The interpretive approach as a research tool : inside the REDCo project

This contribution shows how the author’s interpretive approach to religious education was used as a theoretical and pedagogical stimulus and an empirical research tool by researchers in the European Commission Framework 6 REDCo (Religion, Education, Dialogue, Conflict) Project. The origins and development of the interpretive approach, from its roots in the ethnographic study of children from religious backgrounds, are summarised, and an account is given about how its key concepts were used to frame a checklist of questions for REDCo researchers dealing with both empirical research methodology and pedagogy. Examples and case studies are presented illustrating how the approach was used by REDCo researchers as a methodological tool for empirical research, a pedagogical tool or stimulus to pedagogical clarification and a tool for meta-analysis and theory development

Contextual religious education and the interpretive approach

This article responds to Andrew Wright's critique of my views on the representation of religions. Using various literary devices - associating my work closely with that of others whose views are in some ways different from my own, referring very selectively to published texts and exaggerating, and sometimes misrepresenting, what I actually say - Wright presents my work as dualistic, nominalist and as not genuinely hermeneutical. Wright contrasts what he sees as my extreme idea of religions as 'constructions' with his own view of them as 'social facts'. My reply illustrates and responds to Wright's account of my work, clarifies my own position and raises questions about Wright's views, especially in relation to those of Gavin Flood, whom he cites with favour. My conclusion includes the suggestion that, although our epistemological positions are different in some ways, they spawn pedagogies utilising some common principles and values

Foreword

This important book recognises that issues of religion and education in Europe need to be addressed in an interdisciplinary way. Not only do research methods from the social sciences and humanities need to be applied, but insights from a range of disciplines are also necessary for a broad understanding of the issues, especially those resulting from the pluralisation of societies in consequence of migration, globalisation and issues concerned with human rights. The inclusion of law as an academic field is vital, and the conference on which this book is based was a landmark in bringing together legal specialists with others from education, the social sciences and the humanities

Is diversity changing religious education? Religion, diversity and education in today’s Europe

The study of religious diversity as part of public education has become an important issue in recent times across Europe and in the wider international arena. In a sense the events of the events of September 11, 2001 in the USA, their causes, ongoing global consequences and associated incidents are a symbol of this shift in attention. However, arguments for policy changes encouraging the study of religious diversity in public education were being advanced well before 9/11. In one inter-governmental body, the Council of Europe, the shift from argument to policy development was held back by a reluctance to address a complex and controversial area reflected in different histories of religion and state within member countries and by a reluctance to acknowledge issues concerning religion as a mode of discourse within the public sphere. As noted in a Council of Europe document, the attacks on the World Trade Centre and other targets in September 2001 acted as a ‘wake up call’, bringing the issues directly to the attention of influential international bodies and precipitating action at the level of public policy (Council of Europe, 2002)

Teaching about religions in the public sphere: European policy initiatives and the interpretive approach

This paper charts a policy shift within international and European inter-governmental institutions towards advocating the study of religions (or the study of religions and beliefs) in European publicly funded schools. The events of September 11, 2001 in the USA acted as a "wake up call" in relation to recognising the legitimacy and importance of the study of religions in public education. For example, policy recommendations from the Council of Europe and guiding principles for the study of religions and beliefs from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe have been developed and are under consideration by member or participating states of both bodies. In translating policy into practice, appropriate pedagogies need to be adopted or developed. The paper uses the example of the interpretive approach to indicate how issues of representation, interpretation and reflexivity might be addressed in studying religious diversity within contemporary societies in ways which both avoid stereotyping and engage students' interest

The interpretive approach to religious education and the development of a community of practice

The practitioners and researchers whose work is reported in this book have come together as a community of practice around particular principles and methods of education and research. The interpretive approach to religious education and a given model of action research provided common organising principles for the design, implementation and interpretation of the community’s diverse projects but they did not provide a rigid framework. Instead individual projects and shared reflections became testing grounds for them both. This book documents a development of thinking about the interpretive approach and action research so that the version of both presented in the later chapters will be seen to differ in some respects from the models from which the Warwick community of practice set out. It is therefore appropriate to begin this book with two chapters that explain the project’s starting points, the origins and initial formulations of those models

Religiöse bildung im spiegel der europäischen politik

This chapter charts a policy shift within international and European intergovernmental institutions towards advocating the study of religions (or the study of religions and beliefs) in European publicly funded schools. The events of September 11, 2001 in the USA acted as a ‘wake up call’ in relation to recognising the legitimacy and importance of the study of religions in public education. For example, policy recommendations from the Council of Europe and guiding principles for the study of religions and beliefs from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europehave been developed and are under consideration by member or participating states of both bodies. In translating policy into practice, appropriate pedagogies need to be adopted or developed. The chapter uses the example of the interpretive approach to indicate how issues of representation, interpretation and reflexivity might be addressed in studying religious diversity within contemporary societies in ways which both avoid stereotyping and engage students’ interest