The EFTRE Journal is produced twice per year in English (with occasional articles in other languages). It is an edited newsletter and we are looking for contributions which would be of interest to teachers in Religious Education classrooms. More about contributing to the newsletter.

The EFTRE Journal is an ISSN registered publication. Its ISSN number is:

ISSN 2045-4694

British Journal of Religious Education

The British Journal of Religious Education is an international peer reviewed journal which aims to promote and report research and scholarship in religious education and related fields such as values education, spiritual education and intercultural education insofar as they relate to the discussion of religion or religious traditions and movements. For further information and a free online sample copy, please visit:

Link to website

Journal of Beliefs and Values

The principal aim of Journal of Beliefs & Values is to focus critical enquiry relevant to four fields of study:

• theology, religious studies,religious education and values in education

The journal welcomes international, interdisciplinary and ecumenical debate. The distinctive contributions of the journal include:

• theological reflections on education, education in religion, spirituality in education, empirical perspectives on religion, spiritual life of children and adults

The Journal of Beliefs & Values maintains a specific interest in the scriptures of the major world faiths, especially their use in teaching within a multi-cultural context, in school, college and university.

Particular emphasis is placed on the interface between the theory and practice of religion and education, including research in formative factors like gender, race and religious pluralism.

Links to website

Norman Richardson and Tony Gallagher (Eds.)
Education for Diversity and Mutual Understanding: The experience of Northern Ireland

Peter Lang Publishing, Bern 2011, 371 pages, pb, 38,10€, £32.00
ISBN 978-3-03911-985-1

This is the first volume in a planned series on rethinking education and is a collection exploring the ideas around diversity and mutual understanding set in the context of Northern Ireland

Part One explores the background in a society which has had to struggle and which has made significant strides in developing mutual understand and moving well beyond tolerance and respect over the last 30 years.

Part Two explores how the theoretical ideas and ideals are put into practice in classrooms looking at strategies for dealing with conflict, prejudice and the misconceptions about the 'other'; how schools can be, and should be, safe spaces for exploring diversity and the different does not mean wrong

Part Three explores the future and how some of the lessons that have been learned in the Northern Ireland experience could be applied.

This is a thoughtful and reflective book, well grounded in theory, which honestly explores how we must tackle prejudice and discrimination at the school level and that "we need in some form of intercultural experience in our education systems ... that good quality education must address the realities of life in a diverse society, including its conflicts and divisions". It would be nice to think that this book is not needed but this is not so and those working in the field of religious education, intercultural education or diversity education would be well advised to add this to their reading lists.

Peter Lang's website

Religious Education and Social and Community Cohesion
An exploration of challenges and opportunities

McCrimmond Press
Size: A5 / 336 pages (approx.)
ISBN: 978 088597 7108
£17.95 / €21,50 (approx).

For his final book in a long and influential career in RE, Michael Grimmitt has commissioned fourteen chapters from distinguished educators and religious educators which address such questions as these and many more, not with the intention of closing down the current debate but opening it up and taking it further. In an introduction and an extended end piece, equivalent to four chapters, he also provides a personal commentary on how during his career several stages in the metamorphosis of the subject have occurred with a new stage now emerging in response to the changed circumstances of globalised and politicised religion.

Religious Education and Social and Community Cohesion will quickly become essential reading for anyone with a professional interest and engagement in RE. Like its predecessor, Pedagogies of Religious Education, it will prove invaluable as a text for student teachers following a PGCE course in RE, a source of reference for teachers undertaking research and research degrees in the subject, and, more widely, for all those who support the development of RE in their faith communities and through their membership of local SACREs. Hopefully it will provide an agenda for RE into the new decade.

Michael Grimmitt was, until recently, Professor of Religious Education at Oxford University and formally at the University of Birmingham. He has been involved in RE for over 40 years and his book "Pedagogies of Religious Education" (Ed. 2000) has been a seminal work in thinking about RE in the UK and wider.

