{"title":"Temporal Mind Mapping","authors":"J. Mercer","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2112839","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2112839","url":null,"abstract":"From time to time, I look back into the archives of this journal to see what folks were writing about ten or twenty or fifty years ago. It helps me to keep some perspective on the present. For instance, I often discover that the things that seem to be urgent new issues for today are instead new points of view from this different time-context on matters that have been important to religious education scholars and practitioners across many decades. Such discoveries do not make the present-day issues any less significant. Nor are the arguments made by contemporary authors any less original or interesting by virtue of being further developments of an earlier line of thinking rather than completely novel ideas. Instead, I find that it deepens my understanding to be able to see the contours of a discussion as it takes place across the years, as I engage in a type of temporal “mind-mapping”—drawing connections between a network of connected yet diverse ideas that have flourished over time. Here is an example. Way back in 1909, George E. Dawson raised the question in this journal regarding what religious education might gain from engaging “the biological sciences” (Dawson 1909, 438). Suggesting that in religious educational work with adolescents, “biological material drawn from neurology and psychology could be introduced,” Dawson went on to say that “the more practical facts bearing upon the nature of the brain and nervous system; their relation to the feelings, intellect and will ... might be presented either in occasional [sic] separate lessons, or in connection with material drawn from the Bible” (Dawson 1909, 440). Fast forward to 1993, when Jerry Larsen’s article (Larsen 1993), “Religious Education and the Brain: On Letting Cognitive Science Inform Religious Education,” charted the functions of various brain regions, asking, “Might knowledge of the brain inform us in religious education? Could it tell us something about the religious educator’s agenda and methods? Wouldn’t we be wise to let cognitive science inform us?” Nearly a decade after Larson’s queries, the REA’s annual meeting, under the leadership of then President-Elect Dean Blevins, explored the theme, “Brain Matters: Neuroscience, Creativity and Diversity.” The 2012 issue of the journal in which selected conference papers and addresses appear from that meeting (107:4) includes a fascinating array of research in our field in which forays into neuroscience opened new perspectives for religious education. One of the presenters in the 2012 meeting, Mary Hess, in her published conference paper (Hess 2012) provided an example of what Dawson asked for in 1909, albeit one hundred and three volume-years later in the journal. Hess, drawing on the work of her own historical moment’s contemporary brain research, described recent developments in knowledge about mechanisms within the human brain that allow for the experience of empathy. Mirror neurons give an observer access to the experience of anoth","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80862285","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reciprocal Church: Becoming a Community Where Faith Flourishes Beyond High School","authors":"T. O’Keefe","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2110735","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2110735","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-08-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"86396611","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Godly Play Went Home: An Exploratory Study of the Experience of Godly Play in Homes during the Covid-19 Pandemic through the Lens of Caregivers","authors":"Cheryl V. Minor, Hannah Sutton-Adams","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2101814","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2101814","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This study explored caregivers’ experiences of virtual Godly Play in the United States, South Korea, and the UK during COVID-19 lockdowns. Thematic analysis of thirty-three caregiver surveys and six semi-structured interviews revealed four themes: support/community, intergenerational Godly Play, spiritual maintenance and growth for the family, and the gift of wonder. This study shows that the experience of Godly Play at home during the pandemic benefited caregivers. As the pandemic subsides and we return to child-centered programming in churches, this study highlights the importance of including and equipping caregivers in nurturing their children’s spirituality.","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"81765642","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
C. H. Rich, R. Ward Holder, Aubrey Scheopner Torres
{"title":"Teaching Race, Colonialism, and Theology in a Joint Project in North America and Africa: Insights from the Project","authors":"C. H. Rich, R. Ward Holder, Aubrey Scheopner Torres","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2097989","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2097989","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract How do race and lived experiences of this construct impact student theological understandings? We embarked on a joint pedagogical venture spanning two continents about race and theology with groups of students whose encounters with race and its impacts on theology were markedly different—including students whose lives and education have been formed by colonialism and its continuing legacies, and students whose grasp of theological systems had hardly addressed the effects of racism on theology. In this article, we share what we learned and offer recommendations for others looking to use this as