Teaching about Religions in European School Systems – Policy issues and trends

Luce Pépin, 2009, Network of European Foundations (NEF), 92 p.

This study was prepared within the framework of the “Religion and Democracy in Europe” Initiative of the Network of European Foundations (NEF). It provides an overview of the diversity of approaches in place in the European Union as far as teaching about religions in schools is concerned. While confessional education remains the most widespread approach, non-confessional and pluri-religious teaching, as well as teaching about “religious facts” seems to be gaining ground, in line with recommendations adopted at European level. The study identifies key issues and challenges facing EU education systems if teaching about religions is to contribute effectively to intercultural and citizenship education. It proposes a European reference framework on the conditions for high-quality intercultural teaching about religions and other convictions in state education.

The study is accessible in English and French on the NEF website: www.nefic.org

Westhill Seminars

Teachers and researchers in RE are invited to apply for a place at these high quality and inspirational weekend seminars

• 27th – 29th November, 2009, Glasgow; Teachers’ lives, pupils’ lives in RE with Prof Vivienne Baumfield and Professor Julian Stern
• 9-11th April 2010, Oxford; Creativity and religious education with Professor Michael Grimmitt and Professor Andrew Wright

Two 48 hour residential seminars linking RE classrooms with research, supported by the Westhill Trust, are open for bookings.

• The British Journal of RE and NATRE are co-operating with the Christian Education Research Committee to run these opportunities for professional development.
• The first, from 27-29th November at the University of Glasgow, will explore issues around teachers’ lives and experience.
• The second, in Oxford, from 9-11th April 2010, will be about creativity and RE.
• Details for teachers who want to join the seminars are on the NATRE website.
• Thanks to the generosity of the Westhill Trust, teachers will only need to pay £95 full board for a place on the seminars.
• Places are limited to 25 per seminar, so early application is essential

Full details and booking form can be found on the NATRE website (www.natre.org.uk)

Special Offer for students

Shap is making a special offer to students for its calendar of religious festivals. The 2009/10 calendar can be theirs for only £5.00 and they can get the calendar and the pictorial calendar for only £10.00. Download for more details.

New on-line resource

If you’d like to know how to cater for a mixed faith gathering or why so many people today are vegetarians, help is at hand. For the first time ever, the Shap Working Party on Education in Religions has published its annual journal directly on-line at www.shap.org – and the 2009 topic is Food, Faith and Community. This new e-journal includes a wide variety of free articles for teachers and others interested in learning more about religions and beliefs, with contributions from perspectives rarely found in conventional text books, for example Zoroastrian, Pagan, Bahá’i, Humanist, Orthodox Christian, as well as from the more familiar religions.

Also at www.shap.org: an audio-glossary of words from different traditions to help with pronunciation as well as definition; practical classroom ideas for primary teachers; the Shap advisory service; articles on topics from The Environment to Conflict and Reconciliation, from Diversity and Distinctiveness to Human Rights and Responsibilities…

Notes for editors

For more information about the 2009 e-journal Food, Faith and Community, please see http://www.shapworkingparty.org.uk/journals/articles_0910/editorial.pdf or contact marilyn.mason@virgin.net.

To contact any of the authors of articles in the e-journal, please email marilyn.mason@virgin.net.

For more about the Shap Working Party on Education in Religions, contact Chair Clive Lawton at clive@clivelawton.co.uk.

British Journal of Religious Education on Social Sciences Citation Index and Arts and Humanities Citation Index

Professor Robert Jackson, Editor of the British Journal of Religious Education, published by Routledge, is delighted to announce that the journal has been selected for inclusion in both the Social Sciences Citation Index® (SSCI) and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index® (A&HCI) backdates to issues from 2008.

The Social Sciences Citation Index® and the Arts and Humanities Citation Index®, accessed via Web of Science®, use “100% objective journal selection standards: Content is carefully evaluated and selected, meeting high standards in areas such as impact, influence, timeliness, peer review, and geographic representation. These standards assure users of superior results that cannot be matched by a free search engine or less selective database.“ – Thomson Reuters

The recent inclusion of British Journal of Religious Education reflects the high quality of articles published in the Journal and marks an important milestone in its continued development.

The journal publishes articles on religious education from around the world, many of them relating to themes such as citizenship education, intercultural education, human rights education and peace education.

For more information about the Journal, including information on how to submit an article, visit the British Journal of Religious Education homepage.

MA in Religious Education by Distance Learning

The course aims to develop the skills and understanding of those who already work or intend to work in fields connected with religious education in schools or in other branches of the education profession. The approach is pluralistic and multi-religious and our students may be of any faith or none.

Our MA is unique, drawing on the vast expertise of the Warwick Religions and Education Research Unit and delivered through distance learning methods. To discuss this further please contact Dr Julia Ipgrave julia.ipgrave@warwick.ac.uk

Click on the logo to visit our website.

Alternative spiritualities, the New Age and New Religious Movements in Ireland: an interdisciplinary conference, October 30th-31st, 2009.

For more details see the conference website

Inter-Faith dialogue by e-mail? A new book by Jackson, Ipgrave and McKenna as part of the REDCo project - more