Religious Education
At Manorside Academy we develop a ‘Worldview’ approach when teaching Religious Education in a deliberate attempt to raise awareness of unconscious bias and discrimination, treating all worldviews, including religions, as of equal relevance and significance. The curriculum is designed to enable pupils to understand beliefs from different perspectives, using a range of approaches, from philosophy to theology. Within the teaching of RE, progression and the cumulative retention of substantive knowledge and vocabulary are essential.
We have adapted the ‘enquiry-based’ pedagogy, in line with the BCP agreed syllabus, which ensures a balance in how pupils explore the different units of work, therefore expanding their understanding that the study of worldviews is complex and can be approached using different schools of thought (theology, philosophy and social sciences). Enquiry questions are derived from three threads to reflect three interconnected aspects of religions and world vies; Belief, Expression & Action. Some examples of these could be:
Belief
What do …………s believe about God?
How might a ……………s understanding of science affect their beliefs and worldviews?
Expression
How does a …………………’s worldview influence the way their interpret religious texts?
Why do some …………….s rarely visit a place of worship and other visit regularly?
Action
What is the best way for a …………. to lead a good life?
How and why do many ……………..s try to help people?
Our intention is to afford each worldview equal respect and to be mindful of reflecting each as their believers would wise e.g. using their chosen endonym, we have adopted the BCP Agreed Syllabus terminology:
| Buddhism | Buddhists |
| Christianity | Christian |
| Humanism | Humanists |
| Islam | Muslims |
| Judaism | Jews |
| Sanatana Dharma (formerly referred to as Hindusim) | Santhanis (formerly referred to as Hindus) |
| Sikhi (formerly referred to as Sikhism) | Sikhs |
Sanatana Dharma is an endonym used by many Hindus to refer to Hinduism. It refers to the ‘eternal’ truth and teachings of Hinduism. It can also be translated as ‘the natural and eternal way to live’. The term Sikhism is a Western term that was created by Europeans during the 19 Century. It was not used by most Sikhs themselves. The term Sikhi represents religion as well as a continuous state of learning, engagement and way of life.