The Imitation Game is a new method and, as such, it is important to show that its results are plausible and replicable. We tested this by conducting Imitation Games on religion in a range of European countries, returning approximately 12 months later to repeat the research. The idea was that non-Christian members of strongly Christian countries…

This article presents the results of an in-depth analysis of ten texts written by ten-year-old pupils during a religious education (RE) lesson about Jesus' parables. The texts from the pupils' notebooks were analysed with passages from the RE textbook and the teacher's handbook to explore how these books influenced the pupils' texts. The main…

This article is based on replies from over 2,200 parents with children in Norwegian Christian free schools. More than half of them say that they have chosen the school because it is Christian. About the same number give the reasons that the school is academically good, has a friendly atmosphere, and their child wanted to attend that school. The…

Different religions are treated in different ways in Norwegian sixth form textbooks. We carried out an exhaustive content analysis of the chapters devoted to individual religions in textbooks for the Religion and Ethics course currently available in Norway, using rigorous indicators to code each word, image and question according to whether they…

Although large international studies have defined Norway as one of the most secular countries in the world, Christian folk high schools in Norway have experienced record high attendance. This paper presents case studies of the religious education (RE) and practices of two Christian folk high schools in Norway. A survey shows that students at these…

This paper explores comparatively and historically why Nordic and Continental welfare and education regimes differ in the degree of comprehensiveness of their primary and lower secondary school systems. It analyses how school reforms, reform attempts and coalitions in the post-war decades were shaped by different cleavage structures in Norway and…

Based on a one-year longitudinal experimental study with 3,782 kindergarten school children across 15 countries, this article examines the association between prayer and happiness. Results show that the post-test scores on the faces scale were higher for the participant group who had taken the prayer lessons vis-à-vis the comparison group.…

The role of faith-based nursing education is contested in today's Northern European societies, which are often described as postmodern, pluralist, or secular. Although faith-based institutions played pioneering roles in the early development of nursing education, many today downplay their religious roots and have transformed themselves into modern…

The aim of the current study was to reveal attitudes towards child sexual abuse and investigate predictors of such attitudes. A random sample of the Norwegian adult population (n = 296), active Christians (n = 125) and prisoners convicted of child sexual abuse (n = 36) were included in the study. The results show that women were more negative…

Criticizes the notion that secular humanists and religious educators can equitably agree on a common or middle ground. Maintains that the so-called middle ground is often primarily secular ideology with a token acknowledgment of the validity of religious thought. Argues for a more open discussion with both positions receiving equal consideration.…