a model.","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74514387","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"An Exploratory Study of Students’ Academic Entitlement in Arabic Culture and Religion Courses","authors":"M. Pilotti, H. Mulhem, Omar J. El-Moussa","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2097987","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2097987","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Academic entitlement (AE) is the expectation of academic success without the recognition, exercised through thought and action, of personal responsibility for attaining that success. In the present exploratory study, we examined the extent to which AE is present in female college students enrolled in Arabic culture and religious courses at a Middle Eastern university with a secular curriculum. The study also examined whether AE accounted for poor course performance. Arabic culture and religious courses promote inner modesty. Such courses, however, exist in a society with contradictory values, with Islam and tribal traditions promoting modesty and unity while capitalistic forces promote immodesty and competition through unfettered marketing and consumption. Although evidence of AE was minimal, overall less endorsement of AE emerged as students moved from earlier to later courses, gaining academic experience. Specific aspects of AE were found to be related to lower course performance. The procedure of this study and its findings can serve as a roadmap to implement proactive interventions for students enrolled in such courses.","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"74342366","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Shifting Identifications among Religious and Non-Religious Emerging Adults at a Northeastern U.S. Mainstream Denominational College","authors":"Kenneth R. Culton","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2097986","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2097986","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract Little is known about the effect of various social contexts on the development of belief for emerging adults. Specifically, college has been shown to both diminish and strengthen beliefs. I show that identifying as religious or non-religious is largely decoupled from beliefs and practices among emerging adults at a mainstream denominational college. This particular social context is one where beliefs, of many stripes, are seen to be admirable. I find that the mainstream denominational college can be a supportive social context that encourages experimentation, exploration, and potential strengthening of both spiritual and denominational beliefs.","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-07-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80519759","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Improving the Pedagogy of Islamic Religious Education in Secondary Schools: The Role of Critical Religious Education and Variation Theory","authors":"Frida Akmalia, Sayyidah Maghfiroh","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2090169","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2090169","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72996823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Financial Education Program for Future Bridegrooms in Ultra-Orthodox Yeshivas: The Graduate’s Perspective","authors":"Anat Barth, Itschak Trachtengot","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2090167","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2090167","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract The Israeli ultra-Orthodox community is a segregated religious minority suffering from poverty, yet its youth do not receive financial education. This mixed-method research explores the effectiveness of a financial education program for affianced ultra-Orthodox men. 11 interviewees answered qualitative questionnaires, and 201 program graduates evaluated program effectiveness, financial conduct, and demographics, compared to 36 control-group participants. Qualitative results emphasize the program’s importance for yeshiva students. Quantitative results demonstrate better savings behavior and more consultation willingness of graduates. Culturally-sensitive programming can lead to improved financial conduct; therefore, governmental investment is essential for Israeli economic welfare and for the ultra-Orthodox community.","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79506171","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Seeking Equilibrium While the Debate Continues: The Role of the Director of Religious Studies in Catholic Secondary Schools in the Diocese of Hamilton, Aotearoa New Zealand","authors":"Theo van der Nest, P. Shannon","doi":"10.1080/00344087.2022.2061186","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/00344087.2022.2061186","url":null,"abstract":"Abstract This article aims to report on research that explored the role of perceptions of Directors of Religious Studies (DRSs) in Catholic secondary schools in the Hamilton Diocese, Aotearoa New Zealand (ANZ). The DRS position was established to preserve the Catholic special character of these schools after integration with the state education system with the passing of the Private Schools Conditional Integration Act of 1975. This investigation was researched using Glaser and Straus’s (1967) classical grounded theory methodology to develop theory on the extent to which various aspects assist or inhibit DRSs in fostering special character in Catholic schools.","PeriodicalId":45654,"journal":{"name":"RELIGIOUS EDUCATION","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2022-05-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72502033","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"哲学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}