Worldview Studies

This article provides an historical case study of an abortive attempt to revise policy and legislation relating to Religious Education (RE) in English schools in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Drawing upon published sources, including parliamentary debates, as well as previously unutilised national archival sources from the Department of Education and Science, it comments upon events which have hitherto been omitted from the historiography of RE, but which help to contextualise significant changes in RE theory and practice at that time. Moreover, it demonstrates that the current parlous state of RE in schools is in part the result of latent and longstanding issues and problems, rather than a consequence of present-day government policy alone. Therefore, in reviewing and developing RE policies and practices, all stakeholders are urged to look more closely at both changes and continuities in the subject’s past and the contexts in which they occurred.

Knowing self cannot be accomplished without investigation of the other. Knowing self and others—in essence, understanding the human—entails engaging the larger existential or ultimate questions of life. These questions loom large and defy easy solutions, yet wrestling with them remains the hall‐ mark of the educated person, as questions asked of others quickly become those we ask of ourselves. Posing these questions lends weight to exploring the beliefs and values that constitute one's worldview and the myriad of influences and experiences that give it shape. The study of differing world‐ views enhances knowledge and critical thinking; for global citizenship and civil society leadership; for open‐mindedness and discernment. This article explores worldviews— " visions of life " and " ways of life " —as an inclusive search for knowing self and others. It argues for a comprehensive approach that includes both religious and secular worldviews and offers a pedagogical model that incorporates worldview study at the undergraduate level. Introduction The compelling words of the Oracle of Delphi (Know Thyself) have long stood at the centre of the academy. Knowing self cannot be accomplished, however, without serious investigation of the other. Knowing self and others, in essence understanding the human, is never simple, for questions con‐ cerning who we are, the meaning and purpose of life, our responsibilities and obligations, how to discern right from wrong, and where lies hope for the future not only loom large but defy easy solution. Wrestling with the larger questions of life remains nonetheless the hallmark of the educated person. These larger questions also lend weight to exploring the beliefs and values that constitute one's worldview and the myriad of influences and

This study analyzes the configuration of Olympism, the set of values and
principles underpinning the Olympic Games, in the context of Olympic opening and closing ceremonies. I argue that the category of worldview and the field of worldview studies can offer significant contributions to the ongoing discourse on the present and future of religious studies, informed by the crisis of the category of religion. Olympism offers a case in which the interest of religious studies should not be obstructed by the problems that would coalesce with the framing of Olympism as religion. Instead I propose an approach in which Olympism can be understood as worldview and Olympic ceremonies as rituals, devoting particular attention to the applicability of ‘ritual’ in the ceremonial context and the political and socio-cultural functions and effects of the Olympic Games. My focus is on the last three editions of the Olympics up to Tokyo 2021, which means I analyze the ceremonies of Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Rio de Janeiro 2016. The overarching argument of the study relates the popularity and mediated visibility of the ceremonies as mass events of the global, digital age to the politically charged configuration of “togetherness” in an internationalist context, where the IOC (International Olympic Committee) is cooperating with
the United Nations to promote an idealist conception of peace and a future utopian world society.

Öz Makalenin amacı dünya görüşü eğitimi yaklaşımın din eğitimi alanına ötekinin dini inançlarını ve dünya görüşünü anlamada etkisini tespit etmektir. Bu amaçla Ka-nada, New Brunswick Üniversitesi, Renaissance College'da lisans düzeyinde yürü-tülmekte olan 'Dinler, Dünya Görüşler ve Kültürler' dersini almış 42 öğrenci ve me-zunla ve dünya görüşü eğitimi yaklaşımının teorisini oluşturan ve eğitimini veren Dr. John Valk ile yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Görüşmelerde dünya görüşü eğitiminin bireyin kendisine ve ötekine karşı olan düşünce, tutum ve davranışlarını hangi yönlerde ve nasıl etkilediği sorgulanmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda dünya görüşü eğitiminin öğrencileri ötekini tanıma kazanımına ulaştırdığı, farklı din ve kültürlere karşı olan düşünce, tutum ve davranışlarını olumlu bir şekilde geliştirdiği görülmüştür. Ayrıca dünya görüşü eğitiminin öğrencileri yaşamın anlam ve amacını sorgulamaları yönünde teşvik ettiği ortaya çıkmıştır. Abstract Knowing Others and Worldview Approach in Religious Education: A Field Research This article aims to determine the effects of worldview education on the understanding of others' beliefs and worldviews in the context of religious education. The main purpose of worldview education is to assist students to have a broader and deeper understanding on self-identity, worldviews of others, meaning and purpose of life. It

Reflecting on the aftermath of my experience as an interpreter for the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Originally published in The New Pantagruel and subsequently in Comment magazine. Included in John Wilson (ed.), The Best Christian Writing 2006 (Jossey-Bass).