Whatever Happened to Religious Education

In this book, Penny Thompson discusses the gradual changes in the teaching of Christianity from 1963. She explores the reasons why the committed teaching of the Christian faith has been slowly undermined, and aims to show that the current state of both theory and practice is incoherent and unsustainable. Her arguments explore the debates and historical developments in this sector, over the past forty years, and convincingly propose that the way forward to is to recover the teaching of Christianity in an open and self-critical way. Ofsted reports that the level of unsatisfactory staffing in RE is now a matter of ‘deep concern.’ This book seeks to inspire and motivate those who might not be attracted to RE teaching as a profession, and details suggestions which may help to alter this current state of affairs. The author draws on primary sources, her own experiences and interviews with prominent individuals in the profession.