Sean Whittle is a Visiting Research Fellow at Heythrop College, University of London, and a Research Associate with the Centre for Research and Development in Catholic Education at St Mary's University in Twickenham. He also works part-time as a secondary school RE teacher at Gumley House FCJ Catholic School in West London. He is the author of A Theory of Catholic Education (2014) and the editor of Vatican II and New Thinking about Catholic Education (2016). He recently collaborated with other academics in the field to create the Network for Researchers in Catholic Education.

This volume draws together researchers from Ireland and the UK in order to bring into focus the complex range of issues around the teaching of Religious Education in Catholic schools within a pluralist society.

CONTENTS: Irish and British Perspectives on Religious Education in Catholic Schools - John Sullivan: The Role of Religious Education Teachers: Between Pedagogy and Ecclesiology - Gareth Byrne: The Place of Religious Education in the Changing Landscape That Is Ireland Today - Fiona Dineen: Religious Education in Catholic Schools - Fitting the Field: Educators, Ethos and Catholic Primary Schools in Ireland - Daniel O'Connell/Marie Ryan/Maurice Harmon: Will We Have Teachers for Catholic Primary Schools in Ireland? - Bernadette Sweetman: Godparenthood and Education: An Irish Perspective - Brendan Carmody SJ: Religious Education: The Irish Secondary School - Cora O'Farrell: «It's like as if I'm close to God. I feel as if God is beside me»: Giving Voice to Children in the Field of Religious Education - An Irish Study - Sean Whittle: Religious Education in Catholic Schools in England and Wales: A Critical Assessment of the Religious Education Curriculum Directory - The Place of Scripture in Religious Education in Catholic Schools - Stephen J. McKinney: Affirming the Place of Scripture in the Catholic School - Susan Docherty: Scripture and Religious Education: Jesus as «messiah» and «Divine Son» - Insights from Recent New Testament Scholarship - David Purcell: The Importance of Scripture and Sacred Texts in the Teaching of Religious Education and Securing Engagement for Pupils and Students with Special Educational Needs - John Stoer: Using Biblical Texts in Religious Education in Catholic Schools to Encourage Openness to Diversity and Foster Community Cohesion - Sean Whittle: Conclusion: A Proposal About the Future Direction of Religious Education in Catholic Schools.

Catholic schools continue to be a popular choice for parents, including many who do not profess the Catholic faith. One of the distinguishing features of Catholic schools is the importance they ascribe to Religious Education (RE). This volume draws together researchers from Ireland and the UK to bring into focus the complex range of issues around the teaching of RE. Within the public sphere, there is considerable discussion about the role of education in passing on and engaging with religious matters. The essays gathered here make an important contribution to an ongoing debate about the place of RE in Catholic schools within pluralist societies.

Given that almost all Catholic schools are publicly funded, the questions explored in this volume are not only of interest to advocates of Catholic education and those involved in researching and teaching RE, but are also relevant and topical for Irish and British society more widely.