Synoptic vision: some research priorities for RE

Religious Education (RE) is more than a single curriculum subject and research should give more attention to that fact. Drawing on a lifetime’s engagement with RE, this article identifies ten topics that deserve urgent pursuit if the interests of children and young people are to be more effectively understood and addressed. They begin with a cluster on the nature and extent of RE provision within both schools and colleges and in teacher education. These are followed by ones stretching horizons for understanding religious dimensions of moral and social development. They culminate in a proposal for a radical initiative to transform the collective life of schools with a calendared celebration of plurality. Though focussed primarily on the UK context and that of England in particular, they invite extrapolation elsewhere.