Teaching about religion in public schools is a complicated and nuanced topic. Though religious illiteracy has been named as a widespread concern throughout the United States, little research has been conducted that critically analyzes what teachers are asked to cover. Preservice teachers often confess they do not understand what they are and are…

Even though religious schools are common in Australia, many government schools provide religious instruction (RI) classes. Religious instruction involves students being segregated into faith based groups so as to receive instruction in the beliefs and practices of "one" religion. This practice also occurs in many other countries. In…

The present study aimed to explore the link between intercultural sensitivity, the four dimensions of cyberbullying, i.e. aggression, victimisation, cyber-defending, and passive bystander behaviour), and religious education as a formal study discipline in schools. Our sample consisted of 241 high school students (M = 18.54, SD = 0.49, 61% males).…

In this article, I explore an ethical and pedagogical dilemma that I encounter each semester in my world religions courses: namely, that a great number of students enroll in the courses as part of their missionary training programs, and come to class understanding successful learning to mean gathering enough information about the world's religious…

Asynchronous online instruction has become increasingly popular in the field of religious studies. However, despite voluminous research on online learning in general and numerous articles on online theological instruction, there has been little discussion of how to effectively design and deliver online undergraduate courses in religious studies.…

The process of teaching world religions is fraught with dispositional and pedagogical concerns for pre-service teachers. To address these issues, middle grades pre-service teachers were asked to integrate an inquiry-based approach while considering their own histlexia, which we define as an inability to articulate positions. The findings of this…

What is the place of teaching about other world religions in a Jewish educational curriculum for adolescents? This article explores a course in world religions that has been taught at the Genesis Program at Brandeis University since 2001. Based on a participant observational study during 2002 and 2012, the author traces how the teachers construct…

This essay presents educational principles of Mahatma Gandhi, specifically principles of character education, as a model for strengthening non-violence in students. Its major concern is to show that Gandhi's ideal of non-violent character education is important for university teaching in disciplines including religious studies, and that Gandhi…

Treating creationism as a controversial topic within the science and religion issue in the science classroom has been widely discussed in the recent literature. Some researchers have proposed that this topic is best addressed by focusing on sociocognitive conflict. To prepare new learning opportunities for this approach, it is necessary to know…

In this article, the author investigates the controversial curricular and instructional aspects of teaching about Islam in social studies courses. Specifically, the author discusses pedagogically sound approaches to teaching about "jihad" and "Shari'ah" law, two of the most important and controversial concepts in Islam that often generate intense…

How should religion be integrated into school curriculum? The authors compare two recent controversies about religion in school curriculum to provide an overarching perspective that can guide educators in their efforts to use religion for pedagogical purposes. The first controversy concerns curriculum approved by the California State Board of…

The aim of this article is to compare the teaching of religion in government-run primary and secondary educational institutions in Poland and Canada (Ontario and Quebec). The theoretical framework for this work is supplied by the general idea that the school is an organization and social institution. It is concluded that religious instruction in…

I begin by examining the natures of science and religion before looking at the ways in which they relate to one another. I then look at a number of case studies that centre on the relationships between science and religion, including attempts to find mechanisms for divine action in quantum theory and chaos theory, creationism, genetic engineering…

For decades, educators have wrestled with how to handle the increasingly diverse religions of an increasingly diverse student body. Sometimes, the line between church and state--what schools can and cannot do under the Constitution--can feel confusing and slippery. Today, religion has become a subject one high school teachers describes as even…

Although inter-religious conflicts have not yet surfaced as major social problems in Japan, religious education for peace and tolerance is needed in the country as much as in other countries. This article aims to disclose that, in light of political contexts, supposedly neutral "teaching about religion" can be as problematic as history…