B&NES SACRE: NEWS ARCHIVE

About 800 students from nine schools are attending the university over three days (5/6/7th July) to explore 'Big Questions and Alternative Answers'. Among the big questions under discussion are whether religion brings peace or conflict, whether there is a 'God gene', whether 'near death experiences' are hallucinations, whether minds can exist beyond death, what is beauty and whether human enhancement is our destiny. Alternative answers are sought from religious and belief traditions including Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist, Nihilist, Bahá’í, Rastafari, Christian and er, Dr. Who.

Students have a chance to meet representatives from the different faiths and beliefs and to experience 'the Tranqulity Zone'. Thanks to grants from both the Bath and North East Somerset SACRE and NASACRE (the national equivalent), we have been able to get two well known speakers from the 'RE Today' team, Lat Blaylock and Stephen Pett, and put on performances and workshops from the Tibetan Buddhist monks from the Tashilhunpo monastery and the well-known reggae drummer Rim Bim and his group.

masked dancer The monks will perform traditional sacred chants and masked dances which express Buddhist philosophy and the drummers explain how music and Rasta beliefs and values are related. The connections between religions and the arts is explored further via dancing Muslims and the creativity of rage and despair, and several workshops explore connection between religions/beliefs and the sciences. A particularly challenging workshop asks whether our culture today is guilty of perpetuating the Nazi ideology.

The conference, the second of its kind, is for all year 12 students in the Local Authority, and is organised by a partnership of Bath Spa University Widening Participation team, the Study of Religions team from the Humanities Department of the School of Historical and Cultural Industries, Bath and North East Somerset SACRE (Standing Advisory Council on Religious Education), Bath Interfaith Group and the Bath and North East Somerset Heads of Sixth Forms Group.

Conference Programme

Conference Workshop Descriptions

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Yr 9 Animation Project 'The Miracles of Jesus'

(Mar 2009)

Yr 9 RE students at Somervale School have produced new DVD on the topic of 'The Miracles of Jesus.'

yr9 animation miracles of jesus cover

This exciting and fun project was made in conjunction with a visiting artist with the support of 'RE@CT'. The aim of the project was to utilise the school's Media Arts Status to enrich the learning in RE@CT. Miracles are studied at KS4 and KS5 and so the project served as an introduction to the GCSE course.

yr9 animation miracles of jesus contents All year 9 students were involved in the project. Each teaching group were divided into half and each half spent a full day off timetable working with our guest artist. A smaller group of students were then involved in writing the scripts and narrating each individual animation.

Students were given artistic licence to interpret the miracles as their group wanted.

They were supplied with a biblical text to work with and encouraged to be as creative as possible.

Find out more about the project and the DVD by contacting Dave Campbell at;

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B&NES SACRE Newsletter - February 2009

(Mar 2009)

Pupils Must Learn the Bible, Says Poet

Newsletter

(February 2009)

Local News:

Following the success of our two training days in October 2008, Lat Blaylock has been provisionally booked for 29^th and 30^th October 2009. Teacher questionnaires and training feedback have identified Assessment as a key training requirement for both Secondary and Primary teachers and I will be asking Lat to address this as a key focus of his training.
I have recently distributed letters and a questionnaire to all B&NES Headteachers, RE subject leaders and co-ordinators informing them about the most recent QCA advice on Agreed Syllabuses (see National news below), seeking comments on whether teachers would be in favour of a more national (or local) approach to RE, together with an invitation to future participation when revising any new agreed syllabuses. All responses should be in by 7^th March and these will be reported at the next SACRE meeting. I have received five replies to date.
I have also been in further contact with Dave Francis with regard to the review of the agreed syllabus and his comment that we may work with other local authorities (Eg. Calderdale and Northampton). These were mentioned because they had expressed an interest in linking with our review. All previously suggested timings, meetings and financial costs are also now subject to further alterations as a result.
Secondary schools should have recently received details about an excellent opportunity for each of our schools to send two delegates on an educational trip to Poland in April as part of the Lessons from Auschwitz Project. The initiative is a four part programme, sponsored by the Holocaust Education Trust and it is designed to have a ‘ripple effect’ – the two students that take part are to pass on their experiences to their peers and the wider community. The cost is £49 per student and a limited number of teacher places are available. Flights are from Exeter and further details can be gained from emailing: or 02072224761
The Lacey Theatre Company is offering school visits to perform a range of workshops for pupils in KS 3 (though may also be useful for Year 6). Due to grant funding, these whole day events cost £300. Contact Elin Jeynes on 02920337884 or email for further details.
Somervale School has recently created an animated DVD on The Miracles of Jesus with the support of a visiting artist. A copy of the DVD will be held in the Resource Centre at Saltford Primary school, or they can be purchased from the school.
Clive Erricker has recently drafted guidance notes for the teaching of Religion and Science in schools. Primarily aimed at supporting the Hampshire agreed syllabus, the guidance may also be useful for teachers in B&NES. I will attempt to have the document posted on our website and hard copies can be obtained from myself.
I hope to attend the South West RE Advisers Conference on 24^th March. This will involve key note talks and a range of workshops. Feedback at our next SACRE meeting.
We have now arranged for an annual Primary and Secondary subscription for REToday. Their termly mailing contains a host of relevant articles written by nationally respected authors, as well as excellent teaching and learning resources. The mailing will be held in the Resource Centre at Saltford Primary.
We have also made initial enquiries to the local authority about gaining extra support from their Community Cohesion funds. It is unclear how B&NES intends to promote the ‘Cohesion’ initiative, however, we will be emphasising that in most local authorities RE plays a key role in valuing and respecting diversity.

