Denise Cush

Bath Spa University, School of Writing, Publishing and the Humanities, Emeritus

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Denise Cush is Professor Emerita of Religion and Education at Bath Spa University,
having maintained a dual career in both Study of Religions and Religious Education. She was a member of the Commission on Religious Education 2016-18, and Deputy Editor of the British Journal of Religious Education from 2011-2018. Publications include Buddhism, a still much-used textbook (Hodder, 1994), the Routledge Encyclopaedia of Hinduism (2007), Celebrating Planet Earth, a Pagan/Christian Conversation (Moon 2015) and many articles and book chapters. Recent work has included: assisting with the RE Council’s continuing Worldviews project, providing subject knowledge resources for Buddhist, Hindu and Pagan worldview traditions for REonline, exploring the notion of an academic discipline, and Barbara Wintersgill’s ‘Big Ideas for Religious Education’ project, including publication of a new web-based curriculum for RE https://bigideasforre.org

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Papers by Denise Cush

Religion and Worldviews in English schools, Study of Religions, and disciplinary knowledge

Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions, Feb 4, 2023

Since the publication of the Commission on RE report for England in 2018, there has been much dis... more Since the publication of the Commission on RE report for England in 2018, there has been much discussion of the concept of 'disciplinary knowledge' and of which academic disciplines underpin the school subject commonly called Religious Education (RE) e.g. Kueh (2018, 2020); Georgiou and Wright (2020). Study of Religions was notable for its absence. Against these and other more outspoken critics such as Barnes, this article argues for the simple answer, which would seem obvious to members of BASR, the university discipline known as Study of Religions, or previously and more ambiguously, Religious Studies (cf Alberts, Jensen). This is not however to accept that Religion and Worldviews in schools is merely a watered-down version of SR at university level, or that other disciplines including philosophy or even theology cannot make useful contributions. Future RE needs to build upon the insights of the Commission, the Worldviews Project and other recent projects such 'Big Ideas' to construct a vibrant and memorable curriculum which is both academically rigorous and personally inspiring, providing students with the knowledge and skills they need not only for the few who choose Study of Religions at university, but transferable to the many situations in which they will find themselves in in later life, both professional and personal.

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Towards a Methodology for Comparative Studies in Religious Education: a Study of England and Norway

Journal of Beliefs & Values-studies in Religion & Education, Jan 2, 2015

One cannot help but agree with the claim on the cover that this is a ‘groundbreaking’ study. Alth... more

In Memoriam: Donald Whittle

British journal of religious education, Feb 18, 2015

It is with great sadness that we learned of the sudden death of Donald Whittle on 2 December 2014... more It is with great sadness that we learned of the sudden death of Donald Whittle on 2 December 2014. Donald was a member of academic staff at Bath College of Higher Education from 1967 until 1985. He led Religious and Philosophical Studies within the teacher education degrees offered at that time. With his colleague, Heather Williamson, he was a pioneer in the subjects of Religious Education and Religious and Philosophical Studies. Examples of this include his key role in the development of the 1970 BathAgreed Syllabus for Religious Education in schools, which was remarkable at the time for proposing that ‘in a pluralistic society there must be an attempt to understand views other than Christianity (e.g. Humanism, Communism, Buddhism)’. This syllabus predated the more famous 1975 Birmingham-Agreed Syllabus that made national headlines for similar suggestions. Although Buddhism and other world religions came to be represented more widely in the Religious Education syllabuses nationwide, it was not until 2004 that official guidance mentioned the inclusion of secular world views. Donald gained a national reputation for an inclusive and experiential pedagogy that saw him mentioned in the definitive history of Religious Education in this country (see Terence Copley’s Teaching Religion: Fifty Years of Religious Education in England and Wales, University of Exeter Press, 1997). Another enduring legacy – especially for Bath Spa University – is the introduction, in the 1970s, of experiential learning in the form of fieldwork placements with religious communities as an essential part of a Religious Studies programme, still a distinctive feature of Study of Religions and Religions, Philosophies and Ethics degrees at Bath Spa. An interview with Donald in 2010, sharing his memories of the 1970s and the reasons why he considered this form of learning is so important, can be found at www.livingreligion.co.uk.

