An Appraisal of Previous Studies

Quite recently, in April of 2011 to be precise, Yonah Hisbon Matemba completed a doctoral dissertation at the University of Glasgow which focused on comparing developments in High School RE. Matemba’s comparative study was a gaze into the inherent dynamics between the forty-year period from 1970 to 2010 in the study’s host country of Scotland and in the researcher’s home country of Malawi. Matemba (2011) thus successfully managed to create knowledge on High School Religious Education in both a European (Scottish) and an African (Malawian) context in one fell swoop. The author cites a number of studies in other liberal-democratic societies that have been subject to curriculum reform in their RE between the years 1970 and 2010, beyond Scotland and Malawi. These include Jackson’s study on the English RE curriculum (2004), Matemba’s own study multi-faith RE in Botswana (2005), Chidester’s in South Africa (2006), and Weisse’s intervention in Germany (2007). Matemba (2011) proceeds into a discussion of specific societal trends which have a measure of effect on RE at the global scale; he lists these as democratization and pluralization, egalitarianism and educational access, migration, and secularization. Matemba quotes Brennan’s 2005 definition of secularization as the process

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whereby explicit religious notion, practice and institutions lose their social significance in public life (Brennan, 2005).

Due to its focus on Secondary School RE, the foregoing exploration on Matemba’s comparative work is poignant and fitting to begin this section to the extent that it is at once basic, somewhat recent, yet encompassing both an African and a European perspective on the subject. The adoption of Matemba (2011) in opening this review is therefore done advisedly. Indeed, there have been several studies of doctoral implications in RE both prior and after Matemba’s effort. Matemba’s effort is however a milestone because of its ability to take on the practice in two different continents. Further than this, it is poignant for the present study in that it assesses one of the United Kingdom’s most important components – Scotland. Meanwhile, barely a year prior to Matemba’s study, in May 2010, Geoffrey Teece completed a PhD at College of Social Sciences of the University of Birmingham’s School of Education on a topic themed on ‘A Religious Approach to Religious Education: The Implications of John Hick’s Religious Interpretation of Religion for Religious Education.’ Teece (2010) was primarily concerned with “the question [of] how to present the study of religion to students in RE in schools that reflects a distinctively religious character but not a confessional one” (Teece, 2010, p. iii). Teece’s thesis argued that a nuanced understanding of John Hick’s religious interpretation of religion could provide a “second order explanatory framework for the study of religion in RE” (ibid.).

The previous year, in January of 2009, Anthony Gerard Finn completed a Doctor of Education degree at the Australian Catholic University. The thesis themed on ‘Parents, Teachers, and Religious Education: A Study in a Catholic Secondary School in Rural Victoria’ looked into

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perceptions about the nature and essence of RE of parents and teachers in the context of secondary schools by deploying a Catholic secondary school in regional Victoria, Australia as its case study.

Finn’s study (2009) was seminal to the extent that it sought to compare and contrast how parents and teachers understood RE within the domain of the field research in the selected Catholic secondary school. Finn (2009) observed that parents and teachers were in vigorous agreement regarding such aspects of RE as values, morality, individual spirituality, and religious literacy.

However, whereas most teachers who served as respondents in the study felt that charity ought to begin at home, hence have parents spearhead the RE of their wards; the bulk of the parents interviewed through the study thought they were busy with their jobs as the teachers were. For these parents, it is the teachers’ responsibility to build the primary religious foundation in their students through the course of RE classes, modules and interpretive exercises.

Finn’s findings are perhaps understandable considering that “the relationship between morality and religion is, to say the least, confused – not least because it has never been clearly defined”

(Bull, 1973, p. 89). Bull offers a framework through which to interrogate this blurry relationship between religion and morality:

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The Relationship between Morality and Religion The forms of

Note: A framework from (Bull, 1973, 89-104)

Bull’s delineation deserves a proper exploration. After all, of the traditional view which marries religion to morality, there are three characteristics namely that (a) this view sees morality as an outflow from religion, indissolubly bound up with it (b) the view portends that without religion there can be no effective morality; for its content, its form, its learning and its sanctions are rooted in the supernatural; and (c) this view of morality as married to religion, therefore, sees moral decay as the logical consequence of religious decay; if man neglects the supernatural he is morally lost.