National news:

QCA has issued guidance to advise local authorities, SACREs and Agreed Syllabus Conferences (ASCs) in England on making key decisions about revisions to agreed syllabuses for RE during 2009. The information, for guidance only, is intended to help SACREs, ASCs and LAs to use their resources to support RE as effectively as possible. The three key points of this guidance are:
- Agreed syllabuses due for review in 2009 might consider the timing of the review to take account of any changes to the primary curriculum (currently under review)
- SACREs might also consider timing their review and revision to take account of updated government guidance on RE (the successor to Circular 1/94)
- It is the intention of QCA to work with SACREs and LAs in 2010 to facilitate agreed syllabus revisions that take account of the first two developments above

Full text of guidance can be found at http://www.qca.org.uk/qca_7882.aspx

The Three Faiths Forum (http://www.threefaithsforum.org.uk) have launched a very useful resource on conflict particularly relating to the Gaza Crisis. It is a resource that helps people think about what to consider when teaching about conflict and is aimed at illustrating the complexity of the situation. The site also includes short 'think pieces' from different people of faith on the Gaza conflict.
OCR pilots new RS GCSE entitled Religion and Belief in Today’s World, claiming that it is the first approach that requires students to study two or more religions in an interfaith framework, looking at issues such as community cohesion and valuing diversity. The specification is available from September 2009 and is based on the recommendations from the 2007 OFSTED report ‘Making Sense of Religion’. The specification can be downloaded from www.ocr.org.uk or email: .
RE Heritage Trails Project: Paul Hopkins, and a colleague Sharon Artley, have been commissioned by the RE Council to produce: A national directory of RE or Heritage trails and A toolkit to help those who wish to develop an RE or Heritage trail. Mail: or
An interesting looking site to support Primary RE co-ordinators and teachers is; http://www.primaryresources.co.uk/re/re.htm

The site contains a range of schemes of work and policy documents, together with Powerpoint presentations and worksheets and covers all six world faiths. Suitable for teaching across phases. A good site for Primary and Secondary resources is; http://www.restuff.org. This also contains a broad range of ready made resources for teaching most topics in Key Stages 3, 4 and 5. Unfortunately, due to popular demand, there is now an annual subscription payable (£20 for individual membership, £50 for a department). If any colleagues or teachers discover any other useful websites to support planning or teaching RE, please let us know.

PS. Pupils Must Learn the Bible – Poet Laureate Andrew Motion has argued that every child should be taught the Bible in school if they wish to fully understand British culture and literature. Although an atheist himself, Motion has called for an overhaul of the school curriculum. He insisted that parents who do not believe in God should have nothing to fear from their children learning about the Bible. He stated, “If people say this is about ramming religion down people’s throats, they aren’t thinking about it hard enough. It is more about the power of these words to connect with deep, recurring truths…it is an essential piece of cultural luggage.”

D Campbell

(Sources: REToday online, NASACRE, NATRE, REC, QCA)

JTrails

(Mar 2009)

An informative and interesting website that traces Jewish life in Britain over the millennia.

JTrails believes that Anglo-Jewish history and heritage is an important national, cultural resource that deserves general recognition. We aim to promote it through our own programmes and by working with existing Jewish and non-Jewish, community, historical and heritage organisations, communities and individuals.

www.jtrails.org.uk >>

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New pilot GCSE from OCR

(Feb 2009)

A groundbreaking GCSE Religious Studies specification is being piloted by OCR, a leading UK awarding body, which encompasses a range of topics from biotechnology, to ethics, human rights, politics and culture in today’s Britain.

OCR’s new pilot GCSE Religious Studies C: ’Religion & Belief in Today’s World’ - is the first approach of its kind in that it requires students to study aspects of two or more religions in an inter-faith framework, looking at social issues such as community cohesion and valuing diversity. The specification – available from September 2009 - is based on recommendations from the 2007 Ofsted report ’Making Sense of Religion’.

The report highlighted the need for a religious education specification which enables children and young people to be able to make sense of religion in the modern world. It also called for a realistic approach to controversy to be maintained when making pupils aware of the complexities and ambiguities of religion – all within a framework which encourages them to explore issues openly.

This recommendation has been taken into account as part of the new pilot and the new GCSE comprises a vast array of topics including:

Religion and Belief in the Modern World: Religion and Secularisation; Issues Across the Faiths; and The Rise and Interest in Religious Movements

Religion, Politics and Culture in Britain: Religion and Cultural Expression; The Influence of Christianity Upon British Politics; and Religion and Modern Britain

The Individual: Religious Truth and the Individual; Religious Fundamentalism and the Individual; and The Impact of Religion on Everyday Life

Community Cohesion and the Individual : Religion and Human Rights; Religion and the Influence of Technology; and Religion and Citizenship

Professor Liam Gearon from the University of Plymouth, said: “'This is an intellectually exciting new Religious Studies GCSE from OCR which will challenge students to think about the role of religion in modern Britain and in the worldwide community. Encouraging the use of historical reflection as well as thought-provoking analysis of contemporary events, it will engage students of all abilities with the many issues that surround religion in the modern world.

“Not shying away from the conflicts and controversies so often evident in relations between the great religious traditions, this new GCSE also provides opportunities for the investigation of how faith communities engage in inter-religious and other forms of dialogue, locally, nationally and globally, for example at the level of the United Nations.

“As well as bringing new understanding to religion in the modern world which students confront daily in newspapers, on television, radio and the Internet, students can make use of this rich diversity of media as evidence and argument in the study of religion - for example, in the study of religion and politics, religion and war, religion and the arts.”

Clara Kenyon, Qualifications Director at OCR, said: “This new GCSE pilot allows us take a fresh look at how religious studies is taught. The pilot addresses a range of issues relevant to students today, who often see religious issues in the news without necessarily having an understanding of the background.

“Our specification aims to ensure that students can adopt an enquiring, critical and reflective approach to the study of religion, on both a personal and intellectual level. In addition, we can help teachers feel comfortable that they are able to encourage exploration of issues with students through open discussion.”

The Religious Studies C: ‘Religion & Belief in Today’s World’ will be piloted from September 2009 until 2015 and will allow all 14-16 year olds taking the specification to be fully engaged with and able to discuss issues which they will inevitably be exposed to – either through the media or more directly in their lives.

Currently, all students aged 14-16 in a maintained school have a statutory entitlement to religious education. This new pilot fits in with the Religious Studies teaching requirements allowing students to achieve a qualification as either a short course (two modules only) or a full course (four modules).

The new pilot GCSE will be available for first teaching in September 2009. The specification can be downloaded from www.ocr.org.uk.

