Discovering Views of the Divine: An Interreligious, Transcendence-Orientated Approach to Theological Content in Religious Education

Abstract

The development of students’ theological understanding(s) in British multi-faith Religious Education (RE), specifically in schools without a religious affiliation, has been much debated (Astley and Francis, 1996; Cush, 1999; Copley, 2001, 2005; Reed et al., 2013; Chipperton et al., 2016; Freathy and Davis, 2019). Critical views on the use of theological approaches aimed at furthering such understanding(s) are often based on the assumption of a general incompatibility between the discipline of Theology – especially if interpreted in the sense of ‘faith seeking understanding’ – and certain values of non-confessional, multi-faith RE such as impartiality and tolerance of a plurality of perspectives (Smart, 1983; Netto, 1989; Brine, 2016a, 2016b). Herein, theology is generally described as presenting a risk of religious indoctrination (see Parsons 1994; Hull, 2004; Copley, 2005; Cooling, 2010). Yet, what has not been sufficiently explored is whether or not, and if so, on what argumentative grounds, this theory is tenable – by clarifying, for instance, what conditions theological approaches would have to fulfil to be adequate for schools without a religious affiliation. Using the method of critical analysis of selected literature in a process of dialogic philosophical argumentation, this thesis seeks, first, to reveal that the (perceived) compatibility problem described above is unnecessary, only occurring if Theology and RE, and the relationship between them, are defined in mutually irreconcilable ways; and second, to propose an alternative theologically orientated approach to RE designed, specifically, for the study of multiple theistic religions in religiously unaffiliated schools. The thesis draws the following main conclusions: to ensure that approaches aimed at furthering theological understanding(s) are suitable for non-confessional, multi-faith RE, they must never presuppose faith in the divine on the part of the students (or teachers) and should be applicable to all monotheistic and polytheistic religions studied in RE, thereby offering opportunities for interreligious investigation. Moreover, in an attempt to propose an approach that meets these requirements in a way that maximises the distinctive contribution Theology can make to non-confessional RE, alongside other disciplines, the thesis promotes the view that, in this particular educational context, theology should be defined primarily, but not exclusively so, by its objects of study (rather than methods), that is the key concepts, beliefs and doctrines relating to the divine found in these traditions. And finally, this content-based and (potentially) interreligious view of theology should, in turn, be embedded in a broader hermeneutical framework within which theistic religions are explored through an interpretive lens that assumes the centrality of transcendence in religious belief, which – for theists – arguably manifests itself in an orientation towards the divine in their personal and communal lives. This is in order to balance philosophical focal points in the conceptualisation of religion(s), e.g. emphasising conceptual/doctrinal aspects, with a more life-centred view of theistic faith that defines being religious in this context as standing in a meaningful relationship with the divine. Advantages of choosing this combined content-based/life-centred approach to furthering theological understanding(s) (e.g. as one element in a broader multi-methodological, interdisciplinary approach to RE) are that it enables students to explore the complexity of theistic belief, systematically and with the potential for careful interreligious comparison, which neither crosses the line to confessionalism, nor disregards the self-understandings and specificities of individual theistic traditions, revealed in their various ways of ‘God-centredness’. This discussion is particularly important today because current literacy-focused propositions for RE (see Clarke and Woodhead, 2015; Dinham and Shaw, 2016; CoRE, 2018) pay little attention to the role theological understanding(s) may play in developing religious literacy as a broader aim of RE.