This book is a contribution to the development of the young discipline of the didactics of the Study of Religions (Religionswissenschaft) in international perspective. Integrative religious education refers to education about different religions in classrooms with children of various religious and non-religious backgrounds. Cornerstones of recent debates about theory and methodology in the academic study of religions and in education are discussed in the first chapter. They form the basis of the following analysis and evaluation of current approaches to integrative religious education in Europe, with a special focus on England and Sweden. Particular attention is paid to the different underlying concepts of religion, education and ways of representing religious plurality in these approaches. Building on a discussion of the current situation of teaching and learning about religions in schools in Europe in the context of wider cultural, social and political debates, the book concludes with the suggestion of a framework for integrative religious education in Europe, from a perspective that combines insights from the study of religions and education.

The role of Religious Education in secondary schools is the subject of national and international debate. This book examines the current debates surrounding RE and puts forward a new approach to teaching the subject that is non-faith based and focused on conceptual enquiry and the development of a clear pedagogy. The book is based on the Living Difference learning model developed in Hampshire and adopted in other parts of the UK, which is sparking international discussion and provides an effective approach to implementing the new secondary curriculum. The chapters include examinations of: religious education and the curriculum an interdisciplinary approach to religious education the significance of pedagogy and learners’ development planning, progression, assessment and delivery specific case studies and examples of good practice in schools theoretical grounding and the future of RE the effects of globalisation, post-modernity and multiculturalism. Providing a basis for developing thinking about Religious Education, its place in the curriculum and how it can be delivered effectively in schools, this book is essential reading for tutors, students and teachers.

Major social changes, especially as a result the more multicultural nature of society, have raised important issues about the teaching of religion and the rational basis of different religious faiths. Challenges for Religious Education addresses and critically examines these changes and asks where religious education and Faith Schools fit within secular society and indeed whether there is still a place for them at all. Analysing what religious education could look like if it were considered from a wider ‘world views’ perspective that doesn’t focus on a particular set of religious beliefs, this book considers the ‘reasonableness’ of holding a faith and therefore in teaching it; the ongoing tensions between faith and reason; arguments for and against the study of religious education; whether modern secular thought is itself an ideology; and the philosophical standpoints on the relationship between faith and reason. Linking faith and reason with the issue of whether religious education is truly necessary in a modern world, Challenges for Religious Education is a crucial read for anyone interested in the future of religious education teaching in a secular society.