To register an interest in becoming a pilot centre please contact:

Creation and Evolution: incompatible explanations?

(Feb 2009)

Creation and Evolution: incompatible explanations?

SACRE were concerned that teachers should have some guidance on handling the debate between science and religion, particularly in relation to the creationist-evolution debate. Having contacted some of you there appear to be no difficult issues in addressing this but replies suggested guidance would still be welcomed. I have set out below a way in which the major issues could be tackled though you would have to adapt the level of approach to the students you teach. I hope you find it useful. If you are using other resources that you find valuable do let me know and we can circulate further guidance on resources via the newsletter and the RE moodle.

Religion and science

The relationship between religion and science is a contested one and often fraught with emotional tension. My own experience includes going to an interdisciplinary research training seminar in education and sitting in a group in which we had to introduce ourselves, our discipline, and one observation about a problem we encountered in our work. My ‘problem' was that in religious education we often encountered student views that were negative about religion. A scientist in the group responded by saying that we deserved that and now science was getting its own back (on religion). I was taken aback because I hadn't expected such a hostile response, but it is evidence that animosity still exists between religion and science and that that is a legacy of ways in which religion treated some scientists as heretics previously when it had greater influence and power, the case of Galileo is perhaps the most famous example. The tensions between religion and science should not be denied but nor should we paint a black and white picture in this respect, it is more complex than that and, in the way we teach RE in Hampshire we are always looking for our students to explore complexity.

What has made things particularly high profile, in terms of tension, is the debate that is now prevalent and newsworthy regarding the teaching of creationism (or ‘intelligent design') and the arguments against religion made by Richard Dawkins, and others, firmly based on an evolutionary perspective. To ignore this debate would be wrong but it needs to be put in perspective. That is our job as teachers. We already have the pedagogical instrument to do this with our conceptual enquiry methodology which encourages students to enquire into issues and makes it possible to readily bring different arguments and perspectives into focus and analyse their claims and then ask students to make their own informed judgements, which they then have to defend. The creation-evolution debate then becomes a very worthwhile one to focus upon. Below I offer an example of how you could do that.

However, there are already a significant number of resources you can employ for examining science and religion. A recent one of value is ‘Religion and Science in the 21^st Century Classroom' by Tonie Solberg and Geoff Teece. This is published by the University of Birmingham School of Education. Copies are available from Tonie Stolberg and he can be contacted at

This 60 page booklet offers a pedagogical approach based on enquiry that can easily be adapted to our conceptual approach. It covers a number of aspects of fruitful engagement between science and religion providing ideas for lessons, informative background reading and suggestions for resources. If you want a fuller volume then buy Tonie L. Stolberg and Geoff Teece (2009) Teaching Religion and Science: pedagogy and practice, London: Routledge. The importance of Stolberg's and Teece's approach is that it is well informed, thorough and thoughtfully worked out in terms of teaching and learning, using the idea of ‘skillful means' borrowed from the Buddhist tradition as a basis for enquiry. Their Lesson 2 (pages 46-48) focuses on the evolution debate. I have adapted that below to suit our conceptual enquiry methodology and give a more detailed focus to the enquiry activities.

Creation-Evolution Debate

However, this debate is complex and, as you will see below, from the quotations presented, it is not an easy enquiry for students to follow. I suggest it can be simplified and many of you will have resources to hand or worked examples through which you do that. The main point of this guidance is to clear up any misunderstandings in the creation-evolution debate and for you to add anything I have presented to your present way of doing an enquiry into this issue.

Summary of Points

Evolution is a theory propounded by Charles Darwin based on empirical scientific method
Natural selection is the key idea that Darwin uses
Natural selection is in tension with any design hypothesis
There is a scientific hypothesis based on ‘intelligent design'
Creationism, as a literal reading of the account in Genesis, is at odds with Darwin's theory
Metaphorical readings of Genesis can be aligned with evolution as a scientific theory
The idea of a creator God or intelligent design does not accord with the principle of natural selection
Sometimes creationism (the literal reading of Genesis) and intelligent design are conflated as religious understandings that oppose evolutionary theory

Cycle of learning

Key concept: evolution

Enquire.

Key question: What did Darwin mean by evolution and what issues does it raise?

creation and evolution image

Anti-Darwin cartoon 1800s

http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/understanding_evolution.htm

Activity 1: use the above cartoon to introduce students to the issue:

Why would a cartoonist portray Darwin in this way?
What does it suggest about the way his theory of evolution has been interpreted?
Who would want to portray Darwin in this way and why? (scientists/ religious believers?)
Encourage students to see how his theory of evolution led to him being portrayed as a monkey-like character and why both scientists and religious believers might have found that amusing at the time

So far they have been hypothesising and relying on their prior knowledge and powers of observation. Use their responses to move on to an analysis of his evolutionist theory (below)

Darwin's theory of evolution is based on five key observations and inferences drawn from them. These observations and inferences have been summarized by the great biologist Ernst Mayr as follows:

1) Species have great fertility. They make more offspring than can grow to adulthood.

2) Populations remain roughly the same size, with modest fluctuations.

3) Food resources are limited, but are relatively constant most of the time.

From these three observations it may be inferred that in such an environment there will be a struggle for survival among individuals.

4)In sexually reproducing species, generally no two individuals are identical. Variation is rampant.

5) Much of this variation is heritable.

From this it may be inferred: In a world of stable populations where each individual must struggle to survive, those with the "best" characteristics will be more likely to survive, and those desirable traits will be passed to their offspring. These advantageous characteristics are inherited by following generations, becoming dominant among the population through time. This is natural selection. It may be further inferred that natural selection, if carried far enough, makes changes in a population, eventually leading to new species. These observations have been amply demonstrated in biology, and even fossils demonstrate the veracity of these observations.

To summarise Darwin's Theory of Evolution;
1. Variation: There is Variation in Every Population.
2. Competition: Organisms Compete for limited resources.
3. Offspring: Organisms produce more Offspring than can survive.
4. Genetics: Organisms pass Genetic traits on to their offspring.
5. Natural Selection: Those organisms with the Most Beneficial Traits
are more likely to Survive and Reproduce.

