This paper presents a tentative argument for the application of a unique methodological approach in researching convert Muslims in contemporary Britain. By throwing into relief some of the theoretical limitations of previous studies on the topic, a case is made for a dialectical model of thinking that foregrounds Islamic epistemology and places it…

In this article, I examine the secular dynamics of Quebec's controversial and ultimately short-lived "Ethics and Religious Culture" curriculum (ERC). I argue that the conflicting criticisms the ERC attracted over the course of its brief existence emerged from the tensions inherent in its conceptualisations of religion, learning, and…

England and Wales are now amongst the least religious countries in the world. According to Census data between 2011 and 2021, the number of people identifying as having 'No Religion' jumped by over 8 million, from 25% to 37%. Further, although there was a small upward shift in those identifying with minority religions, during the same period, the…

In this article, I discuss the potential of developing a kind of worldview education that has the purpose of enabling teachers and students to understand how worldviews are formed. I explore how suggestions of Ann Taves can be helpful towards such an aim and pay special attention to research into self-defined 'non-religious people. It seems their…

Even though religious schools are common in Australia, many government schools provide religious instruction (RI) classes. Religious instruction involves students being segregated into faith based groups so as to receive instruction in the beliefs and practices of "one" religion. This practice also occurs in many other countries. In…

In this article, the authors explore their motivations for conceiving of and assembling the current issue on comparative religious studies as a viable pedagogical orientation for our troubled times. Situated in both the history of comparison as a method and scholarship on effective pedagogy, it argues that disciplined, scholarly, sound comparative…

This paper gives an example of an inductive Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) process, adapting Anthony Ciccone's five conditions of a meaningful SoTL question. Presenting a study on pre-class reading in an undergraduate religion class, I describe how my question went through five life stages. I began with nine different pre-class…

What does religious studies education aim to teach? For years, this question has confounded educators and policymakers within the United States. To exacerbate matters, a common yet problematic narrative has emerged: content knowledge and skills are at odds with each other. In one camp, the story goes, are those who emphasize the…

Contingent teaching has become the norm in most institutions. While the use of adjuncts and other non-tenure track professors shows no sign of slowing down, the nature of contingent teaching is less known. This article examines how contingent teaching directly impacts the professor's teaching. My experience teaching religious studies courses from…

In this paper, we, members of a dharmic* scholars collective, share the outcomes of our discussions over the last three years centered on the question: what shifts in research and practice are necessary to enable higher education to address the concerns of dharmic* (Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, and Hindu) students in the US? Topics we have focused on in…

This article discusses the place of 'theology' in multi-faith Religious Education (RE) in English schools without a religious affiliation, highlighting reasons for its sometimes taboo-status, particularly since the emergence of Ninian Smart's phenomenological approach to Religious Studies in the late 1960s. The article explores a diversity of…

Following an initial programmatic summary of 'fundamentals', the author puts forward (with reference to other programmatic 'minimum presuppositions' for the scientific study of religion(s)) his basic presuppositions and principles for a scientific study-of-religion(s)-based religion education as a time-tabled, compulsory, and totally normal school…

This article focuses on Reflective Structured Dialogue as a set of practices developed in the context of conflict resolution that are well suited to handling quotidian uneasiness and extraordinary moments of disruption in religious studies classrooms. After introducing Reflective Structured Dialogue's history, goals, and general practices, the…

Pedagogue's fallacy occurs when epistemological principles are applied by educators that in fact do not tell of, or explain, or help understand, the subject at hand. It is identified and introduced in this article to raise an important issue in the construction of pedagogical models of religious education: knowledge is reduced and/or distorted to…

This article evaluates the design, delivery, and main outcomes of Cardiff University's first "Massive Open Online Course" (MOOC) entitled "Muslims in Britain: Changes and Challenges," delivered to over 20,899 international learners between 2014 and 2019. I explore the design principles underpinning the course and offer a…