The second form of relationship between morality and religion is that wherein morality is divorced from religion. On this secular humanist approach, Bull (1973) is explicit about a human rather than a supernatural base position; with the needs of human society, not towards God. Bull continues that such humanism is no less concerned with morality than the religious view; the only difference being that it makes morality primary while religion is relegated to the place of a barrier which does

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not trigger moral progress. Bull’s third form of relationship between morality and religion is what is simply known as the ‘new morality’ (Bull, 1973, p. 97). In this relationship, Bull highlights notions such as the one wherein the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath; just as morality was made for man, not man for morality. Indeed, this approach recognizes that goodness implies love in action; and that evils are invariably wrong, not because authoritarian rules say so, but because they deny or conflict with love. Nonetheless, herein is the arena where morality is somewhat flexible based on immediate circumstances and contexts.

While Chizelu (2006) had dealt with the issue of ‘Teaching Religious Education in Zambian Multi-Religious Secondary Schools’ through doctoral research at the University of South Africa precisely a decade ago, Richard Patrick Branson interrogated ‘The role of the imagination in the religious conversion of adolescents attending Catholic secondary schools’ four years later at the University of Notre Dame, Australia. The same year at the University of Punjab in Lahore, Pakistan, Afifa Khanam completed doctoral research committed to studying the ‘Effect of Religious Education on the Moral Development of Children’ (2010). Also in June 2010, Eanna Johnson completed a doctoral study on RE in Ireland titled ‘A Theological and Pedagogical Analysis of the Catechetic Programme for Irish Catholic Primary Schools, 1996-2004’ at the Pontifical University: St. Patrick’s College Maynooth, Republic of Ireland. And the list of citations goes on. The examples of doctoral standard research on various aspects of RE abound. The snag, however, is that there is a stark dearth of research, indeed, of literature on the subject of RE in the Caribbean. This is rather curious considering the fact that religion features prominently in the culture of the region, even more so in the nation of Haiti – the proposed location of the present

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doctoral study. Indeed, the selected title for the present study reads ‘An Explorative Study On Teaching Religious Education for A Culture of Peace in Haiti.’

But beyond doctoral research, what is the caliber of literature available in the field of RE out there, particularly those disseminated through the much cited indexed journals? The British Journal of Religious Education recently ran a special issue in its latest edition on the theme of

‘Professionalism, Professionalization and Professionality in RE’ (2016). Indeed, research in the field is so diverse, so broad based and so nuanced to the extent that the editorial team considered a need for such a special issue on the professionalism, professionalization and professionality in RE. Let us begin this section with an assessment of the most widely read and most cited articles on this journal label in order to command a sturdy grasp of the cutting edge material in the area.

By a mile the most cited article in the British Journal of RE is John White’s analysis of the subject

‘Should RE be a compulsory school subject?’ (2004). Therein, White is preoccupied with the vexatious subject of RE as a separate, compulsory subject in British schools. White is particularly irked by the idea that the subject simply reels out a syllabus that propagates morality as established by the subject’s conveners as against being a subject that critically interrogates the notions being propagated. White informs that Britain is an increasingly secular society where the continued existence of RE as a compulsory school subject cannot hold having argued that its compulsory status isn’t justifiable. White takes his readers through a historical ride noting the origins of RE as a compulsory school subject in 1944 in order to support the moral values underlying democracy.

White is baffled at how an official justification of RE can be made in terms of moral education whereas the civic justification being referred to faded after the Second World War. White is also

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of the opinion that the subject if it must exist – as a non-compulsory elective – should comprise elements imbued with understanding and respecting other religions and beliefs (White, 2004).