Darwin imagined it might be possible that all life is descended from an original species from ancient times. DNA evidence supports this idea.
Probably all organic beings which have ever lived on this earth have descended from some one primordial life form. There is grandeur in this view of life that, whilst this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being evolved. (Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin

Activity 2: students can work in pairs or groups and:

highlight what they think are the most important statements this text makes
discuss and note any implications for our understanding of ourselves as a human species that this raises
register any disagreements in discussion in the group and feed those back to the class
compose a statement that they think explains what ‘natural selection' means

In using this text students need to:

be acquainted with the meaning of some of the technical terms used
consider the difference between evidence and inference (evidence is empirically based but inference consists of other conclusions that may be drawn from the evidence)
scrutinize the text to identify when it is summarising theory, when it might be hypothesising (making a statement that still needs evidential support), when it is making statements of a persuasive nature that are based on opinion.

To answer the key question students need to consider:

what the key aspects of evolution as a theory are; for example what does ‘evolving' mean?

what other opinions and claims this theory might be in tension with and why

Contextualise

Key question: In what ways are these different responses to ‘evolution' compatible or incompatible and why?

Distribute the texts below amongst groups of students. Given that some of these texts are harder than others you can differentiate which group gets what text.

Ask the students in each group to discuss what significant point(s) the text is making and whether it is well made. Where more than one group has the same text, then ask them to confer on their observations and judgements. For example, you could use the ‘ambassador' technique here of one member of a group conferring with another group and feeding back, or put the groups together with appointed scribes.

Coming back together as a class get feedback from the groups on the text they read, the observations it was making and the issue (s) that raises and agree the issues and rank them. Discuss any areas of the debate that students feel require more information as a result.

The Wilberforce-Huxley debate

‘Unless and until Darwinians could produce an explanation of how organisms of one species could eventually evolve into those of another, it was a fair criticism to say that Darwin had not offered a causal theory but only, at best, a hypothesis.' (criticism by Bishop Samuel Wilberforce)³²

Prof. Huxley defended Mr Darwin's theory from the charge of its being merely an hypothesis. He said, ‘it was an explanation of phenomena in Natural History... it was an explanation of facts; and his book was full of new facts, all bearing on his theory. Without asserting that every part of the theory had been confirmed, he maintained that it was the best explanation of the origin of species which had yet been offered'. (defence of Darwin by Professor Thomas Huxley)³⁵

http://users.ox.ac.uk/~jrlucas/legend.html

The position of the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church distinguishes between the evolution of the body and the special creation of the soul. Jones summarises the Catholic position by reference to Humani Generis, the encyclical of Pius XII, arguing that the Catholic Church does not forbid the theory of evolution as an explanation of the origin of the human body, but rejects the notion that the soul was not created directly by God.This kind of language, however, poses problems in the debate with science because it smacks of vitalism, the incorporation of an ingredient in our natures which is not subject to scientific test.

http://www.counterbalance.net/ghc-evo/relig-frame.html

http://www.counterbalance.net/ghc-evo/human-frame.html

Darwin's Challenge to Theological Positions

It is important to an understanding of the development of the ‘special relationship' between evolutionary theory and theology to understand what it was about Darwin's scheme which challenged 19th Century theological descriptions:

Firstly: it refuted, virtually at a stroke, the notion that creatures had been individually designed by God, and hence any suggestion that one could argue directly from the ingenuity of their design, or the exquisite nature of their adaptation to their environment, to point to the existence or the ingenuity of such a Being.
Secondly: it cohered with the geological proposal of Lyell that the Earth was very old, compared with the chronology suggested by Genesis, and that therefore no literal reading of Scripture could accord with the scientific account.
Thirdly: it implied that apes and humans share a common ancestor; rather than humans arising by any distinct act of creation which might guarantee their theological uniqueness. This received little emphasis in The Origin of Species but is very clear in Darwin's later The Descent of Man (1871).

These three conclusions now form the accepted background from which most theology reflects on the biosphere.

Evolution as divine purpose?

If it is simply asserted that God has used the processes of evolution to further divine purposes of creating a world in which there could be creatures like ourselves, then a further problem arises which was already known to Darwin, namely that evolution seems to contain such cruelty, waste and ugliness as to make it hard to defend as the means to a divine end. One of the strengths of Darwin's theory was that it explained, without the need for any ad hoc hypotheses, both aesthetically appealing adaptations, such as the beak of the woodpecker, and the ‘ugliness' of species like the ichneumonidae - wasps whose larvae are implanted within the body of a caterpillar and eat it alive from the inside.

http://www.counterbalance.net/ghc-evo/darwi2-frame.html

Evaluate.

Key evaluative question: Is it possible to believe in both evolution and a creator God?

The texts below consolidate and extend students' understanding and provide different perspectives on whether evolution and theological positions can be reconciled. You can select and amend as appropriate and use in a similar way to the activities provided in Contextualise. The main thing is to draw out the way in which the issues in the debate over creation-evolution have been responded to.

Creationism and intelligent design

Creationism is focused on defending a literal reading of the Genesis account, usually including the creation of the earth by the Biblical God a few thousand years ago. Unlike creationism, the scientific theory of intelligent design is agnostic regarding the source of design and has no commitment to defending Genesis, the Bible or any other sacred text. Instead, intelligent design theory is an effort to empirically detect whether the "apparent design" in nature observed by biologists is genuine design (the product of an organizing intelligence) or is simply the product of chance and mechanical natural laws. This effort to detect design in nature is being adopted by a growing number of biologists, biochemists, physicists, mathematicians, and philosophers of science at American colleges and universities. Scholars who adopt a design approach include biochemist Michael Behe of Lehigh University, microbiologist Scott Minnich at the University of Idaho, and mathematician William Dembski at Baylor University. (3)

http://www.discovery.org/a/1329

What is creationism? What is creation science? What is intelligent design theory?

Creationism, creation science, and intelligent design theory are three religious theories of creation offered to explain the origins of the universe.

