THE COMMISSION ON RELIGIOUS EDUCATION – a RESPONSE TO L. PHILIP BARNES

Abstract

In a recent article, L. Philip Barnes critiques the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) Final Report by scrutinising its text and by responding to my interpretation of that text. His particular, but not exclusive, focus is CoRE's proposal that the idea of worldview should be central to RE. His conclusion is that: 'The collective force of these criticisms counsels against implementing the proposals of CoRE. Religious education needs to look elsewhere than to a worldview curriculum to overcome its current travails'. This article responds by arguing that Barnes fails to justify his conclusion because his critique does not meet the standards of a fair and responsible treatment of his chosen focal texts. In particular, it misrepresents and misinterprets the CoRE Report and overlooks the alternative interpretation that I and others offered.

Reading an Islamic epistemology into research: Muslim converts and contemporary religion in Britain

“…It is also, in some ways, a response to the developing literature surrounding the reframing of Religious Education in Britain (Miedema, 2014;Teece, 2017;CoRE, 2018;Everington 2018;Freathy & John, 2019). With a growing number of scholars advocating the shift towards the study of Worldviews (Cush, 2021;Cooling, 2019Cooling, , 2020Cooling, , 2021Cooling et al, 2020;Shaw, 2020;Freathy & John, 2019), an examination of how the subject might prise religious identity apart from ethnic and cultural identity may be valuable. By highlighting the tendency of Western scholarly voices to distort the religious voice of Muslim converts in search of secular rationalisations, this paper argues for the foregrounding of an Islamic epistemology.…”

The world religions paradigm: Why context matters in religious studies

“…However, this approach has faced criticism for misrepresenting the lived experiences of religious believers and has led to a pillarization of religions, often presenting them as monolithic entities (Cooling 2021). Pillarization, described as the division of society into distinct groups based on religion and their corresponding political beliefs, becomes evident through this perspective (Molendijk 2022).…”

A critical reflection on the Commission on Religious Education’s proposed National Entitlement to Religion and Worldviews in England and Wales

“…As the REC has no legislative power CoRE's final report was drafted to influence education policy makers, including central government, which accounts for its assertive tone (Cooling, 2021). Since its publication in 2018 the REC has partnered with TRS-UK in a three-phased enterprise called the 'Worldview Project' to examine the academic and practitioner implications of CoRE's recommendations (Cooling, 2021). TRS-UK is the 'professional association for Departments, Units and Subject Associations for the Study of Religion and Theology the UK' (trs.ac.uk).…”

“…One of CoRE's ambitions for RE curricula is to manage content selection for more authentic representations of religions and worldviews, and to make methods in the study of religions and their critiques more explicit (Cush, 2021, 4). The breadth of topics given in the National Entitlement is illustrative of the diversity of choice open to syllabus designers to achieve these aims (Cooling, 2021). In this regard, the National Entitlement makes a significant departure from current legislation for RE.…”

“…Also Owen, 2011Ofsted, 2021, 14). Early critiques of the National Entitlement have been made from within and not 'beyond current norms'; from the vantage point of ill-fitting though more familiar lenses informed by the world-religions paradigm (Cooling, 2021). This is why critiques focus on areas such as content coverage, crowded curricula, arbitrary topic choices, and relativism.…”