The British Journal of Religious Education (BJRE) at 90
This commemorative issue in BJRE’s 90th year, through Religion in Education (1934-1963) and Learning For Living (1963-1978), has a piece from each decade revealing an evolving Religious Education (RE) through periods of upheaval and transformation.
Phillips (1939) argues young people should encounter all religions, exploring aspects of religion that interest them to shed light on their own lives, rather than follow fixed curricula with ‘outcomes’. Born (1949) explains a (re)turn to explicit, separate, protestant and catholic religious instruction in Germany after the Nazi period. In suggesting lack of knowledge and critical thought in part enabled the Nazi project, she raises important questions for our own time. Yarnold (1960) explores knowledge in religion and science, in suggesting that theology is about interpretation, whereas science describes the observed world. Faith is qualitatively different from propositional knowledge, so religion has a unique place in education.
Reeves (1965) addresses interinstitutional aspects of RE. Suggesting education shifts from classroom to community, she differentiates between education as process and schooling as space of transmission. For her school should be a place of intellectual inquiry, socialization, and a community that nurtures. Capaldi (1983) explores how Christian faith, together with RE theory and practice, and social, economic, and cultural conditioning affect wellbeing and religious formation. He emphasises the significance of teachers’ awareness of personal assumptions. Lahnemann (1993) makes a case for thinking globally, reminding readers of challenges to RE from fanaticism. He highlights contemporary issues impacting RE and emphases the need to base the subject on responsible value systems for society’s benefit.
Rudge (1998) is concerned with how to approach religion in educational terms when most pupils have no formal religious affiliation. This leads her to argue for an inclusive study of beliefs and values in RE, including attention to pupils’ own. Valk’s (2007) interest in plural public schooling links with Rudge in arguing for broadening RE to include Worldviews as a valid educational endeavour. This helps pupils not only to clarify their own views but also understand the moral consequences of holding a worldview. Finally, Matemba’s (2021) calls for the decolonisation of RE South of the Sahara suggests that whilst principles of religious freedom are embraced, RE remains a subject with vestiges of coloniality. He argues for democratic paradigm shift reflective of young people’s lifeworld.
Through 90 years of social, political, and educational change and contestation, BJRE has been distinguished by high standards of scholarship and professionalism, with insistence on civil debate on pressing issues pertinent to the time. We hope you enjoy our collection. A further retrospective is planned for 2028, when this journal as BJRE reaches 50.
Edited by
Gloria Durka(Fordham University, USA)
Patrica Hannam(University of Exeter, UK)
Kevin O’Grady(Consultant and Researcher, UK)