It is difficult to distinguish among these theories. However, this is a starting point:

Creationism is the belief that God has created the universe and/or humankind. Creationists typically subscribe to the account of creation presented in the Bible's Book of Genesis.
Creation Science attempts to prove that the world was created by God via the disproof of evolution and by offering interpretations of scientific data to "prove" the creation account in Genesis.
Intelligent Design theorists similarly offer a theory of God's role in the creation, arguing that the very complexity and organization of the world -- and the failure of science to explain it all -- makes God's intervention the only reasonable explanation. Intelligent design theorists do not typically rely on Genesis, instead working to find evidence of God's role in creation in their observations of the world.

3. Intelligent design

Intelligent design is the assertion that "certain features of the universe and of living things are best explained by an intelligent cause, not an undirected process such as natural selection."^[1]^[2] It is a modern form of the traditional teleological argument for the existence of God, modified to avoid specifying the nature or identity of the designer.^[3] The idea was developed by a group of American creationists who reformulated their argument in the creation-evolution controversy to circumvent court rulings that prohibit the teaching of creationism as science.^[4]^[5]^[6] Intelligent design's leading proponents, all of whom are associated with the Discovery Institute, a politically conservative think tank,^[7]^[8] believe the designer to be the God of Christianity.^[9]^[10] Advocates of intelligent design argue that it is a scientific theory,^[11] and seek to fundamentally redefine science to accept supernatural explanations.^[12]

The argument from design

One of the argument's more famous variations involves an analogy with a watch. William Paley (1743-1805), the Archdeacon of Carlisle, writes in his Natural Theology (1802):

In crossing a heath, suppose I pitched my foot against a stone and were asked how the stone came to be there, I might possibly answer that for anything I knew to the contrary it had lain there forever; nor would it, perhaps, be very easy to show the absurdity of this answer. But suppose I had found a watch upon the ground, and it should be inquired how the watch happened to be in that place, I should hardly think of the answer which I had before given, that for anything I knew the watch might have always been there.

The reason, he says, that he couldn't conceive of the watch having been there forever is because it is evident that the parts of the watch were put together for a purpose. It is inevitable that "the watch must have had a maker," whereas the stone apparently has no purpose revealed by the complex arrangement of its parts.

http://skepdic.com/design.html

An argument against design

"If there are any marks at all of special design in creation, one of the things most evidently designed is that a large proportion of all animals should pass their existence in tormenting and devouring other animals."
--John Stuart Mill

http://skepdic.com/design.html

6 Humans as Made in the Image of God

Genesis 1.26 describes humans as made in the image and likeness of God, the only creatures to which this direct connection with the divine is attributed. Theologically, then, the Christian tradition has asserted a radical discontinuity between humans and other creatures. Scientifically, the differences between humans and other animals are ones of degree, rather than a radical discontinuity of nature. (see the paradox of the development of modern humans).

A Darwinian account of humanity can find no place for the notion that the species suddenly acquired a property called ‘the image and likeness of God'. Human distinctiveness evolved gradually (see the evolution of hominids). Can theology frame its understanding of the imago Dei in such a way as to take account of this perception? There are three main possibilities for grounding this concept:

the classical one that the image of God is in human rationality
the ‘image' being grounded in other common characteristics - love, uprightness, dominion, creativity
that we should understand the ‘image' in terms of capacity for authentic relationship (an understanding particularly attractive to certain trinitarian theologians).
A modern description of the imago Dei should probably also emphasise creativitywhich again is clearly an evolved characteristic.

Evolution and God as compatible

In fact, evolution is an absolutely essential ingredient in our thinking about God today. As the Roman Catholic theologian Hans Küng puts it, evolutionary theory now makes possible: 1) a deeper understanding of God--not above or outside the world but in the midst of evolution; 2) a deeper understanding of creation--not as contrary to but as making evolution possible; and 3) a deeper understanding of humans as organically related to the entire cosmos.(9)

Skeptics, of course, will immediately ask how theology can reconcile the idea of God with the role of chance in life's evolution. This is a crucial question, and the contrast position's casual conjecture that chance may not really exist is unsatisfactory. In fact, chance is quite real. It is a concrete fact in evolution, but it is not one that contradicts the idea of God. On the contrary, an aspect of indeterminacy is just what we should expect if, as religion maintains, God is love. For love never coerces. It allows the beloved--in this case the entire created cosmos--to be or to become itself. If, as theistic religious tradition has always insisted, God really cares for the well-being of the world, then the world has to be something other than God. It has to have a certain amount of "freedom" or autonomy. If it did not somehow exist on its own it would be nothing more than an extension of God's own being, and hence it would not be a world unto itself. So there has to be room for indeterminacy in the universe, and the randomness in evolution is one instance of it.

http://www.aaas.org/spp/dser/03_Areas/evolution/perspectives/Haught_1995.shtml

Evolution and God as incompatible

‘Darwinian evolution, specifically natural selection...shatters the illusion of design...and teaches us to be suspicious of any design hypothesis...I think the physicist Leonard Susskind had this in mind when he wrote, "...modern cosmology really began with Darwin and Wallace. Unlike anyone before them they provided explanations of our existence that completely rejected supernatural agents"' (Richard Dawkins, 2006, The God Delusion, London: Bantam Press, p.118)

Communicate

Key Question: What is your response to the idea of ‘evolution'?

Stimulus: Google earth images can be evocative for stimulating debate. Try the accompanying question: Can the universe be both majestic and meaningless?

Here students are being asked to make and justify a personal response. This is different to the Evaluate part of the cycle but continuous with it. They need to decide what they can bring to the argument between evolution and the issue it raises for belief in God. Where do they stand?

This might begin by summarising the class conclusions on the Evaluate question and the differing standpoints people have taken. You want the main interaction to be students responding to the views of other students and reconsidering and justifying their own position in the light of that.

Apply

Stimulus:

Key question: What are the implications of your response to the idea of evolution?

