Religion and Education Work Group

Since its beginning “The Schools Work Group” explored the ways that schools can be an ecological support of all religious traditions, and how they can be a place and vehicle for growing intellectually probing, critically discerning, and spiritually oriented souls and citizens. In 2016 the Schools Work Group met with members of the Religion and Education Collaborative (REC) to learn about what the REC does and to discuss ways in which the Work Group and REC might mutually benefit from one another. Given that a number of REA members were already active in the REC, the idea was received well and those present agreed that involvement in the REC would be positive. The decision was made that “The Schools Work Group” would change its name to “The Religion and Education Work Group” and carry out its meetings at annual REA meetings as part of the REC.

REA members involved in the Religion and Education Work Group have interests that fall, broadly speaking, into one or both of two categories:

1. Education about religion (including religious and secular worldviews) in schools
2. Spiritual formation of youth in educational settings

REA members interested in the topics above are are encouraged to join the Collaborative as it provides a space for ongoing conversations across disciplines. Members work together to produce and maintain resources pertaining to the study of religion and education, including public resource lists, bibliographies, and a clearinghouse for information about potential grant and funding opportunities. Members are also invited to regular video conferences (view the schedule) in which a member presents on related topic with questions and conversation facilitated.

Any questions can be addressed to our coordinators Ryan Gardner (gardnerry [at] byui [dot] edu) or Callid Keefe-Perry (callidkp [at] bu [dot] edu).

We are pleased to acknowledge participants in the Religion & Education who made presentations at this year’s annual REA meeting in St. Louis. This year we had about a dozen or so people who have participated with the work group do presentations of various kinds. Thank you for all you contribute to the success and value of these annual gatherings!

Ina ter Avest and Duncan Wielzen have published a new book, Interfaith Education for All: Theoretical Perspectives and Best Practices for Transformative Action.

Diane du Val d’Epremesnil and Henri Derroitte have published the results of a survey conducted among 1,640 young people and their analyses of the data based on four topics: the meaning of life for young people, their representations of religion, their relationship with their religion course, and the way in which they view cultural and religious diversity. The title of the book is Un Cours de Religion: Pour Quoi? (UCL Presses, Universitaires de Louvain; published in French).

Rev. Dr. Moon Son shared with us some exciting news about R&D funding from the South Korean government that may be available for an international, interfaith team of researchers and scholars who are interested in working on a collaborative project that would promote and support “the public engagement of religious education in the school context.” Anyone interested in more information or in discussing possible collaborative projects should contact Dr. Ryan Gardner.