Religious education’s double hermeneutic

Abstract

This work of disambiguation begins with the simple recognition that there are 'hermeneutics' and 'hermeneutics', and argues that not all senses of the term have been given sufficient attention in the discussion of what religious education is and could be. I hope to do some important definitional work around the different senses that hermeneutics might have in religious education, and thereby to think through what it might mean to say that a concern in religious education is a 'hermeneutical' one. Finally, I hope to address the 'so what' question and make a case for the vital importance of hermeneutics for understanding religious education, as well as for understanding religion. This case lies not primarily in the association of religious education with the interpretation of scripture or more generally with questions of text or interpretation, but in the close association of education in its broadest sense with hermeneutical concerns. I sketch out the implications of a hermeneutical approach for teachers and curriculum planners faced with the tasks (which cannot be interpreted away) of selecting curriculum content and making decisions about pedagogical approach.

Disciplinary literacy in religious education: the role and relevance of reading

“…This indicates that a descriptive outsider stance towards religions and worldviews, prominent in both religious literacy and lived religion discourses, is not always sufficient when dealing with existential questions in RE. Additionally, hermeneutics as a happening of education (Aldridge 2018), as a way of approaching religions interpretively (Panjwani and Revell 2018;Pett and Cooling 2018), and as an interpretive approach to texts (Bowie 2018) might facilitate knowledge about the existential dimension of religions in a learner-active way. We therefore believe that disciplinary literacy in RE should be developed by combining outsider perspectives from academic disciplines with insider perspectives on religious phenomena.…”

Religious literacy: a way forward for religious education?

“…Literacy thus entails a reflective stance with regard to the domain and one's ability to navigate it. In relation specifically to religious education, Aldridge (2015;2018a;2018b) has described the moment of understanding in nonpropositional terms as one of orientation or comportment, in which a student is oriented towards or takes a stance on a subject matter.…”

Hermeneutical learning in religious education

“…Here we can speak of a triple hermeneutic task. The RE student teacher must become aware of the hermeneutics of the tradition, the hermeneutics of the current context, and the hermeneutics of oneself as the interpreting subject (Aldrigde 2018;Standish 2014). In the first place, the student teacher must become aware of the way(s) in which the tradition understands itself: the hermeneutics of the tradition.…”