Here Apply can focus on the consequences of the debate in communicate. This can mirror the debate they have scrutinized in their enquiry. Thus, students need to consider how disagreement should be managed: by respecting each other's views or by seeking to focus on their illogicality, lack of sensitivity to human feeling (in the case of science) or lack of evidential reasoning (in the case of religion). Here is the point where you want them to confront whether we can tolerate different ideas and processes whereby we gain knowledge or not; whether it is the case that science and religion have two different functions (science telling us how and religion telling us why; science dealing in facts and religion in meaning) or not.

You may wish to organise a class debate at this point to finalise the enquiry.

For further reading on this I would particularly recommend Mary Midgley (2002) Evolution as a Religion, London and New York: Routledge.

Ideally, this is an enquiry that can be done involving both RE and Science departments in a school which acknowledges the importance of the QCA's guidance to create more interdisciplinary work in the secondary curriculum and produce ‘compelling lessons'.

Clive Erricker

B&NES SACRE - Newsletter - December 2008

(Feb 2009)

(December 2008)

Local News:

Our two local training events delivered by Lat Blaylock successfully took place on 2^nd and 3^rd October at Saltford Golf Club. The events were well attended, with 17 participants on the Primary training day and over 50% of our Secondary schools were represented the following day. Delegates almost unanimously stated that the events were very good and they wanted more (see Course Evaluation feedback). One teacher stated, "I really appreciated the course......the Places activity really caught my eye and I have used it as the basis of a new module of work for year 7. The 5 pillars game is being added to our year 8 Hajj module. I am bringing art into my lessons and trying to use it as an assessment activity choice..."

Future training on Assessment in RE was widely requested.

I am currently in contact with OCR to try to arrange local training on the new GCSE specifications for secondary leaders and teachers. If successful, this should be a free to attend event, to be held in a local school.
The Diocese of Bath and Wells is planning a well timed course on ‘The New Secondary Curriculum'. Dave Francis has indicated that he will be leading the event. The training will take place at the Old Deanery on Wednesday 18^th March, although times and cost have yet to be confirmed.
I have been in further contact with Pat Lunt, an ex-teacher who had offered to provide training for local RE teachers. At the last SACRE meeting it was agreed that we would require further details from Pat about his prior experience in schools. Pat has replied that he has not worked as a trainer in other schools and has no references to support any training he has been involved in. He has stated that he'd be interested in trying to enthuse and support RE teachers, though he hadn't considered costs or how any events may be organised. As a way forward, I have suggested that I meet with him in future to try to plan a specific course to address the needs of teachers. Pat was also invited to speak at tonight's meeting.
Dave Francis has contacted me with regard to the review of our Agreed Syllabus. He has included a possible timetable (see Proposed Procedure and Timetable) which could result in an online syllabus rather than new printed copies. We should consider this idea and the possibility of setting up a common Agreed Syllabus website that all three LA SACREs could share, whilst maintaining individual SACRE websites.

National:

I was unable to attend the ARIEAC conference in Birmingham on 18^th November. There were difficulties gaining my membership to enable me to attend and the course was limited to 35 participants nationally. However, I have received some feedback from the event and a couple of points may be relevant to our current work. Mark Chater, QCA raised the possibility of 3 learning objectives for RE; knowledge (learning about), reflection (learning from) and understanding (bringing about and from together). Clive Erricker, whilst discussing the need to review the Hampshire syllabus, stated that SACREs ought to take their time when reviewing their AS because the current Primary review may have an impact and QCA are apparently looking at funding all SACREs to look at their Ass in 2010. Copies of the feedback are available from me.
The long awaited Rose Review was published this week. The review, conducted by Sir Jim Rose, was commissioned last year by the Schools Secretary Ed Balls, as a result of growing concerns about standards and morale in primary schools. The REC has issued the following statement; "As the Rose review is unlikely to lead to changes in primary legislation, RE will remain a statutory subject for all pupils and continue to be taught according to the locally agreed syllabus or governors' policy in a faith school. The learning that takes place in RE in primary schools is essential to children's development and the REC has been working with the Rose review to ensure that this learning retains its important place. RE is a key contributor to human, social and environmental understanding. Primary schools should be encouraged to plan in ways that both maximise RE's unique contribution to this wider area whilst at the same time maintaining the coherence and integrity of the specific RE curriculum. The REC will continue to work with the DCSF, QCA and OFSTED to ensure that learning in RE is fully recognised."

For more information on the Rose Review, see: http://www.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/phonics/rosereview/

The REC has recently published a document called ‘The RE Teacher's Media

Toolkit.' This is a new guide for generating positive local media coverage for RE. It includes ideas for stories, tips for news releases and for avoiding pitfalls. The Toolkit is available on their website (www.religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk). I also have a couple of spare copies.

The REC has also developed an RE Action Plan 2008-11. This has been developed in partnership with DCSF and is designed to strengthen the attention given to religions and beliefs in all schools. It is unclear how this will impact on RE in practice.
At the November meeting of the full REC, there was strong feeling that the TDA decision to end the funding for Subject Knowledge Booster Courses in RE would have negative consequences for recruitment to PGCE courses in 2009. It was agreed that a statement of concern would be sent to the Minister of State, Jim Knight MP. Full details on the REC website.
The content for the Diploma in Humanities and Social Sciences is currently being designed. It is to be launched in 2011 and aims to provide a new way of teaching which offers learners an innovative way to access these areas through practical learning, together with theoretical teaching.
NATRE has produced some new resources to support RE teachers in primary schools. The first, Summer 2008 focuses on ‘Making every child matter'. The second, Autumn 2008 is called ‘Supporting gifted and talented children. These both include a range of suitable strategies for improving RE. Details on; www.natre.org.uk. I have some spare copies available.

D Campbell: Training and Development Services

(Sources: REToday, REonline, NATRE, REC)

B&NES SACRE Newsletter - Autumn 2008

(Feb 2009)

(Autumn Term 2008)

Local news

1. Having forwarded Ashley Ayre copies of the publicity leaflets for our training days, I received the following reply;

Dear David, thank you for recent email. I must congratulate your Committee for your work improving religious education, not only in schools, but in the wider community. I received highly appreciative comments on the lecture by Professor Keith Ward..... The planned courses in October on "Cohesion, Engagement and Sensitivity" are very pertinent to the national debate and will be extremely beneficial to our schools.

