Beyond the Big Six Religions: Expanding the Boundaries in the Teaching of Religion and Worldviews is a timely addition to the literature surrounding Religious Education teaching in schools. The book explores the desirability and possibility of expanding the breadth of religious and non-religious worldviews within the classroom. Written by an expert in Religious Education and minority religions, this book articulates the importance of the inclusion of minority voices within the classroom, and in wider society.

The goal of many evangelical educators is to facilitate biblical thinking and the worldview transformation of their students. Yet, aside from upholding a set of moral behaviors or maintaining positions on issues perceived to be "Christian," the goals and aspirations of most evangelical young people differ little from their unbelieving peers. As George Barna has noted, "We have a generation coming up that . . . isn't looking at Christianity to answer spiritual concerns . . . We either change or we lose them." Worldview as Worship contends that the approach taken by most evangelical educators to the issue of worldview transformation has neglected to address two fundamental components of worldviews. First, that our initial worldviews are not philosophical systems but rather faith dispositions and that worldview transformation cannot simply present the biblical worldview as a more rational or logical system, but must address issues of the heart as well as the mind. Second, unlike philosophies that are individual, worldviews are communal and are learned and transformed within the context of community practice. Appealing to Paul's teaching in Romans 12:1-2, Worldview as Worship approaches the "renewing of your mind" as the result of the believer's presentation of themselves as a "holy sacrifice . . . which is your spiritual service of worship." The book advocates an approach to worldview transformation that focuses on believers as apprentices rather than simply as students--an approach that holds true to the biblical model of discipleship. As a result, worldview transformation works best when the application of faith to the issues of learning and life are modeled by the faith community and where students are given the opportunity to put faith into practice.

Critical Religious Education in Practice serves as an accessible handbook to help teachers put Critical Religious Education (CRE) into practice. The book offers straightforward guidance, unpicking some of the key difficulties that teachers encounter when implementing this high-profile pedagogical approach. In-depth explanations of CRE pedagogy, accompanied by detailed lesson plans and activities, will give teachers the confidence they need to inspire debate in the classroom, tackling issues as controversial as the authority of the Qur’an and the relationship between science and religion. The lesson plans and schemes of work exemplify CRE in practice and are aimed at empowering teachers to implement CRE pedagogy across their curriculum. Additional chapters cover essential issues such as differentiation, assessment, the importance of subject knowledge and tips for tackling tricky topics. The accompanying resources, including PowerPoint presentations and worksheets, are available via the book’s companion website. Key to developing a positive classroom culture and promoting constructive attitudes towards Religious Education, this text is essential reading for all practising and future teachers of Religious Education in secondary schools.

Why do worldviews matter? What characterizes a Christian worldview? Part of being a thoughtful Christian means being able to understand and express the Christian worldview as well as developing an awareness of the variety of worldviews. Well organized, clearly written, and featuring aids for learning, this is the essential text for either the classroom or for self-study.

Crisis, Controversy and the Future of Religious Education sets out to provide a much-needed critical examination of recent writings that consider and respond to the crisis in religious education and more widely to a crisis in non-confessional forms of religious education, wherever practised. The book is critical, wide-ranging and provocative, giving attention to a range of responses, some limited to the particular situation of religious education in England and some of wider application, for example, that of the role and significance of human rights and that of the relevance of religious studies and theology to religious education. It engages with a variety of positions and with recent influential reports that make recommendations on the future direction of religious education. Constructively, it defends both confessional and non-confessional religious education and endorses the existing right of parental withdrawal. Controversially, it concludes that the case for including non-religious worldviews in religious education, and for the introduction of a statutory, ‘objective’ national religious education curriculum for all schools, are both unconvincing on educational, philosophical and evidential grounds. Timely and captivating, this book is a must-read for religious and theological educators, RE advisers, classroom teachers, student teachers and those interested in the field of religious education.

Everything we do, say, and think reflects our fundamental worldview. Whether we realize it or not, basic beliefs about God, man, good and evil, history, and the future inevitably shape how we view and interact with the world. In this accessible student's guide, Phil Ryken, author and current president of Wheaton College, explains the distinguishing marks of a distinctly Christian worldview—exploring the existence of God, the nature of creation, the role of grace, and God's plan for the future. Written for both Christians and non-Christians, this handy resource will help believers develop a cohesive worldview while offering unbelievers a succinct introduction to the foundational tenets of the Christian faith.

This book answers the question on how students and teachers talk about religion when the mandatory and nonconfessional school subject of Religious Education is on the schedule in the “world’s most secular country” To do this, it analyses discourses of religion as they occur in the classroom practice. It is based on findings from participant observation of Religious Education lessons in several upper secondary schools in Sweden. The book discusses different aspects of the role and function of nonconfessional integrative Religious Education in an increasingly pluralistic, multireligious, yet also secularized society, at a general level. It looks at the religious landscape, different perspectives on school subjects, various models and the development of Religious Education, and discourses of religion of a secularist, spiritual and nationalistic nature. Religious Education is a school subject that manoeuvres in the midst of a field that on the one hand concerns crucial knowledge in a pluralistic society, and on the other hand deals with highly contested questions in a society characterized by diversity and secularity. In the mandatory, integrative and non-confessional school subject of Religious Education in Sweden, all students are taught together regardless of religious or secular affiliation. The subject deals with major world religions, important non-religious worldviews and ethics, from a non-confessional perspective. Thus, in the classroom, individuals who identify with diverse religious and non-religious worldviews, with a different understanding of what religion could be and what it might mean to be religious, are brought together. The book examines questions raised in this pluralistic context: What discourses of religion become hegemonic in the classroom? How do these discourses affect the possibility of reaching the aim of Religious Education which concerns understanding and respect for different ways of thinking and living in a society characterized by diversity?