Teach-Secondary-Issue-14.5

Modern-day‘worship’ All of us engage in RE every day without even realising it. Whether we have a faith or not, we live lives full of purpose, ethics and traditions. We make moral decisions. We weigh up right and wrong. We look at how other people live and compare their lives to our own. We borrow ideas and customs from different cultures and beliefs and make them ours. And let’s not forget our modern obsession with celebrities and public figures. Look at how we idolise sports stars, influencers, politicians and performers. The time we spend scrolling through their lives on social media borders on religious devotion, doesn’t it? What other subject is better placed than RE to help us make sense of this kind of modern-day ‘worship’? Consider also the ways in which technology is reshaping our world. AI systems are writing essays, creating art and even holding philosophical conversations. In this rapidly evolving landscape, understanding what makes us distinctly human becomes more crucial than ever. RE gives us the tools to explore those boundaries, and ask the deeper questions about consciousness, purpose and meaning that technology raises, but isn’t able to answer. The truth is, everyone thinks about the big stuff, whether they admit it or not. We wonder what our purpose is. We grapple with thoughts of whether there’s more to life than this. We face new ethical dilemmas all the time, especially in today’s complex world. RE helps us navigate all of it. It doesn’t always give us the answers – but it does help us ask better questions. Other subjects can teach us how the world works, or how to get on in life, but RE is the only one that asks us to consider why any of it matters at all. And that’s exactly why we need it now, more than ever. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Andy McHugh (@andymchugh.bsky. social) is a head of RE and the founder of Teacher Writers (@teacherwriters.bsky.social) – a service that supports teachers wanting to write professionally or just for fun TALKING POINTS RE shouldn’t just involve learning about religion – it’s about learning from it, too. Here are just some of the topics that students love debating: 1. Is it ever right to break the law? Explores the tensions that exist between legal and moral responsibility, civil disobedience and ethical principles. 2. Are all beliefs equally valid? Encourages evaluation of cultural relativism, tolerance and the limits of pluralism. 3.What makes someone a ‘good’ person? Links to virtue ethics, character education and personal development. 4. Do science and religion really conflict? Engages students in nuanced thinking about different kinds of truth and evidence. 5. Is religion a force for good or harm? Prompts analysis of religion’s role in history, politics and peace-building. 6. Can people be spiritual without being religious? Encourages reflection on identity, belief and secular spirituality. 67 teachwire.net/secondary R E L I G I O U S E D U C AT I O N