As Director, I do not endorse specific courses as overall I am accountable for all training organised by the authority for its schools. However, I will ensure that these courses are clearly identified as being run within the authority's training programme by having the publicity flyers include the official Bath and North east Somerset Council header.

I look forward to hearing how these courses go and once again thank you for your efforts.

Best wishes

Ashley Ayre

Strategic Director, Children's Services

The training events go ahead at Saltford Golf Club;

Better Primary RE: cohesion, engagement and sensitivity - Thurs 2/10/08
Better RE at key stages 3 and 4: assessment for learning, community cohesion and creativity - Fri 3/10/08

2. We have received 80 copies of a new free CD-Rom entitled, Jewish Way of Life, for distribution to our schools. It covers many aspects of the Jewish faith through interviews and a highly interactive character. The resource is supported by a website- www.jwol.org.uk to help teachers get the best out of the CD-Rom and from where additional copies can be obtained

3. A colleague of SACRE member Ann Hatton has approached SACRE with a request to provide training for our primary teachers. Mr Pat Lunt was a primary teacher for 12 years with responsibility for RE. He has since been an author of pupils' books and teachers' guides for a number of publishers. I asked Pat to provide a brief outline of the type of training he would want to provide for SACRE to consider (attached)

4. B&NES SACRE will be represented at an AREIAC Conference; ‘Agreed Syllabuses: philosophy, pedagogy, process and product' in Birmingham on Tuesday 18^th November. Dave Francis has suggested I attend with him, in the hope that the event will inform the development of our new agreed syllabus in conjunction with SnS SACRE

National news

5. The RE Council of England and Wales have published a leaflet to promote a better public understanding of RE. Its target audience is adults outside the RE circuit - headteachers, parents, school governors, school improvement officers, faith communities, journalists and politicians. It is the first initiative/PR campaign by the RE Council to raise awareness about the importance and value of RE. Copies can be obtained from the REC's website www.religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk

6. NATRE has been awarded funding to work with teachers to improve the capacity for RE. There are a number of government initiatives at present; RE and Collective worship is under revision, the new secondary curriculum currently rolling out, Primary curriculum review 2008/09, examination changes and new diplomas. There is to be a focus on skills, attitudes and attainment which are to be developed through Every Child Matters, Learning Outside the Classroom, Community Cohesion and Personal Wellbeing.....Phew!!!

NATRE wants to survey RE teachers in the hope of developing a programme to provide for their needs. Teachers should log on to www.natre.org.uk and follow the online survey tool

NATRE is also offering free SEN resources entitled Growing in RE. It is available as a free download from www.natre.org.uk (Free NATRE resources)

7. As a result of a Becta funded initiative, JISC Collections for Schools (www.jcs.nen.gov.uk), high quality online subscription resources are now available at discounts of up to 75%. Of particular interest to RE professionals are;

Oxford Reference Online: includes The Oxford Companion to the Bible, the Oxford Dictionary of Islam and the Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
Education Image Gallery: Over 50,000 copyright-cleared images
The Times Digital Archive and the Guardian and Observer Digital Archive covering 200 years of history
History Study Centre: a vast range of information on global history from ancient times to present day

Free 30 day trials during the autumn term from www.jcs.nen.gov.uk/help/free-trials.html

8. 2008 examination feedback: A / AS level - The number of exam entries continued to rise, though as a ‘percentage of total sat' it remained the same as 2007. This was held to be encouraging and illustrative of students' interest in the subject being maintained beyond a passing blip (REonline)

The numbers for GCSE and GCSE Short Course continue to rise. RS continues to be the most popular Short Course. There was also the biggest annual rise in higher grades since 1990 (65.7% A*-C). This continues a 10 year growth of interest in the subject at GCSE and represents a definitive trend rather like A level (REonline)

Data is taken from JCQ where the full results can be viewed (http://www.jcq.org.uk)

D Campbell

Training and Development

(Sources: RE Today, REonline, NATRE, www.religiouseducationcouncil.org)

BATH and NORTH EAST SOMERSET FAITH FORUM

(Feb 2008)

An exciting new initiative is afoot with the instigation of the first Faith Forum in Bath & North East Somerset. Members of the Faith Forum hope that this will be a fruitful way of getting the views of faith communities on social, political and ethical issues into the local political decision-making process.

The Faith Forum has been set up as a link body between B&NES Council and the Faith Communities of the locality, through representation on its Local Strategic Partnership (LSP). The overall goal of the LSP Board is to improve the quality of life in B&NES; the LSP produces the Local Area Agreement (LAA), which is a strategic overview of the direction of B&NES Council, and will inform future decisions made by the council. Representatives of many business, community and voluntary groups have been invited to the LSP meetings and the inclusion of a ‘faith representative' in the Communities sub-group is seen as a very positive recognition of the faith perspective.

The steering group of the Faith Forum has a composition which attempts to cover as many of the local faith communities as possible, through consisting of representatives from the major faith community networks active in B&NES: from different Christian traditions, as well as Islam, Judaism and ‘other faiths' (this last is a representative of the Bath Interfaith Group). While it is still early days for the Faith Forum, it is meeting on a regular basis, and has now produced Terms of Reference and set up a website.

cropped ff image

The primary aim of the Faith Forum is to act as a bridge between local government and faith communities; interfaith dialogue and understanding is a by-product of their gatherings. The Faith Forum recognises the distinctiveness of each faith tradition, and the range of views and opinions to be found within each faith community. While affirming the importance of enabling all voices to be heard, it is recognised that there will rarely be one ‘faith view' on any topic under discussion. The Faith Forum Representative, elected from among the steering group, therefore has the task of representing to the LSP what might be a spectrum of views from the forum, and will endeavour to do so impartially.

Those participating in the Faith Forum discussions undertake to disseminate information back to their local faith communities. It will be left to the faith communities to determine the most suitable method of representing their views to the Faith Forum via their representative, bearing in mind that it will not be possible for any one person to totally represent the views of their ‘Faith' in the forum meetings. Interested members of the public are therefore encouraged to attend any of the Faith Forum meetings, and the Minutes are made available on the website. Queries to the current Faith Forum Representative, Stewart Keiller, can be made by emailing faithforum@communities.beintouch.org.uk.

