Empathy within Religious Education in England
From the Bible-based approach to the multi-faith and phenomenological approach (1944-2020)
Abstract
The transition from the 1960s to the 1970s marked a paradigm change in religious education in England, moving from a confessional, Bible-centred approach to a multi-faith and phenomenological model that came to include non-religious worldviews as well. This transition, influenced by growing multiculturalism, redefined the aims and content of the discipline, giving empathy a more central role. Drawing on Bell’s threefold model of religious education syllabuses developed since the 1944 Education Act, this paper examines how empathy has been incorporated into curricula and textbooks. Through the analysis of syllabuses, textbooks, and guides for teachers, it explores how paradigm shifts and objectives of social cohesion shaped the integration of empathic competence.
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