The faith schools debate

British Journal of Sociology of Education, 2005

Since 2001, when the Church of England announced its intention to expand the number of church sch... more Since 2001, when the Church of England announced its intention to expand the number of church schools (Archbishop’s Council, 2001), and the government expressed its support for such expansion (DfES, 2001), the issue of faith-based schools has been one of the most debated questions at the interface of religion and education in England. The term ‘faith schools’ in the context of the debate is generally (but not always) used to refer not to those that exist within the independent sector, but to ‘schools with a religious character’ (to use the official wording) that are maintained by state funding. Thus, the question raised is often ‘should the state fund schools with a religious character?’. The existence of such schools dates back to the introduction of state education in 1870, when state-funded schools supplemented, and state funding assisted, the existing provision of schools on a voluntary charitable basis by the churches and other groups. This ‘dual system’ has continued until today, with three categories of statefunded faith schools—the most important of which are ‘voluntary controlled’, where the local education authority provides all of the funding in return for more control, notably over religious education and the governing body; and ‘voluntary aided’, where the voluntary organisation provides a percentage of the budget (currently 10% of certain elements like building costs) in return for having more control, again notably over religious education and governing body. The ‘voluntary controlled’ option was taken by many Church of England schools, whereas most other confessions,

Barbara Wintersgill’s Big Ideas for Religious Education and the National Entitlement to the Study of Religions and Worldviews in England. Some reflections on a Big Ideas approach to curriculum planning in an English context from a participant in both projects

Nordidactica: Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, 2019

This paper examines the thinking behind the six 'Big Ideas' suggested in Wintersgill 2017... more

Teenage Witchcraft in Britain

What is the future of religion given the responses of young people? What impact do existing relig... more What is the future of religion given the responses of young people? What impact do existing religious forms have on youth? What kind of spirituality and religion are young people creating for themselves? Written by leading scholars in the field, this book presents an accessible, yet cutting edge, guide to the key issues in the study of youth and religion, including methodological perspectives. It provides a key teaching text in these areas for undergraduates, and a book of rigorous scholarship for postgraduates, academics, and practitioners. Offering the first comprehensive international perspective on the sociology of youth and religion, this book reveals key geographical and organisational variables as well as the complexities of the engagement between youth and religion. The book is divided into six parts organised around central themes: Generation X and their legacy; The Big Picture - surveys of belief and practice in the USA, UK, Australia and Europe; Expression - how young people construct and live out their religion and spirituality; Identity - the role of religion in shaping young people's sense of self and social belonging; Transmission - passing on the faith (or not); Researching Youth Religion - debates, issues and techniques in researching young people's religion and spirituality.

British Buddhism and the new age

Journal of Contemporary Religion, May 1, 1996

... Partly as a result of my enquiries, Dharma-chari Vishvapani of the Western Buddhist Order, wr... more

The Sacred Cow: Hinduism and ecology

Journal of Beliefs & Values-studies in Religion & Education, Apr 1, 1997

... Similarly, that some gods have animal or part animal form, like Ganesh or Hanuman, and that s... more

Phenomenology in the UK

Schools Council Working Paper 36, several books by Ninian Smart, and the 2019 Golden Anniversary of non-confessional, multi-faith RE

British journal of religious education, Apr 20, 2019

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Policy and implementation: local, regional, national, international, global

British journal of religious education, Aug 2, 2016

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Changing the Game in English Religious Education: 1971 and 2018

Springer eBooks, Sep 28, 2020

Almost 50 years ago, in 1971, a small booklet was published which marked a 'step change' in RE in... more Almost 50 years ago, in 1971, a small booklet was published which marked a 'step change' in RE in England and Wales. In 1975, when encountering it on my teacher training course in RE for secondary schools (pupils aged 11-18) it changed my life. I have compared this to a conversion experience, in that it converted me from Theology to Religious Studies, and from being lukewarm about a career in teaching RE to a lifelong passionate commitment to the subject, understood as an integrative, non-confessional, multi-worldview, objective (as far as humanly possible), critical and pluralistic enterprise. The booklet was modest not only in size but in its self-description as 'a working paper, not a report' that did not 'claim to know all the answers' but intended to 'raise questions' (Schools Council 1971: 5). It was also modest in that the

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‘Do They Really Believe That?’

Discourse, 2010

... Students visit the Shri Guru Nanak Prakash Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Lam Rim Bristol (a Tibetan B... more ... Students visit the Shri Guru Nanak Prakash Singh Sabha Gurdwara, Lam Rim Bristol (a Tibetan Buddhist Centre combined with the Centre for Whole Health offering complementary medical services and courses in various &amp;amp;#x27;Eastern&amp;amp;#x27;arts and disciplines) and the Hindu Temple ...

Religions, Philosophies and Ethics: Curriculum Change in the Marketised Academy

DISKUS, Jul 19, 2014

This article is a case study of curriculum change centred on the introduction of a new Religions,... more This article is a case study of curriculum change centred on the introduction of a new Religions, Philosophies and Ethics degree. This innovation was necessitated by shifting patterns of student demand and government policies at both school and university level but also responded to some factors specific to Bath Spa University. Here we analyse and evaluate the resources upon which we drew in our own heritage as a teaching team, some issues we faced in terms of different Benchmarking Statements, the opportunities we discovered in developing a shared ethos and the threats we identified related to the status of Religious Education, in the expectation that many of the points are of wider relevance. We conclude with some ideas for creative ways forward, entailing cross-institutional co-operation, in a hostile environment.

