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…

Set against the background of mid-nineteenth century concerns about an erosion in the denomination's standing and influence, this article highlights the differing responses to the matter from parties within the Church of England, which determined their degree of sympathy with proposals for an education act. Specifically, we point out that the…

This article studies the relationship between the authorities of newly independent India and mission schools using the case of (and the perspective/sources from) the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Chotanagpur (then South Bihar, now Jharkhand). These relationships were marked by much tension in the late 1940s and early 1950s. An abundance of…

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…

In a context of growing globalisation and European integration, Christian religious education seems to be more and more neglected within the social debate. Given the differences between European countries, the question may arise: What is the relevant situation in Romania? The article analyses the religious education and spiritual development as a…

This paper traces the influence of failed Christian organisation Logos Foundation on Australian secular schooling debates across the 1970s and 1980s. Concerned with the changing nature of secular schooling in the 1970s and 1980s, religiopolitical organisations lobbied for increased parental choice in the ethos of education for their children.…

During the twentieth century, an increasing amount of data was collected in connection with engineering of the modern states including their education systems. In the Nordic welfare states post WW2, such data were also generated in experimental projects aiming at reforming curriculum and education, and the data were accumulated either as…

Though personhood formation is often perceived as an important aim of Christian education, there is little clarity about how the concept can be understood from a Christian perspective. Furthermore, teachers lack the tools to nourish the development of students' personhood. In this article, we develop a framework that aims to fill these gaps. The…

The aim of this article is to interact critically with Matthew Clayton and David Stevens's recent critique of non-confessional religious education, constituted as a separate, compulsory subject in the school curriculum. Three different critical arguments are considered: the contention that religious education is an unsuitable vehicle for fostering…

This article explores the process of the formation of "the National Society for Promoting the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church" through focusing on disagreements amongst its promoters. It demonstrates that a discrepancy existed in the opinions of Anglican promoters concerning what an Anglican national…

The ideological role of English, beyond its instrumental value, is reported to be immense. British colonial rule deployed English as an ideological tool which facilitated colonial subjugation and religious conversion. Connections between English and evangelism have widened in the postcolonial and globalising world, leading to labelling English as…

This article reports on research into the influence of teachers' religious beliefs in religious education. Drawing on accounts from eleven teachers in Controlled Schools in Northern Ireland, it shows the contested space many of them occupy in relation to handling personal beliefs, teaching about diverse religions and articulating a public…

When the purified National Party (NP) came to power in South Africa in 1948, they introduced educational policies based on the ideology of apartheid. At that time 7,183 pupils attended primary education in 110 Lutheran Norwegian mission schools in Zululand and Natal. When the State took over these schools after the passing of the Bantu Education…

The article forms an analysis of the religious discrimination discourse in Polish public schools, with special attention paid to the culturally specific, Polish understanding of the notion of religious discrimination. The introductory part presents the concept of religious discrimination as present in anti-discriminatory policies. The following…

Despite more than 25 years of existence of Kazakhstan in a new political reality after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the government and society are still afraid of religious institutions and alternatives in many areas of social life, including education. This article reviews the reasons for such an attitude and the issues that arise with…