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REC Worldview Report WORLDVIEW A Multidisciplinary Report Céline Benoit, Timothy Hutchings and Rachael Shillitoe Worldview: a multidisciplinary report FOREWORD Worldview is currently a topic of great interest in Religious Education (RE). This multidisciplinary literature review was commissioned by the RE Council of England and Wales (REC) working in partnership with TRS-UK. in order to provide clarity as to the historical and contemporary use of the term in a number of academic disciplines. It forms one element of a larger project that will provide a range of resources to support the use of the idea in school RE. The REC and TRS-UK are very grateful to the three academics who compiled this independent literature review. It was a challenging project in its own right, but then undertaken just as the coronavirus pandemic took the world into lockdown. This document is a tribute to their professionalism and resilience. The literature review represents the authors’ findings and academic conclusions having undertaken an extensive search. It is offered as a resource to support further thinking on this important topic. The document is open access and free to download from the RE Council website (www.religiouseducationcouncil.org). We provide it in the hope that it will be of great use to academics, RE teachers and other RE professionals as we all seek to provide our pupils and students with high quality RE. Professor Trevor Cooling Chair, Religious Education Council of England and Wales ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The project and this publication were made possible through the support of grants from Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc and from the Culham St. Gabriel’s Trust. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Templeton World Charity Foundation, Inc nor of the Culham St. Gabriel’s Trust. © 2020 Religious Education Council of England and Wales 1 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS CONTENTS 1. Introduction 4 AAR American Academy of Religion 2. Religion, Religions and the World Religions Paradigm 7 CoRE Commission for Religious Education ERA Education Reform Act 3. The Concept of Worldview across Disciplines 9 3.1 Philosophy 9 NATRE National Association of Teachers of Religious Education 3.2 Anthropology 11 QCA Qualifications and Curriculum Authority 3.3 Sociology 13 3.4 Religious Studies 16 RE Religious Education 3.5 Christian Theology and Biblical Studies 18 REC The Religious Education Council of England and Wales 3.6 Worldview in Other Disciplines 21 R&W Religion and Worldviews 4. Religious Education 22 4.1 Worldview in Religious Education: Background 22 SORW Study of religion(s) and worldview(s) 4.2 Worldview as a secular alternative to religion 24 TRS-UK Theology and Religious Studies UK 4.3 Worldview as all-encompassing 25 4.4 Institutional vs. Personal Worldview 28 WP36 School Councils Working Paper 36 WRP World Religions Paradigm 5. Conclusions 30 Bibliography 32 2 Céline Benoit, Timothy Hutchings and Rachael Shillitoe Céline Benoit, Timothy Hutchings and Rachael Shillitoe 3 Worldview: a multidisciplinary report Céline Benoit, Tim Hutchings and Rachael has been understood in the core disciplines Shillitoe submitted their proposal as a review most relevant for RE and most applicable to 1. team and were selected by the RE Council after the discussions and debates that will ensue. an application and interview process. They were The purpose of this report is not to ascertain INTRODUCTION chosen due to their expertise and experience what should be considered a “worldview” in the study of religion and non-religion in or how RE should be taught. Accordingly, it education and contemporary society, as well is recommended that readers, whether that as the range of disciplinary backgrounds they be academics, teachers or policy-makers, covered. contribute to this discussion by highlighting In 2018, after a two-year enquiry, the [A] person’s way of understanding, The review team were tasked with writing any further areas of work or literature that would Commission for Religious Education (CoRE) experiencing and responding to the their report across March and April 2020, with prove fruitful to enhancing conversations published its final report, Religion and world. It can be described as a philosophy the aim of disseminating this to an academic about the future of RE and the place and role of Worldviews: The way forward. The report argues of life or an approach to life. This advisory group consisting of thirteen leading “worldview” within those conversations. that Religious Education (RE), as well as the includes how a person understands the academics. The group held a series of five The concept of “worldview” has been used structures and systems that support the subject, nature of reality and their own place in consultation events in June 2020, and invited the extensively in many disciplines of academic have not kept pace with recent educational the world. A person’s worldview is likely authors of this report to attend on one occasion research, from the 18th century to the present changes, such as academisation and a move to influence and be influenced by their in order to provide feedback on the present day. In this report, we focus on Philosophy, towards a school-led system, or with societal beliefs, values, behaviours, experiences, document. The review team was also supported Anthropology, Sociology, Religious Studies, and demographic changes. The CoRE report identities and commitments (CoRE, by Rudi Eliott Lockhart from the RE Council, Christian Theology and Biblical Studies, and therefore suggests a new vision for the subject 2018: 4). and received helpful guidance and feedback Religious Education. These disciplines have in order to reflect children’s lived experience of from a steering group consisting of Professors been selected as having the greatest engagement religious and non-religious perspectives. The Commission on RE also acknowledges Trevor Cooling, Denise Cush, and Stephen with the concept of “worldview” and the This new vision for RE proposes three that “worldviews” can be more or less Pattison. Throughout March and April 2020, greatest relevance to contemporary RE. Other learning aims: ‘understanding the human quest formalised, and that there may be a difference drafts were regularly submitted to the steering disciplines, such as Linguistics, Psychology or for meaning, being prepared for life in a diverse between the “worldview” held by an institution group who provided literature suggestions and Politics, also employ the term “worldview”, but world and having space to reflect on one’s own and the “worldview” internalised by an identified areas for improvement. Ultimately, could not be addressed thoroughly within the worldview’ (CoRE, 2018: 73). Similarly, the individual. it was the responsibility of the review team scope of this brief report. Some introductory report of the Commission on Religion and Belief In response to this report, in February 2020 to gather relevant sources, synthesise and comments on the use of “worldview” in these in British Public Life, Living with Difference: the Religious Education Council for England summarise the literature, and decide upon on disciplines are nonetheless included in section Community, Diversity and the Common Good, and Wales (which established the Commission the content, areas of focus and overall structure 3.6, in order to invite readers to consider also recommends that the teaching of religion on RE) commissioned an independent team of of the review. The report produced remains engaging with other usages of the term. and belief in schools should reflect a variety of researchers to undertake a literature review on independent and was solely written by the The review team also invite readers religious and non-religious “worldviews” (The work engaging with the concept of “worldview”. review team members. to enhance and enrich the discussion of Woolf Institute, 2015). To reflect the new vision, The purpose was to summarise scholarly The scope of the literature review was focused “worldview” in RE by drawing attention to one of the recommendations made in the CoRE usages of the term “worldview” across different on exploring the concept of “worldview” across parallel and complementary concepts and report is to rename the subject Religion and disciplines, and to present these findings in a a variety of academic disciplines and, where critical discussions of “worldview” thinking Worldviews (R&W)1. short document. The aim of this literature review possible, exploring alternative concepts related that have developed outside the Western The proposal to teach “worldviews” has led would be to offer scholars, policy-makers, and to “worldview”, while keeping to the word limit academic and Christian theological traditions. 2 to robust discussions in the RE domain and teachers the opportunity to understand how and timescales set out by the RE Council . The review team stress the fact that the lack beyond (Everington, 2019; Jackson, 2014; van “worldview” has been constructed in academic This report does not provide an exhaustive of representation of non-Western scholars der Kooij et al., 2013). The CoRE report defines disciplines that have traditionally informed discussion of “worldview”, but rather a concise, within the literature cited in this report is a key “worldview” as: RE. An open call for applicants was circulated, yet detailed, overview of how the concept limitation. This reflects wider issues, as policies calling for researchers with an interest
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