Religious Education

Description

Ongoing discussions on Religious Education (RE) in the UK reveal not only that the nature, purpose and aims of this controversial subject remain unclear but also that it is still struggling to fit in cosmopolitan societies. In response, this investigation suggests that RE must be a compulsory curricular space for spiritual development. Two arguments are forwarded to support this recommendation. Firstly, through a reconsideration of the expression homo religious. Secondly, it is suggested that RE must be mainly focused on the nurturing of this capacity, which might contribute to the ongoing debate in at least three ways: (1) Reinforcing the importance of RE as a compulsory curricular space for developing a natural human capacity. (2) Allowing to attend the claims of non-religious groups by replacing religions with a more flexible and comprehensive understanding of the sacred. (3) Providing clarification of the aims and purpose of RE, which narrows down the scope of the subject and allows a more strategic selection of curricular contents according to each context.