Working with normative considerations is an important part of empirical research in religious education (RE) and in the formation of practical theologians, in general, and of religious educators in RE faculties/programs, in particular. What does sufficient reflection on normativity look like in teaching religious educators? From a practical…

This essay attends to how digital technology is shaping Christian religious education and its efforts of evangelization. It proposes that, while the use of digital technology has promise, an unreflective integration of digital technology can hinder Christian religious education's efforts of evangelization. This concern requires attention,…

The Corona crisis is forcing scholarly circles of religious education in Europe not only to answer local organizational questions, but above all to start a more general self-reflection on what the fundamental contribution of religious education at school could be in times of deep social and existential crises. In this paper a narrative and…

Through a quantitative research model, this study aims to understand the general attitudes of theology students in Turkey regarding online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. In examining the determinant factors on their attitudes, research findings include: previous online education experience, the frequency of participating in synchronous…

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on every facet of life around the world. For many, the world has become a place of doubt and uncertainty as people struggle to cope with the changes coming in the wake of COVID-19 and seek to determine how best to respond. With ecological, economic, and ideological crises occurring alongside COVID-19,…

Pope Francis incarnates a praxis of encounter in an age of polarization. For Francis, encounter entails displacement, dialog, and discernment. Relational pedagogy illuminates the fecundity of relationships between the teacher and student at the heart of education. Nel Noddings, preeminent proponent of relational pedagogy, grounds an ethics of care…

Educators throughout the ages have offered metaphors and analogies for teaching and teachers. Prominent among them are: gardener, midwife, facilitator, guide, sacrament. Each of these metaphors shed light, from a different angle, on the act of teaching. This article proposes the metaphor of tragedy as a way of shedding new light, from a totally…

This essay explores what surfaces when we lead a reflection on the 2018 REA meeting with questions about teaching and learning. What pedagogical models appeared to be operative during the meeting? What voices were missing and which ones were privileged? Who benefitted from the pedagogies at work in the meeting? Who was marginalized? What…

As interreligious educators we challenge our students to engage in hermeneutical self-reflection. In this article, I turn the tables, and engage in an exercise of reflective practice: I look back on my own pedagogy, consider my own religiously diverse classroom, and ask in what way the theoretical framework from which I approach interreligious…

Engaging the work of Robert Kegan, Mary C. Boys, and John Caputo, this article explores whether disaffiliation, or more accurately deconversion, might be one possible outcome of successful religious education forming a mature religious consciousness for postmodernity's changing religious landscape. Through a presentation of deconversion literature…

This study explores the position of the tradition of Qur'an memorization in the structure of Muslim primary education and intellectual hierarchy while drawing on the Khaldunian perspective regarding the problem of memorization versus comprehension of the Qur'an. This article concludes that the practice of Qur'an memorization is what shapes the…

Online programs are becoming more ubiquitous in higher education; however, there has been a lack of research on the merit of this style of educating. Using the concept of constructivism as a framework, the idea that individuals construct their own understanding of world experiences, the authors generated a case study to explore the efficacy of…

This article attempts two tasks. First, to clarify how the claim that colleges and universities may "shove religion down students' throats" has a historical background. Second, to indicate how pedagogical strategies--like service learning, discussions, paper revisions, and "Just in Time Teaching" exercises--can be used in ways…

In our teaching, research, and community service, both of us have sought to engage and extend the work of interfaith education. We write from our perspectives as a Jewish educator and as a Christian educator. Both of us have experienced the gifts and challenges this work engenders. The purpose of this article is simple: to offer a typology for…

Children and young people have the inalienable right to be part of a learning community. Nobody can learn on his/her own. Education is always a communal enterprise. In this article the concept of the "spiritual learning community" is developed as a contemporary answer to the socioeducational issues raised by Martin Buber and John Dewey…