Based on the nature of his doctoral thesis at the University of Birmingham, it is hardly any surprise that Geoff Teece’s article titled ‘Is it learning about and from religions, religion or religious education? And is it any wonder some teachers don’t get it?’ (2010) is the second most cited piece in the British Journal of Religious Education. In the piece, Teece sought to clarify different possible interpretations of what is meant by current uses of the terms learning about religionandlearning from religion. Indeed, Teece interrogates the issues involved in matters of teaching RE and wonders how much the teachers of the subject actually get what they teach and why they teach it in the first place. Teece emphasizes the fact that the terms ‘religions’, ‘religion’, and ‘RE’ mean three entirely distinct things with distinct implications for the concept oflearning from religion which depends on being clear about what it is that pupils should learnabout religion (Teece, 2010).

Yet another doctoral study already considered here, in fact, the first of the lot to be considered is Yonah Matemba’s comparative analysis of Secondary School RE in Scotland and in Malawi. It is, therefore, further striking that Matemba’s review of the ground breaking book Does religious education work? A multidimensional investigation (2013) by Conroy et al.; comes in an impressive third on the overall ranking of the most cited articles in the British Journal of RE. It is pertinent to note an observation at this point in the trend of questions for titles or better still questioning titles in the top three cited articles in the British Journal of Religious Education. Indeed, it is the contention here that what this portends is a broader commentary on the larger field of RE as a field

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of great doubt, palpable uncertainty, and deep questions which future research must brace up to adequately apprehend if the field is to remain relevant as a discipline, indeed, an instrument through which new knowledge is created and disseminated.

Another very important voice and authority in the field is Professor Robert Jackson, author of the highly influential and acclaimed Rethinking Religious Education and Plurality: Issues in Diversity and Pedagogy (2004). Jackson is also the Editor in Chief of the British Journal of Religious Education. But, all that is secondary – for purposes here - to the fact he is responsible for the fourth most cited article in the journal entitled ‘Should the State Fund Faith Based Schools? A Review of the Arguments’ (2003). We see here a continuation of the questioning trend and a corroboration of my submission in the preceding paragraph. Nonetheless, Jackson is here concerned with the debate about state funding for faith based schools in England and Wales which had intensified following the 9 / 11 attacks in New York and Washington and their aftermath internationally, together with tensions related to religion more locally, typified by riots in the north of England in the summer of 2001. In this article, Jackson is preoccupied with reviewing the opposing arguments by proponents and opponents of state funded faith based schools. Jackson’s conclusion is characteristic and palliative to the extent that he proffers that the undesirable practices referred to by opponents are not intrinsic to a faith based education and that all schools should promote social justice (including religious tolerance), knowledge about religions, the development of pupils’ skills of criticism and independent thinking and also dialogue and interaction between pupils of different backgrounds (Jackson, 2003).

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A much cited article from the British Journal of Religious Education which shall be reviewed here before the attention shifts to the official journal of the Religious Education Association: Religious Education is Joyce Miller and Ursula McKenna’s ‘Religion and religious education: comparing and contrasting pupils’ and teachers’ views in an English school’ (2011) which focuses on teenagers in the 15 and 16 age bracket of European descent, and their views regarding religion and RE. Miller and McKenna’s study is quite unique – albeit not ground breaking – as they compare these teenagers’ opinions with those of humanities teachers of a school in an unnamed multicultural town in the north of England. The duo offers an analysis of the similarities and differences in worldviews and beliefs which emerged (Miller and McKenna, 2011).

A final much cited report in teaching RE is the Toledo Guiding Principles. It has been established that teaching RE is vital to creating a culture of peace. Importantly, certain factors must be taken into consideration in order to achieve a perfect design for teaching RE. Against this background, we will examine the principles laid down by the Toledo report.

