Religion and worldviews

Whilst the agreed syllabus is most clearly for Religious Education, there is an increasing recognition that non-religious beliefs should also be considered. There is also the recognition that each religion and belief system is diverse within itself. This is where the concept of ‘worldview’ comes in. Whilst many teachers, especially but not uniquely secondary, have been using the term worldviews for many years, it has taken on a more prominent position in thinking about religious education since the publication of the Commission on RE report: Religion and worldviews: the way forward (2018). As a consequence of this, there is much debate about what is meant by ‘worldviews’ and how, if at all, it is a useful concept within RE. Many are calling for the name to change to Religion and Worldviews (R&WV) though many are also challenging this.

This page will, over time, provide links to important reports, papers, blogs etc that will keep you informed about current thinking and developments.

You can access the report here:

Commission on RE: Religion and worldviews: the way forward

Also a recent blog space has been launched looking into some of the recommendations of the report:

Reforming RE

And blogs on REonline:

RE Online: Opening up conversations about religion and worldviews

There is an academic work group taking this forward and their report should be published this Autumn.

The BBC has a good religion and ethics section on its website, though it is archived:

BBC: Religions

And videos here:

BBC programmes: religion and ethics

The series ‘My Life, My Religion’ for KS2 – KS3

YouTube: My life, My Religion

Some useful articles on religions:

Learn Religions