Functions of crisis in religious education discourse since 1975. A critical corpus-assisted analysis

Abstract

ABSTRACT The omnipresence of multiple crisis diagnoses in contemporary public discourse deeply affects religious education (RE). At first sight, this does not seem to be surprising, insofar as it corresponds to the pedagogical ambition to meaningfully respond to challenges in the lifeworld of learners. Yet, what happens when current phenomena are framed as crisis? Prior to asking the question how RE responds to a particular crisis, one might consider the way in which the perception of reality as crisis emerges and works. Against this background, the paper investigates the use of ‘crisis’ in RE discourse since 1975. We consider developments up to 2019 using an evenly distributed, diachronic random sample of 485 papers from English RE journals, and then compare this with a synchronic corpus of 31 papers around the emergence of the Covid pandemic. With reference to critical political theory, crises are interpreted as part of normative orders that structure the perception of the respective present. Methodologically, we follow the approach of a corpus-assisted critical discourse analysis. Results show how RE discourse frames its perception of the present by means of diagnosing crises. A critical examination of corresponding attributions and implications opens spaces for alternative ways of thinking and acting.