New directions in Religious and Values education: International perspectives(17 Religion, Education and Values)

This volume brings together 15 studies reporting the latest international research on developments and trends in religious education. Together these 15 studies illustrate recurrent themes affecting the development of religious education in diverse locations and also illustrate the distinctive trajectories of locations shaped by different histories and by different contemporary contexts.

These contributions were brought together in a recent seminar convened by the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values, the leading international association for religious educators and values educators across the world. This volume has selected key contributions made to the seminar, spanning both conceptual and empirical perspectives, rooted in both religious and secular traditions.

CONTENTS: Stephen G. Parker: Introduction: Tracing the Origins of the Modern Concept of Religious Education in Schools – Michael T. Buchanan: The Role of the Religion Teacher in Australia: Pluralism within a Faith-Based Religious Education Approach – Brendan P. Carmody: The Future of Religion in Irish Secondary Schools – Denise Cush: Time for a Change? A Case Study of the Work of the Commission on Religious Education in England – René Ferguson: Religion Education and Public Life in South Africa: A Case for New Religions and Alternative Spiritualities – Yaacov J. Katz: Societal Values in Jewish State Religious and State Secular Schools in Israel – Marios Koukounaras Liagkis: The Framework of the New Curricula in Greece: Profound Changes in Religious Education –　Lasma Latsone/Dzintra Iliško: Crossing Secular and Religious Borderlands in Latvia: Explorative Study of Students’ Worldviews in Academia – Joyce Miller: Intentionality and Reflexivity: The Role of Non-confessional Religious Education in England – Christina Osbeck/Annika Lilja: Students’ Needs and Teachers’ Goals for Ethical Competence: Developments in Sweden – Manfred L. Pirner/Sebastian Röhl: Religious and Professional Beliefs of Schoolteachers: Theoretical Reflections and Preliminary Research Findings in Germany – Cornelia Roux/Anne Becker: Unconditional Hospitality in Place-Space-Time: A Responsibility for Religion and Values Education in South Africa – Peter Schreiner: Religious Education on the Move: Empirical Studies Shaping Future Perspectives of Religious Education in Germany – Mualla Selҫuk: Religious Education, Pedagogy and Curriculum in Plural Context: A Muslim Perspective in Turkey – Karin Sporre: Ethics Education within Religious and Values Education: Studies in Sweden, Namibia, South Africa, California and Quebec – Stéphanie Tremblay/Marios Koukounaras Liagkis:　Religious Education in Greece and Quebec: A Common Configuration for New Political Debates.

Leslie J. Francis is Professor of Religions and Psychology at the University of Warwick, England.

David W. Lankshear is Visiting Professor at Glyndwr University, Wales.

Stephen G. Parker is Professor of the History of Religions and Education at the University of Worcester.

All three editors are well established members of the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values.