This book can be ordered from the McCrimmonds website

Seeking Sense in the City

European Perspectives on Religious Education
Reihe: Dortmunder Beiträge zu Theologie und Religionspädagogik
Bd. 7, 2009, 256 S., 24.90 EUR, br., ISBN 978-3-643-10321-5

Young people have a perfect right to good education. They deserve committed educators, safe schools, powerful learning opportunities, but most of all a clear sense of direction, that offers them insight in the values, norms and beliefs of the global community. In Europe, there is a long tradition of public moral and religious education, in close cooperation with churches and faith communities. In this book the expertise of German, Dutch, English and French speaking scholars is collected and reflected on the basis of the metaphor of the city, the place of encounter with other people, in complexity and diversity. This book is an invitation to non-European scholars and educators to get acquainted with these insights.

Bert Roebben is professor of religious education at the Faculty of Humanities and Theology of the "Technische Universität Dortmund" in Germany. He is currently president of the International Association for the Study of Youth Ministry.

Read the introductory chapter

This book can be ordered from the Lit Verlang website

Waxmann Series - "Religious Diversity and Education in Europe"

Cok Bakker, Hans-Günter Heimbrock, Robert Jackson, Geir Skeie, Wolfram Weisse

Globalisation and plurality are influencing all areas of education, including religious education. The inter-cultural and multi-religious situation in Europe demands a re-evaluation of the existing educational systems in particular countries as well as new thinking at the broader European level. This new book series is committed to the investigation and reflection on the changing role of religion and education in Europe. Contributions will evaluate the situation, reflect on fundamental issues and develop perspectives for better policy making and pedagogy, especially in relation to practice in the classroom:

For details of this series of books - click here

Toledo Guiding Principles on teaching about religions and beliefs in public schools

This reference book is intended to help teachers, teacher administrators, policy makers and others deal with the important issue of religious diversity in Europe's schools. The group brought together to produce the Toledo Guiding Principles includes members of the ODIHR's Advisory Council of Experts on Freedom of Religion or Belief. These include authorities on international law (with experience in dealing with legal questions related to the exercise of religious freedom), education and the social sciences. Additional experts in the fields of religion, education and pedagogy were brought in to assist in the preparation of the guiding principles. The group as a whole reflects a range of different religious and non-religious positions, helping to ensure that the perspective of different religious and belief communities is taken into account and that the guiding principles are balanced and inclusive. The Toledo Guiding Principles includes chapters on the human rights framework and teaching about religions and beliefs, preparing curricula, teacher education and respecting rights in the process of implementing courses in teaching about religions and beliefs.

Download the full text

Gods in the city - Intercultural and inter-religious dialogue at local level

Clearly, "God is changing in Europe": religious faiths and beliefs are increasingly making their presence felt in the public arena, at all levels. Because religions are more and more often behind the forging and assertion of multiple identities, the authorities have a duty to take the utmost account of them when establishing democratic rules and arrangements for "living together". Local authorities are ideally placed to lead this work, which requires creativity, imagination, a willingness to engage in dialogue and the opening of meeting places. Such an approach needs to go hand-in-hand with an analysis of this new state of affairs. It also calls for the sharing of experience. It is for this reason that the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe has chosen this avenue and launched a debate, in which local political figures and university researchers have been closely involved. The fact that it is sizing up the issues thrown up by intercultural and interfaith dialogue and opting for an approach based on mutual knowledge means that it has chosen from the outset to break new ground. This is the key objective of this European contribution to democratic debate and to action by the authorities in the context of religious pluralism.

€25,00 (2008)

The book can be ordered from the Council of Europe Bookshop

Good Practice in Religious Education in Europe: Examples and Perspectives of Primary Schools

Case studies from different countries are presented with examples of successful and innovative classroom practice in religious education in Primary Schools in Europe. Religious education contributes to learning about religions that focuses on knowledge and understanding of religions and beliefs in the world today and learning from religions that offers students opportunities for personal reflection and spiritual developments and also to learning through religions that brings these aims together in a more integrated way, different approaches to religious education in the countries. The articles reflect underline the relation between religious education, the wider curriculum and whole school initiatives.

€19,90 (2007)

The book can be ordered from the Comenius site

Religious Education in Europe: Situations and current trends in schools

For many years the Intereuropean Commission on Church and School has sought to help professional educators and others find out more about the situation of Religious Education (RE) in European countries. This has been achieved through publications containing information about this school subject and by increasing the exchange among experts and developing comparative work. This has provided the background for a broader and more detailed overview of the position of RE in the different European countries which is contained in this new publication. lt is designed to form an introduction to the topic and to be a first point of reference for those specialists on Religious Education in their own countries who wish to understand what is happening in parts of Europe other than their own. lt will also help those involved more generally in education to understand the importance of Religious Education within the school systems in Europe.

