Increasingly across sixteenth- and seventeenth-century Europe, schools paired training in behaviour with traditional instruction in reading and writing. Not only did the Council of Trent highlight the importance of training children in Christian comportment, but theological and philosophical tracts argued that the senses, rather than reason,…

This article initiates a discussion on incorporating "religious literacy" into Saudi secondary education. It provides a preliminary understanding of the religious education context and emphasizes that religious literacy is not religious education. It examines the arguments for and against the incorporation of religious literacy in the…

This article examines the place of ijtihad in the British Religious Education curriculum. It argues that the concept should be taught to high school students earlier than A-Level. Knowledge of ijtihad enables students to understand diversity of thought and legal interpretation in Islam, and why different conclusions can be reached from the same or…

Though the promotion of spiritual 'development' is statutory in state-maintained schools in England and Wales, it is neither clear what spirituality is nor how schools might educate in this area. In the literature, one finds an array of divergent conceptions of spirituality and spiritual education. There is, indeed, lack of agreement regarding…

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…

In the long history of the Catholic school in Europe, it has taken various forms, linked to local cultures and to the history, particularly religious but also political, of each state. While it is possible to account for this diversity, it is also important to highlight common features and challenges, such as secularisation and globalisation,…

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…

To what extent do teachers' sense of their religious, cultural and national identity impact on their attitudes and approaches to the teaching of religion in publicly funded schools in Northern Ireland? In a context where schooling remains largely separate according to perceived religious identity, can religious education contribute positively to…

In "Carson v. Makin," the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that, if a state offers tuition assistance for students to attend private schools, then requiring that those private schools be nonsectarian violates the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment. Robert Kim discusses how this case aligns with other decisions related to the free…

Judas Iscariot has a pivotal role in the story of Jesus of Nazareth, particularly in the events in the last days of his life. But information about Judas provided in the New Testament is scant. Many details about his life, career and motivations for acting in the events of Jesus' final days have been amplified by those outside the biblical…

In Islamic religious education (IRE), as well as in the context of pedagogical and theological Islamic Studies at universities, Muslim educators, teachers, and learners in Germany and Austria encounter each other in a cultural, religious, theological, and ideological plurality. However, the existing intra-Muslim plurality is often neglected and…

The Ritual in Practice Project, adapted from Elizabeth Corrie's Ascetic Withdrawal assignment, asks students in an introductory Religious Studies course at a public university to create a unique ritual practice, engage in it for a month, reflecting on it throughout the project. This activity attempts to circumvent what Jeanine Weakes Schoer calls…

The purpose of this study is to explore whether happiness is the ultimate goal of higher education. In order to discuss this article systematically, four research questions are addressed. First, what are the concepts and principles of happiness in terms of religion and philosophy? Second, what are significant factors of happiness? Third, what are…

The child's right to freedom of religion and belief and fundamental principles such as equality and non-discrimination constitute an international frame for religious education (RE). However, these rights might be challenged when RE is allocated a major role in transmitting the majority religion as national cultural heritage and national identity.…

This article discusses the place of 'theology' in multi-faith Religious Education (RE) in English schools without a religious affiliation, highlighting reasons for its sometimes taboo-status, particularly since the emergence of Ninian Smart's phenomenological approach to Religious Studies in the late 1960s. The article explores a diversity of…