ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at examples of Religious Education (RE) in its 'implicit' form. The characterization of religion as having both explicit and implicit dimensions has been influential in RE, and certainly reflects much of actual religious experience. The task of the RE teacher, then, is to 'provoke' religious understanding and 'sensitivity' to 'spiritual insight'. RE is not just one aspect of education but is the binding force in education and is central to the educational process as a whole. Since moral education involves educating the emotions, and since certain of these emotions characterize religion, RE falls within the wider sphere of moral education. John Wilson's stated reason for connecting religion with moral education is 'the feeling, widely shared, that religious education alone could not provide a completely satisfactory framework for moral education'. It is easy for the 'liberal' educationist to decry the teaching of religion in a confessional manner.
