Metaphors were introduced to the science of cathedral studies by Muskett in her book, "Shop window, flagship, common ground." Such metaphors have the power to inform and shape the perception of cathedrals, but lack theological or ecclesial authority. Gary Hall's analysis of "The purpose of cathedrals" offers a different…

The following paper gives an abbreviated account of the argument in the recent book 'Challenges for Religious Education: is there a disconnection between faith and reason?' In paying particular attention to the perceived opposition between the systematic development of religious faith, on the one hand, and, on the other, the central educational…

The present paper reports findings from interviews with thirty ex-choristers from cathedrals and collegiate chapels in England, aged from eighteen to eighty. These interviews explored choristers' religious commitments before entering choir school and factors for staying with, leaving, or later returning to religious practice. The findings suggest…

This article argues that the teaching about Jesus in English primary schools urgently needs to include scholarship in Religious Education (RE) about teaching religion through the principles of Religion and Worldviews research and scholarship in Religious, Biblical and Theological Studies about decolonising the curriculum. RE teachers from the…

The Church of England's vision for education is generous and seeks to allow the riches of Christian life to overflow throughout schools. The vision is captured by the strapline 'Deeply Christian, serving the common good'. The present study assesses the contribution made to service this vision by the 43 Anglican cathedrals within England and the…

England and Wales are now amongst the least religious countries in the world. According to Census data between 2011 and 2021, the number of people identifying as having 'No Religion' jumped by over 8 million, from 25% to 37%. Further, although there was a small upward shift in those identifying with minority religions, during the same period, the…

The importance of key legislation in framing religious education in England is widely assumed, and indeed some argue that these Acts -- of 1870, 1944 and 1988 -- demarcate pedagogical phases, or paradigms. Policy and historical analyses have revealed the political and social disputes around legislation, but often conflate legislation with other…

In the course of the institutionalisation of modern school systems, the originally confessional schooling sector was largely transformed into a system regulated by public law, a process which is interpreted as secularisation. In a historical-comparative analysis, the secularisation paths of the classical educational nations England and France are…

This paper set out to explore and to compare the experiences and attitudes of self-identified Muslim students (N = 84) and self-identified Christian students (N = 87) attending the same Anglican primary schools in Wales within the context of the Student Voice Project. The data identified two distinct attitudinal trajectories, one assessed by the…

In recent years, many scholars have drawn a distinction between procedural and programmatic secularism. Procedural secularists seek to build communities wherein 'competing concepts of the good life' are afforded opportunities for expression. Programmatic secularists seek to limit the influence of religion within the public sphere. The 1870…

This paper analyses public conflicts over school policies that seek to advance Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality. It focuses in particular on conflicts where Muslims, who protest LGBT-inclusive policies, become racialised as other to secular national/Western values. Growing attention has been paid to the secular arguments used…

The right of parents to withdraw children from RE was conceived as a protection for the rights of religious minorities at a time when Religious Instruction in the community school was of a Christian confessional nature, this paper questions whether this provision is still coherent or necessary for contemporary multi-faith RE. Based on a survey of…

The aim of this article is to interact with Anita Gracie and Andrew W Brown's recent account of the historical development and nature of Controlled schools and of religious education in Northern Ireland in this journal. A complementary perspective is used to illustrate how the relationship between the Protestant churches and Controlled schools has…

Today, the term 'global' has become a pervasive description of universities that aim to alleviate their importance and reach. The global looks inherently big. By relating to a spherical shape it attributes size in two distinct ways: it signifies the comprehensive and extensive reach of a theme or issue as well as the spherical centrality of an…

Pedagogue's fallacy occurs when epistemological principles are applied by educators that in fact do not tell of, or explain, or help understand, the subject at hand. It is identified and introduced in this article to raise an important issue in the construction of pedagogical models of religious education: knowledge is reduced and/or distorted to…