The Authority of Women's 'Ordinary' Experience: Peggy Morgan and the Teaching of Buddhism in Schools

Religions in Education at what was then Bishop Otter College in Chichester. At the time I was tea... more Religions in Education at what was then Bishop Otter College in Chichester. At the time I was teaching Religious Studies at St. Mary's RC Sixth-form College in Middlesbrough, including teaching Buddhism at A level and A/O level, and had just negotiated a summer term sabbatical back at Lancaster University to update my knowledge of Buddhism prior to attempting to write a textbook for A level, without any clue as to how such things were published. This was my first teaching post, after completing an MA in Religious Studies at Lancaster University in 1977, where I gained an interest in and love for what are now referred to as 'Dharmic' traditions, and was keen to share this with my students. After eight years of going it alone it was wonderful to discover Shap conferences, meet with others who were also doing similar things, and a happy coincidence that Shap conferences that year were dealing with Buddhism and Hinduism. During the conference, Peter Connolly, Clive Erricker and Peggy organised a group to discuss creating much needed resources for the teaching of Buddhism in schools, which was at that time relatively neglected. As I was thinking about writing a textbook for A level but had no idea how to go about that I joined the group which decided to set up the Buddhism Resource Project. As well as Peggy, Clive and Peter, the group included Jo Backus, Joy Barrow, Anita Cotterall, Holly Connolly and Barbara Stretch, a mixture of teachers and lecturers, Buddhists and non-Buddhists. The Project met regularly at Peggy's house in North Oxford as well as at King Alfred's College and later in Bath College of HE from 1985 to the early 90s and encouraged and enabled the production of

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When the Twain Meet

... Recently, Phra Nicholas Thanissaro, researching Buddhist families of Thai, Nepali and Bengali... more

Seldom heard strategy': engagement with faith groups

Why teenage witchcraft? What can we learn about young people's spirituality from their interest in witchcraft and Paganism?

Religious Studies versus Theology : Why I’m still Glad that I Converted from Theology to Religious Studies

Continuum eBooks, Sep 12, 2014

Theology and religious studies co-exist in the majority of departments in higher education instit... more Theology and religious studies co-exist in the majority of departments in higher education institutions within the UK, yet there has been very little debate or discussion on how these two disciplines relate to one another in this context and on a more general level. This new collection of essays aims to redress the balance and to add to fruitful discussion in this area Including essays by some of today's leading academics on the sometimes contentious relationship between religious studies - or the study of religions - and theology, this volume is international in scope, with contributions from scholars from the UK, USA, South Africa, Netherlands, Sweden and Iran. Many of the essays offer a contextualised account of the evolving relationship between the disciplines. The contributors address such issues as the place of theology within today's universities; the problem of clashing methodologies in theology and religious studies; the possibility for a ‘theological religious studies'; approaching the study of religions without theology; interdisciplinary approaches for bridging the theology/religious studies divide; and the place of biblical studies in the theology/religious studies debate.

Forest church or Anglican Druids? Developments at the interface of Christianity and Paganism

This paper originates with the experience of the presenter in acting as 'impartial' chair... more This paper originates with the experience of the presenter in acting as 'impartial' chair in an inter-faith encounter between Christians and Pagans and subsequently editing a book with contributions from both 'sides'. It examines new developments in the relationship between Christianity and Paganism in contemporary Britain. This includes inter- faith dialogue, shared ritual practice, mutual influence, joint endeavours in educational or environmental activities, new organisations such as Forest Church as well as individuals who draw upon both traditions to inform their own personal spiritual practice. How far have motifs from Pagan traditions influenced aspects of popular culture, or is contemporary Paganism a product of popular culture? How do we interpret developments at the interface of the two traditions - as covert evangelisation, overt attempts to produce new hybrid forms, or creative offshoots of inter-faith encounter? It also looks at the impact on research when the roles of researcher and researched, adherents, academics and popular writers become fluid and interchangeable, and reflects on the experience of editing a book with contributors who identify as adherents or academics or both at the boundary between academic and popular literature.

Religion and Worldviews in English schools, Study of Religions, and disciplinary knowledge

Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions, Feb 4, 2023

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Towards a Methodology for Comparative Studies in Religious Education: a Study of England and Norway

Journal of Beliefs & Values-studies in Religion & Education, Jan 2, 2015

One cannot help but agree with the claim on the cover that this is a ‘groundbreaking’ study. Alth... more

In Memoriam: Donald Whittle

British journal of religious education, Feb 18, 2015