper understanding of the complex, diverse and plural nature of worldviews at both institutional and personal levels, and to ensure that pupils understand that there are different ways of adhering to a worldview. This Pew Center research gives an original, imaginative illustration of these factors. RE curriculum developers and teachers could use it to consider how to represent diversity within religions; teacher trainers could use it to illustrate the need for this to trainees.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The survey was large-scale (4729 respondents) and care was taken to achieve a representative sample. One limitation is that the US rather than the UK is represented. The researchers also acknowledge that identifying cluster groups is as much art as science. However, UK teachers and researchers could take note of the problematising of religious categories and perhaps find ways to explore similar issues in our own contexts.

Find out more

The full Pew Centre research bulletin is available for free download at http://www.pewforum.org/2018/08/29/the-religious-typology/

Research Summary

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 Summary

Marking and feedback are essential parts of the teaching process, which allow teachers to know whether what they have taught has been learnt and therefore allow teachers to address the needs of pupils. They are also requirements for all teachers. However, they are time consuming and burdensome upon teachers. Technology has the potential to transform education, for teachers and for pupils. This study aims to investigate the role that technology has in the assessment of RE with the expectation that any benefits would also be felt in other curriculum subjects.

Researchers

Sam McKavanagh & Dr James Robson

Research Institution

University of Oxford

What is this about?

The planning was guided by these questions.

• In assessment, what can technology do that traditional methods cannot?
• How can the use of technology for assessment be beneficial to pupils?
• How can the use of technology for assessment be beneficial to teachers?
• How can technology allow us to meet the assessment objectives of RE?

What was done?

The three action cycles used different tools to assess pupils; multiple choice questions were used for each assessment.

• Cycle One (Traditional): pupils completed assessments using pen and paper.
• Cycle Two (Plickers): pupils held up unique pieces of card in different orientations to indicate their answer. The teacher’s smartphone could read and record the pupils’ response.
• Cycle Three (EDpuzzle) – through this website pupils watched videos that the teacher had embedded with questions. Scores were recorded so the teacher could track progress over time.

At the end of each cycle the following were conducted:

• whole-cohort questionnaires;
• small-group interviews; and
• teacher interviews.

Main findings and outputs

The findings show that technology:

• saved time;
• helped give quick and useful feedback;
• collated results;
• improved record keeping;
• reduced teacher workload; and
• increased pupil engagement.

In contrast, traditional methods of assessment failed to offer these benefits. Marking and feedback remained burdensome tasks for teachers and pupils did not respond favourably to them.

Technology has an important role in the assessment of RE. Pupils assessed using traditional methods and those assessed with technology showed no discernable differences in their results. The benefits to the teacher were clear: they saw a reduction in workload and were able to give immediate feedback and discuss issues with pupils which would not have had been possible with traditional methods. As Plickers and EDpuzzle can collate pupils’ results teachers can easily keep track of pupils’ performance across time, with minimal effort on their part. It is expected that these advantages would not only apply to RE and that teachers of other subjects, and in other school settings, would also benefit.

Relevance to RE

This was a piece of practitioner research and other teachers were involved in the collection of data. Therefore it will have real applicability to other teachers of RE.

The technology used is free to obtain and use and does not require pupil ownership of devices – this increases the accessibility to the technology.

One of the key findings was the savings in time for teachers whilst assessing and the production of useful real-time data, which they could use immediately to provide effective feedback to pupils.

Generalisability and potential limitations

Given the method of answer collection which the technology used, the research focussed on AT1/A01 (‘factual’ knowledge) the research did not attempt to assess AT2/A02 (‘learning from religion’) – whilst this should be possible, it was deemed that it would be stretching the research too thinly and that less clear results would be drawn. It would therefore be beneficial to retrial these technologies to attempt to assess AT2/A02 as well.

Given the length of the research project it was not possible to tell if pupils would become ‘bored’ or less enthused with the technologies the more normalised they became. A longer research process would uncover whether this is the case.

Find out more

McKavanagh, S. (2017). The role of technology in the assessment of RE (Master’s thesis). University of Oxford.

https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:27d8b9ef-0cab-4116-827a-d9b615627860

Research Summary

The relationship between religion and human rights is an ambiguous and complex one, but there are academic, moral and political arguments for the inclusion of human rights in religious education (RE). The Universal Declaration of Human Rights advocates education in human rights and the English school curriculum aims to encourage a commitment to human rights. This article examines the arguments for the inclusion of human rights in RE. It explores whether English secondary RE curricula encourage the study of human rights and the link with religion. This is perceived through a post secular context, one which is marked by the continuing presence of religion in the modern world. The article suggests that there are compelling arguments for the inclusion of human rights in RE, but identifies a questionable variability among local agreed syllabi and GCSE specifications which makes RE an inconsistent ally for the national and international human rights education movement.