€24,50 (2007)

The book can be ordered from IKO publishing or from the Comenius site

Religious Education and Christian Theologies: Some European Perspectives

Developments in theology and developments in religious education in different countries encourage a renewed dialogue between the two areas. In this book special emphasis is given to the role of Christian theologies in relation to religious education. In most countries of Europe religious education is part of the curriculum in public schools. Religious education is concerned with both education and religion and accepted as an academic subject in its own right. Its relationship with theology, religious studies and educational philosophy can be seen in contrasting ways due to different traditions and developments of the subject in Europe.

A working group of nine experts from eight countries have worked together for a period of two years with a mandate from the Intereuropean Commission on Church and School (ICCS) and the Comenius-Institut in Münster, Germany. The working process of the group has led to different types of articles. Some reflect group discussions; some are best understood as reports from ongoing projects, while some are theoretical discussions based on work with relevant literature. Together they may inspire various activities in exploring the field of religious education on many levels.

€19,90 (2006)

The book can be ordered from Comenius site

Religious Identity and intercultural education: a reference book for schools

This reference book is intended to to help teachers, teacher trainers, administrators, policy makers and others deal with the important issues of religious diversity in Europe's schools. The religious dimension of intercultural education is an issue that effects all schools, whether they are religiously diverse or not, because their pupils live and will work in increasingly diverse societies.

The reference book is the main outcome of the project "The challenge of intercultural education today: religious diversity and dialogue in Europe" developed by the council of Europe between 2002 and 2005.

The book can be found at the council of Europe publishing €15 http://coe.int or via the Comenius institute http://www.comenius.de

Religious Education in Schools: Ideas and Experiences from around the World.

This booklet was developed for the 'International Consultative Conference on School Education in Relation with Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance, and Non-Discrimination,' which was held in Madrid, Spain in late November and sponsored by the U.N.'s Commission for Human Rights.

Besides essays on the U.N.'s study paper and an introductory global survey, the booklet includes an overview of religious education in Northern Ireland, Turkey, Russia, South Africa, Nigeria, Taiwan, Australia, the United States, and Latin America. Some of the obstacles faced by educators and policy makers, as well as recommendations for future work, are offered.

Depending on the volume of requests, one copy will be sent free of charge to inquirers. Donations will be negotiated for any amounts in bulk. Requests should be made to:

Ms. Zarrín T. Caldwell
Issues and Research Coordinator
International Association for Religious Freedom
2 Market Street, Oxford OX1 3EF
tel. 44-1865-202-744, fax. 44-1865-202-746
http://www.iarf-religiousfreedom.net
email: zarrin@iarf.net

Using ICT in Religious Education

This book is the key text for people who wish to incorporate ICT into their RE lessons. It covers the use of 'basic' technology such as word-processing, databases, spreadsheets and desk-top publishing as well as using the internet and CD-ROMs to develop the teaching and learning of Religious Education in schools.

The author of this book also runs a number of educational web-pages associated with RE and ICT. He is a speaker both nationally and internationally on RE and ICT.

Copies of the book can be ordered from the publisher www.stanleythornes.com and more information on the use of ICT can be got by contacting the author, Paul Hopkins at

reandict@paulhopkins.org.uk

Committed to Europe's Future

This book is the text from the CoGREE consultation on the future of RE in Europe. It sets out the key arguments and essays on the development of the religious ideal with Europe.

Essay on European Developments, Education in Europe and RE in Europe form a corpus of literature that help the reader grasp the development in European RE over the last decade and to understand some of the debate in moving RE forward.

Copies can be ordered from:

Peter Schreiner at the:

Comenius Institut
Schreiberstrasse 12
D-48149, Münster

cogree@comenius.de

Towards Religious Competence

Scholars around Europe reflect on the changing role of religious education in a time of growing pluralism in Europe and across the world. The various contributions from different European countries focus on the debate about existing multi-cultural and multi-racial societies. Difference and diversity, especially of religion, is seen as a challenge for education in Europe.

Copies can be ordered from:

Peter Schreiner at the:

Comenius Institut
Schreiberstrasse 12
D-48149, Münster

cogree@comenius.de