Jane F O'Hara

Secretary Bath Interfaith Group

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School's Peace Link to Hiroshima

(Nov 2007)

A local school has taken part in a scheme set up by the University of Hiroshima, Japan. Report from Somervale School

Somervale School pupils have been recognised for their work in an innovative project linking them with pupils in Hiroshima.

The peace studies project was run by Mr David Campbell, the school's Head of RE. Pupils shared their thoughts on peace issues with pupils in a school in Hiroshima in Japan, devastated by an atomic bomb in 1945. Pupils in both schools researched peace issues and then swapped ideas on how to make the world a better place in the future.

"Our pupils learned a lot about the events of 1945 and found it very interesting to find out the views of their counterparts in Japan" said Mr Campbell.

somervale school hiroshima proj

The scheme was set up by the University of Hiroshima who sent Certificates of Participation to pupils in both schools.

Michael Gorman

Somervale School

Locally Agreed Syllabus

(Nov 2007)

The Local Authority convened a Conference on the Locally Agreed Syllabus for the teaching of RE in schools on 4th October 2007.

The findings and recommendations were noted:

The Local Authority should keep the existing syllabus and seek to work with Somerset and North Somerset Local Authorities when their syllabus is under review in 2009.

The Clerk to SACRE will now seek agreement in principle from the Strategic Director (Children's Services) for funds to support SACRE members to attend review sessions in 2008/09 and for in-service training for local RE Teachers in the implementation of the new syllabus in 2009.

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SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN SCHOOLS PROJECT

(Dec 2006)

The relationship between science and religion can often seem to be polarised. But as Albert Einstein quoted,

'Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind' (1941)

Following a grant from 'The John Templeton Foundation' a new 'Science And Religion In Schools Project' has been set up. The 'Project' offers a range of new resources for teachers.

The aim of the 'Science And Religion In Schools Project' is to foster student interest and open-minded discussion about matters concerning religion and science. Quite often the two disciplines are perceived as different methodologies and separate areas of study for understanding the world in which we live. The 'Project' seeks to foster cross-curricular work and a more developed and accurate understanding of these two areas on the part of the students.

The 'Project' recognises that teachers in both RE and Science may not have enough knowledge to cover both sides of the curriculum and is therefore providing a wide range of inclusive and differentiated resources for schools, written by teachers for teachers, covering the Primary to 'A' level curriculum. The resources take into account the Religious Education Framework and the National Curriculum Science orders and come in two parts, Primary (7-11) and Secondary, (11-19) each with a CD ROM and printed guidance material.

A range of specialist advisors have been involved in the project. These include the Revd Dr John Polkinghorne, Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Rt. Revd Richard Harries, Bishop of Oxford, Professor Russell Stannard, to name but a very few.

Information can be obtained at the following websites:

Some comments from teachers who have used the resources:

'I really wanted to do more, ditch the SATS and get on with the real stuff!'

'Pupils like this unit. They found it different and stimulating!'

NASACRE WEBSITE LAUNCHED

(Nov 2005)

The National Association of Standing Advisory Councils on Religious Education (NASACRE) is pleased to announce its long-planned website is up and running. Embracing all local SACRES in England and Wales, NASACRE provides guidance on government RE policy and legislation as well as opportunities for SACRE members to share problems and best practice. Its staff say they 'are keen to make the website a means of communication for you and a source of information'. Do visit www.nasacre.org.uk.

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RE SELF EVALUATION TOOLKIT

(Nov 2005)

The Association of RE Inspectors, Advisers and Consultants (AREIAC) has produced a helpful toolkit. Following the same format as the OFSTED school self-evaluation form (SEF), the toolkit is designed for subject leaders to use. There is a comprehensive guide to using the RE SEF and three completed exemplars: a primary, a secondary and a special school.

The document is freely available on RE Online's BetterRE site.

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GLOBAL GANG

(Apr 2005)

Or www.globalgang.org.uk to be precise. Its an excellent website containing new, views, games and fun from around the world for children aged 7-13.

Packed with games, real-life stories, competitions and celebrity features, Global Gang enables children to broaden their understanding of the world.

An innovative partner linking project ensures that the site is regularly updated with stories from children in the South, and children from around the world can leave messages for one another on the site's own message boards.

The topic-led 'Homework help' section provides children with a valuable information bank. 'Planet Teacher' extends the children's content with innovative classroom ideas and support material for teachers.

Sophie Shirt - editor of the Global Gang website

See also Locally Agreed Syllabus
See also School's Peace Link to Hiroshima

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A DRUG EDUCATOR?

(Mar 2005)

If you are...

concerned about the drug situation
willing to give your time
Christian and drug-free
willing to be trained to lead sessions

you could...

work with children, young people, parents etc
equip people with drug knowledge and ideas for action
receive accredited training and support
keep in touch and work with other educators and staff

If you are interested, Hope UK will train you at a reasonable charge. Please contact Hope UK at 25(F) Copperfield Street London, SE1 0EN, telephone 020 7928 0848 www.hopeuk.org

See also SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN SCHOOLS PROJECT

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SACRE NEWS ARCHIVE

Big Questions and Alternative Answers - Sixth Form Conference - Bath Spa University

Yr 9 Animation Project 'The Miracles of Jesus'

B&NES SACRE Newsletter - February 2009

JTrails

New pilot GCSE from OCR

Creation and Evolution: incompatible explanations?

Creation and Evolution: incompatible explanations?

Darwin's Challenge to Theological Positions

6 Humans as Made in the Image of God

B&NES SACRE - Newsletter - December 2008

Newsletter

B&NES SACRE Newsletter - Autumn 2008

Newsletter

BATH and NORTH EAST SOMERSET FAITH FORUM

School's Peace Link to Hiroshima

Locally Agreed Syllabus

SCIENCE AND RELIGION IN SCHOOLS PROJECT

NASACRE WEBSITE LAUNCHED

RE SELF EVALUATION TOOLKIT

GLOBAL GANG

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A DRUG EDUCATOR?