ABSTRACT

This chapter explains and clarifies the nature of conceptual research in the service of religious education. Conceptual clarity is an aid to teaching, in that for a teacher to be clear what he is doing will greatly assist his choice of content, method and order in the presentation of material. Conceptual research presupposes the propriety of teaching the central concepts of an area and in the case of a subject so controversial as religious education, this may seem doubtful. Religion is a form of life, and material from it has to be chosen to serve the ends of religious education. The chapter focuses on the categorial centre, and selects material from the whole Christian tradition, so the pupil’s mind is structured in understanding the religious dimension, and is prepared for exploration of it.