Religious Education as Peace Education: A Perspective from Northern Ireland

Abstract

The role of religion in schooling in Northern Ireland has long been contentious and has often been represented as a major factor in the region’s conflicted sectarian history. Religious Education (RE) in schools is predominantly Christian in style and content, often largely instructional in nature and is perceived to be representative of one or other of the dominant cultural communities. Yet, throughout the decades of political conflict and right up to the present, some educators have proposed pedagogies and developed resources towards a conception of RE as a major contributor to peace and community cohesion. This study sets out the background to this situation and outlines the obstacles and challenges to a Religious Education focused on building peace through improving good relations in the local sectarian context as well as in relation to the wider context of race and inter-religious relationships. It draws on a range of research and on-going qualitative studies, based on interviews and questionnaires, focusing on the attitudes and experiences of serving teachers, student teachers, parents and members of minority ethnic-cultural communities. In particular, it highlights attitudes to diverse learning beyond traditional confines and to the levels of pedagogical confidence of educators in dealing with potentially controversial topics in the classroom. Overall findings in Northern Ireland have indicated significant teacher wariness about tackling such topics but also a growing openness to the possibility of moving towards a more inclusive and professional approach to the teaching of RE. These views are analysed and some options for further research and professional development are proposed and discussed.