I have been involved in different ways in the development of the new GCSE for Religious Studies and, in many ways, see it as a step forward in building religious literacy but also helping pupils make links between beliefs, teaching and practices. I think it is a way to meet the aims of RE which … More A Five Year GCSE- really?
What do I mean by this title? Essentially, those who ‘own’ something get to determine the rules and the acceptable boundaries of use. For example, in sport there are numerous national and international bodies that are recognised as the authority and any change to rules or procedures has to go through them. To extend the … More Who owns a religion?
CSARs has recently posted the video of the paper I gave at the 4th annual Conference last year (http://csarsg.org.uk/4th-annual-recovery-from-addiction-conference-2015/)
It’s been a while- apologies. About 8 years ago I presented a paper that explored my approach to my studies and while some of my thoughts have moved on, a lot remain the same. People had sometimes worried about the compatibility of my studies and my faith. In some ways this was my rejoinder to … More Fostering or Failing Faith?
On 3rd December James was invited to present GCSE certificates at his old school. As a part of this James reflected on his time at the school and the influence of others. The text of his speech has been adapted slightly but can be found below: I am so grateful to have been invited here … More Set the world on fire
I have delivered two sessions recently about the UK Government’s ‘Prevent’ strategy; first of all to postgraduate students training to be teachers, and also to members of my Faculty at University. On both occasions I retained some deep set concerns about the way that it has been articulated. I indicated in an earlier post, the … More Some further concerns about Prevent
On Saturday 3rd October James was a guest on Unbelievable? on Premier Christian Radio. While not perfect and there were aspects I was not thrilled with (for example having to leave the last statement unanswered). Feel free to have a listen here.
It’s been a bit quiet on the website recently- apologies for this- it’s been a hectic time of year. Just stopping by to advertise a couple of RE networking opportunities that I will be attending and leading elements of over the next couple of weeks. On Monday 28th September I’m at the Heads of RE … More RE Networking opportunities
Introduction Mauss has noted that throughout their history Latter-day Saints have struggled with the tension between retrenchment and assimilation (Mauss, 1994: 5). This article argues that this dichotomy is exemplified in the Church’s relationship with, and writings about, other faiths. As a structure each of these positions and their validity will be explored in detail, … More The dichotomy of Latter-day Saint interfaith commentary: a way forward.
There are some who may eschew engagement with other religions because it is dangerous. John Hull has characterised such an approach in the following way: ‘I am holy, the argument says, and you are holy but the ground between us is unholy ground and we will contaminate each other through harmful mingling of blood if … More Inter-faith dialogue: A transformational third space
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