Toledo provided one of the most comprehensive foundation and guidelines for the provision of RE, which have been largely implemented by OSCE countries like England, Ireland etc. Its guidelines had multidimensional structures touching on the human rights, legal implications of teaching, protection of ethnic and religious minorities, the role of parents, teachers, the students and the state, curriculum design and instructors of RE. Concerning states, the document remarked that “the state has the responsibility, not only to refrain from interfering with religious rights but also to take steps to protect the enjoyment of the religion and beliefs of every group.” What this means that the state ought to be a neutral umpire in matters of religion and must refrain for the

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repressions and persecution of people who practice congruent with their religious convictions.

These repressions amount to gross infringements of their rights to freedom of association, expression of thought and their spirituality because international agreements and human right treatise state unequivocally that every individual had unlimited right to choose his own slant of thought and religion, free form persecution from the state in any and every way. According to the Toledo report (as cited in Santoro et al., 2008), people holding such forms of beliefs should benefit from the protection of the international human rights law when acting in ways which manifest their convictions. There are four of these protected manifestations which are worship, teaching, practice and observance. The report further added that while states have the responsibility of designing the modes and system of education, such model must protect the interest of all within the state.

Regarding parents and children, the report submitted that, parents reserve the right to have their children educated in accordance with their own religious and philosophical convictions. This principle means that parents have the exclusive preserve to decide the RE designs which their children should lend their hearts and ears to. Where their preference is not provided for, they could decide for their children to ignore any design forced by the school. Although, children are considered independent beings entitled to freedom of choice, as children of impressionable mind, this prerogative of choice is exercised by their parents. Hence, the parents ultimately decide for their children until the child is old enough to exercise their right of choice. This principle ensures some sort of philosophical continuity within the family and a harmonization of thought patterns and beliefs.

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Regarding teachers, the report remarks that, having chosen to work in an educational, a range of restrictions may legitimately be placed upon teachers to ensure that an environment conducive for learning is maintained. In addition, teachers must approach their task in a balanced and professional manner, and may not exploit their positions as teachers to influence the beliefs of their pupils. This implies that the moment the teacher takes on the responsibility of teaching, he is no more to be seen as a member of a particular religion when teaching but as a neutral custodial of religious knowledge who would guide the minds of students to the universality of truth and the diversity of its expressions.

In pluralized societies, the minority often suffer socio-political and economic neglect which often manifests in all other subtle dimensions. One of these is the religious dimension and such neglect often breeds contempt, hatred and hinders the smooth cooperative atmosphere which brings peace.

To eliminate this, the Toledo report encourages that the design of RE should be sensitive to the needs of minority groups. Conscious efforts should be made to identify the fears of these groups, within the purview of RE recognition and allay them. Concerning the design of RE curriculum, sensitivity, inclusivity, universality, impartiality and religious equality guided by respect for the rights to religion and beliefs should be the guiding principles. In other words, curriculum must be reasonably simple but not overly simplified to trivialize complex matters and must be free. In addition, curriculum should be comprehensive and focus on key historical and contemporary events concerning issues of religion and belief. This means that the curriculum must be simple enough for children to understand yet retain the complexity required to explain certain concepts.

It must be dynamic in such a way that it comprehensively covers historical events and occurrences concerning religion. Importantly, since societies are not stuck in the past, but continually adapt

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with the present social conditions presented by their environment, it must equally cover contemporary happenings and explanations. It must provide a link between the past and the present and even make trajectorially prophesies of the future. the document suggested that curriculum should include reference to sources drawn from various religious beliefs and traditions. This is believed will promote tolerance, respect for others, as well as, show the relative significance of all beliefs and their equality.

Curricular should also ensure that it reflect the particular religious’ conviction native to school environment. What this implies is that teaching Islam in a community in Haiti with no Muslim, even though it is one of the largest religions in the world in terms of worshippers, would be a waste

Curricular should also ensure that it reflect the particular religious’ conviction native to school environment. What this implies is that teaching Islam in a community in Haiti with no Muslim, even though it is one of the largest religions in the world in terms of worshippers, would be a waste