Researchers

Dr Robert Bowie

Research Institution

Canterbury Christ Church University

What is this about?

This is a policy study of recent changes around the moral and values aims of education in English schooling. It shows the transition from a values vision framed around human rights to one that is framed around British values.

What was done?

The analysis of policy documentation used a triangulation of conceptual frames: Schwartz’s theoretical structure of values, Baxi’s conceptualisation of rights and Lohrenscheit’s notion of learning about and learning for human rights as these.

Main findings and outputs

Governments offer different political conceptions around what the moral formation of children in schools should encourage, in terms of social change or conservation, local or international allegiances, and moral education as state protection or advocacy around protection from the state. Different governments, at different times and facing different situations, come to different conclusions about what values education should encourage or facilitate. Policy change indicates underlying change, inconsistency and uncertainty around the negotiation of national and international values in English schools. It is clear that there has been a significant change of direction in education policy since 2007 driven by PREVENT and fundamental British values and the concerns around international terrorism and cohesion. However much there might be a feeling that the 2016 political events reflect a sudden unexpected change towards nationalism and away from internationalism, education policy was a signpost towards that direction of travel. Whether this marks an abandonment of human rights education, or a new phase of development towards a locally, nationally conceptualized HRE remains to be seen. This need not necessarily be interpreted as a loss of an ideal or indeed an obituary for HRE.

Relevance to RE

RE engages with international dimensions in that religions and belief systems reach beyond national boundaries. The article provokes reflection on the extent to which RE might be focussed on a vision of education that is framed exclusively by national interests or whether there is scope for an internationalist vision of RE.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This is a conceptual study – focussed around policy formation. It charts developments rather than proposes solutions.

Find out more

Bowie, R. (2017) The rise and fall of human rights in English education policy: Inescapable national interests and PREVENT. Education, Citizenship and Social Justice, 12 (2). pp. 111-122.

http://create.canterbury.ac.uk/15514/#rVylRH5sJ3uxeTwO.99

Research Summary

In this thesis, I explore the introduction of creativity into Religious Education lessons. I will present a mixed methods case study research project focusing on a Year 8 all boys’ class within a large high achieving independent school. This study takes place in a largely secular classroom, in an environment where students are very highly motivated to do well. During this study, the questions I will explore are: What effect does creatively interpreting biblical text have on the students’ intrinsic motivation to work? What effect does the use of iPads with biblical text have on the students’ ability to unlock creativity? What effect does the creative interpretation have on helping students to interpret the meaning of passages?

Researcher

Mr Tom Jenkins

Research Institution

University of Cambridge

What is this about?

The use of creativity and IT to engage students in religious studies. What effect does creativity have on the students’ ability to make meaning?

What was done?

Mixed methods case study. Methods: lesson observation, pupil questionnaires, pupil interviews, and student work analysis.

Main findings and outputs

Research Question 1: What effect does creatively interpreting biblical text have on the students’ intrinsic motivation to work?
I can conclude that in my study creatively interpreting biblical text did have a positive effect on my students’ intrinsic motivation. I did anticipate that this might be so, however I did not anticipate the reasons why creativity would increase their motivation, and for me this was the interesting aspect. Students were motivated by the opportunity to be creative because it gave them a chance to express themselves, and also their viewpoints. It also gave them the freedom of choice to choose their learning, and this proved to be a valuable opportunity to the students.

Research Question 2: What effect does the use of iPads with biblical text have on the students’ ability to unlock creativity?
In response to this RQ I find that I share the view of London Knowledge Lab (Team, 2013), that the effectiveness of the iPad depends on the manner in which it is used, not in anything intrinsic to itself. For some students it was helpful to use an iPad, in particular if they struggled with more traditional ways of being creative (drawing). However, it is also clear that there were times when students would have preferred not to use an iPad, and to return to previous methods of creativity. The iPad can also be restrictive to some students, and using an iPad is as much a skill as drawing is.

