I soooooooo don’t get it. John Main says, “Language may not be able to lead us into the ultimate communion but it is the atmosphere in which we first draw breath of consciousness.” I have spent more than fifty years acquiring language – a spiritual language, that is, not my native tongue – and suddenly Read more
Sir Lloyd Geering believes there are good reasons for teaching religion in schools. He thinks parents’ confusion about the word “religion”, can make them more likely to remove their children from religion classes. “I think ‘religion’ is probably a word that is confusing the whole situation. What we really should be talking about is culture. Read more
Some 63% of young people in Britain think that Religious Education should remain compulsory in state schools, reports the Tablet. The survey conducted in Britain also shows more than half of the adults questioned believe Religious Education lessons in schools are worthwhile with many favour making Religious Education (RE) compulsory. The poll comes as increasing numbers Read more
I remember clearly the day I deeply offended a close friend by refusing to oversee the religious education of her future children. It was years ago and we were walking through Cashel Mall during an afternoon shopping jaunt and she asked if, when she had children, I would be their godmother. Now, what I think Read more
Last week’s Westminster Faith Debate examined religion in schools in Britain. But there’s a danger that we get so sucked into our own national preoccupations that we lose perspective. My work on research and policy extends into Europe, and I want to give a wider European perspective to the United Kingdom debates. Above all, I suggest that Read more