This article argues that the field of religious education can have a clearer sense of identity if religious educators recognize the threads of historical continuity in the field and forge bonds of greater unity in our professional guild by adopting a shared commitment to explore various modes of religious learning as expressions of the universal…

This essay surveys C. S. Lewis's statement and critique of British education as found in "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" (Lewis, 1961) and other works within his oeuvre. In this short story, Lewis elaborates on the state of education in postwar English society through the eyes of his protagonist: a demon. In distilling Lewis's Christian…

The idea of the heart-orientation dimension of worldview has been in the literature for over two decades but it lacks the conceptual refinement of the propositional and behavioral dimensions. The authors argue for distinct parameters within the heart-orientation dimension of a worldview which currently do not exist in the literature. A conceptual…

Religious Education in Zambia and perhaps more widely needs to become more aware of how religion is expressed culturally. 'Learning about' religion or religions, which is a common practice, has limited value. It needs a 'learning from' dimension. It will be contended that this 'learning from' has been extensively neglected in Zambia. A key reason…

Although some have attempted to appropriate elements of Montessori education to select groups of adults (e.g., for learning disabilities, second language acquisition, dementia patients), there have been no comprehensive attempts to validate the adaptation of this approach to the adult learner in general. This exploratory study attempts to provide…

The Adult Religious Education and Faith Development project (AREFD) was launched in 2018 at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, DCU. As part of the study, the research team consulted variety of people involved in AREFD across a range of contexts. The purpose of these consultations was to harness their 'lived wisdom', showcasing the wide…

The aim of this study is to reveal the questions asked by children aged 4--6 about religious issues and to reveal adults' methods of answering these questions. The study, which was designed as a multiple case study, was carried out with Qur'an course teachers and the mothers who sent their children on the Qur'an courses. As a result of the study,…

The devastating impacts of climate change on daily life are becoming more and more apparent. These challenging times call for religious educators in all contexts to help faith communities bring the lens of climate justice to all aspects of faith formation. In this article, the Religious Education Association (REA) 2024 program chairs share…

Food (systems, cultures, and practices of eating) is a significant site of cultural, political, and identity formation to which religious educators can pay attention, not only in a critical sense--to be "readers" of culture--but also as a potential path of creative engagement and re-formation--a way to become "cultural…

The scientific study of religion has steered toward materiality. Herein, researchers have highlighted the intricate role of the human body and its sensorium for perceiving objects. With this trend, a text-based approach to religion has become less prominent. However, parallel exploratory efforts have been underreported for religious education…

Accountability pressures in education have risen steadily over the last two decades and public schools and districts now track school- and student-level data in response to state and federal mandates. Catholic schools and dioceses have not faced the same level of regulation over this period, and less is known about data access and use in the…

Describing the work of a director of the department of religious education of a national church, this article attempts to show how the work is multi-faceted and intense, meeting the many needs of parishes and their religious education programs. The essay also offers a reflection on the lessons learned from nearly fifteen years in this position.

This paper contributes to the ongoing debate surrounding the place of 'worldviews' in Religious Education. We examine the British Commission on Religious Education proposal that the subject be renamed 'Religions and Worldviews' from the perspective of Worldview Theory and Critical Religious Education and make the following suggestions: (a) the…

The omnipresence of multiple crisis diagnoses in contemporary public discourse deeply affects religious education (RE). At first sight, this does not seem to be surprising, insofar as it corresponds to the pedagogical ambition to meaningfully respond to challenges in the lifeworld of learners. Yet, what happens when current phenomena are framed as…

In order to include all outlooks and perspectives on the world prevalent in contemporary society, countries like Sweden have replaced traditional religious education with worldview education. However, current worldview theory fails to make justice to two important facts concerning the contemporary religious landscape. Firstly, a great many people…