Elisabeth Arweck

Investigating the hitherto unexplored topic of how young people understand and relate to religious diversity in the social context in which they are growing up, this book makes a significant contribution to the existing body of literature on religious diversity and multiculturalism. It closes a gap in knowledge about young people’s attitudes to religious diversity, and reports data gathered across the whole of the UK as well as comparative chapters on Canada, USA and continental Europe. Reporting findings from both qualitative and quantitative research which reveal, for example, the importance of the particular social and geographical context within which young people are embedded, the volume addresses young people’s attitudes towards the range of 'world religions’ as well as non-religious stances and offers an interdisciplinary approach through the different analytical perspectives of the contributors.

Young People’s Attitudes to Religious Diversity

Robert Jackson

This volume presents findings from recent research focusing on young people and the way they relate to religion in their education and upbringing. The essays are diverse and multidisciplinary - in terms of the religions they discuss (including Christianity, Islam and Sikhism); the settings where young people reflect on religion (the classroom, youth club, peer group, families, respective religious communities and wider society); the different perspectives which relate to religious education and socialisation (the teaching of RE, the role of teachers in pupils’ lives, the way teachers’ personal lives shape their approach to teaching, school ethos and social context, and the place and rationale of RE); the contexts within which the authors work (different national settings and various academic disciplines); and the methodology used (qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method approaches). The authors make important contributions to the debate about the role of religious education in the curriculum. They demonstrate the crucially important formative influence of religious education in young people’s lives which reaches well into their adulthood, shaping religious and other identities, and attitudes towards the ‘other’ - whatever that ‘other’ may be. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Beliefs & Values.

Religion, Education and Society

Elisabeth (University of Warwick Arweck, UK)

This cutting-edge analysis of American and European new religious movements explores the controversies between religious groups and the majority interests which oppose them. It asks how modern societies can best respond to new religious movements,

Responses and Redefinitions

Researching New Religious Movements

Christopher Deacy

In recent years, there has been growing awareness across a range of academic disciplines of the value of exploring issues of religion and the sacred in relation to cultures of everyday life. Exploring Religion and the Sacred in a Media Age offers inter-disciplinary perspectives drawing from theology, religious studies, media studies, cultural studies, film studies, sociology and anthropology. Combining theoretical frameworks for the analysis of religion, media and popular culture, with focused international case studies of particular texts, practices, communities and audiences, the authors examine topics such as media rituals, marketing strategies, empirical investigations of audience testimony, and the influence of religion on music, reality television and the internet. Both academically rigorous and of interest to a wider readership, this book offers a wide range of fascinating explorations at the cutting edge of many contemporary debates in sociology, religion and media, including chapters on the way evangelical groups in America have made use of The Da Vinci Code and on the influences of religion on British club culture and electronic dance music.

Exploring Religion and the Sacred in a Media Age

In recent years, there has been growing awareness across a range of academic disciplines of the value of exploring issues of religion and the sacred in relation to cultures of everyday life. Exploring Religion and the Sacred in a Media Age offers inter-di

Heather Shipley

This volume brings together current research on young people, (non)religion, and diversity, documenting the forms young people’s stances may take and the social or spatial contexts in which these may be formed. The social contexts studied include the family, school, and faith communities. The spatial contexts include (sub)urban and rural geographies and places of worship and pilgrimage.Youth and (non)religion are an area of academic interest that has been gaining increasing attention, especially as it pertains to youthful expressions of (non)religion and identities. As research on religion and young people spans and expands across academic disciplines and across geographic areas, comparative approaches and perspectives, such as presented in this volume, offer important spaces for reflecting about the experience of religiosity among young people and the ways they are learning about, and developing, (non)religious identities. Building bridges geographically and methodologically, this volume provides an international perspective on religion and nonreligion among young people, offering a diversity of religious and nonreligious perspectives.

Elisabeth Arweck

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