ABSTRACT

Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing security and intelligence landscape, in which education has become a key if controversial player, historical-contemporary analysis shows interwoven strands of interface between education, security and intelligence studies. Religion here has an important role in a new security and intelligence agenda which has progressively incorporated education into responding to emergent threats to social and political stability, particularly but not exclusively from extremism and terrorism/counter-terrorism. A substantial and trenchant critique of my analysis has been presented by Robert Jackson. Saddened though I might be by any animosity or division caused by my analysis, I stand wholly by my position and demonstrate that the politicization and securitization of religion in education is an undeniable aspect of the now entrenched interface of education and security-intelligence. This article makes a response to Jackson's rejoinder in two stages: first, I provide some wider context for Jackson's critique through an outline of my theoretical positioning on the foundations or grounds of modern Religious Education; second, I present nine counterpoints to the arguments presented by Jackson. I hope this short riposte will begin to move matters on.