Research Question 3: What effect does the creative interpretation have on helping students to interpret the meaning of passages?
This was the most interesting RQ, and I found that creatively interpreting the meaning of passages does have a positive effect on the students’ ability to interpret the meaning. Some of the pieces of work I examined on the Good Samaritan were quite powerful, and they captured the heart of the passage very strongly. It appears that applying the parable to a modern day example helped the students understand the concept of social responsibility, and how to be ‘active’ rather than ‘passive’ members of society. I can also conclude that because the students had to create their own versions of the bible passages, they had to understand them in great detail. This was very clear in even the most basic responses to the task, and it became a clear indicator of ability and progress. The use of creativity also had a final unexpected effect on the students, which was that it made them reflect upon themselves and each other. During the course of creating their own Good Samaritan and Sower parables, the students reflected upon chances they have had to be helpful to one another. Applying the bible passages to the modern world also accomplished a further thing, which was to make religious education relevant to the students of today.

Relevance to RE

This research will help inform RE teachers about the benefits of using creativity in RE lessons, it will also provide some ideas as to how this can be done. This project will also stimulate conversation over how to make RE relevant in today’s society, and it will reference good pieces of literature on this viewpoint.

Generalisability and potential limitations

This was a small scale study, carried out with a small sample number, in a school with a 1:1 iPad scheme.

Find out more

Title: Making Meaning. A Critical Examination of the Effects of Creativity on the Meaning Making and Motivation of High Attaining Year 8 Students Studying the Gospels

Research Summary

We Need to Talk about RE (London: Jessica Kingsley, 2017) is a collection of essays by established and emerging RE leaders commenting on theory, practice and policy around RE. The book focuses mainly on the English system, with European and wider global contexts referred to. Each chapter is a grounded, research-informed provocation. The book is edited by Dr Mike Castelli (currently Executive Chair of the Association of University Lectuters in Religion and Education) and Dr Mark Chater (currently Director of a charitable trust supporting RE).

Researchers

Mike Castelli, Mark Chater & Linda Woodhead

Research Institution

Several

What is this about?

The book as a whole promotes public discussion on what is needed from a new model of RE. The book argues that we need to talk about RE for several reasons: because so much is changing in the culture of schools; because teachers of RE are ‘cultural and religious heroes caught up in a conflicted education system’; because the kind of RE practised UK is unique, but gravely in danger of dismemberment and neglect; because of the urgent need to find consensus about the purpose and place of RE; and because wider society needs better ways of dealing with religious and cultural ‘otherness’.

What was done?

Each of the fifteen authors uses a distinctive methodology based on their own professional experience as teachers, researchers, practitioners, policy makers or consultants.

Main findings and outputs

Each chapter, written by a different author, offers a manifesto for change. The postscript, written by a serving teacher of RE, argues passionately for change based on clarity of purpose.

Relevance to RE

Trainee and serving teachers will find the book a stimulating, provocative and hope-inspiring daily companion to their practice.

Generalisability and potential limitations

There is no programmatic set of findings or recommendations.

Find out more

Castelli, M. And Chater, M (2017) ed. We Need to Talk about Religious Education: Manifestos for the Future of RE.London: Jessica Kingsley Publishing.

Research Summary

This article provides a reconstruction of the processes leading to the formation of the widely influential Birmingham Agreed Syllabus of Religious Instruction (1975). This is contextualised within one of the most significant periods in the history of race relations in the United Kingdom. The authors discuss how this syllabus, and other landmark reforms in religious education (RE) in English schools from the late 1960s, responded to ethnic diversity by promoting supposedly culturally pluralist, multi-faith approaches to RE.

Researchers

Prof Stephen Parker & Prof Rob Freathy

Research Institution

University of Worcester

What is this about?

The research inquired into the multiple causes of a crucial moment of curriculum change in religious education. Given the stated importance of this particular syllabus to English RE history, it seemed important to us to understand how it came about.

What was done?

The research utilised historical methodologies to reconstruct a moment in curriculum history.

Main findings and outputs

• That the history of the subject can help us to understand the nature and purpose of RE in the present.
• That curriculum change in RE is often highly controversial, and sometimes bound up with notions of national and religious identity.
• That RE is often seen by policy-makers as a vehicle for social cohesion.
• That the influences upon developments in RE are multiple.

Relevance to RE

As background to a masters level study of RE policy, or to get to grips with how RE came to be as it is.

Generalisability and potential limitations

The paper needs to be read in conjunction with other related work by the authors to contextualise this important period in the recent history of the subject.

Find out more

Parker, S.G., Freathy, R.J.K. (2012) Ethnic diversity, Christian hegemony and the emergence of multi-faith religious education in the 1970s, History of Education: journal of the History of Education Society, 41: 3, 381–404.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0046760X.2011.620013