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'You Can't Be an Atheist Here': Christianity and Outward Bound in Britain, c.1941-1965

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Title: 'You Can't Be an Atheist Here': Christianity and Outward Bound in Britain, c.1941-1965
Language: English
Authors: Mark Freeman
Source: History of Education Review. 2020 49(1):67-84.
Availability: Emerald Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: emerald@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emerald.com/insight
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 18
Publication Date: 2020
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Educational History, Outdoor Education, Christianity, Religious Factors, Religious Education, Individual Development, Educational Change
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (Great Britain)
DOI: 10.1108/HER-04-2019-0011
ISSN: 0819-8691
2054-5649
Abstract: Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the role of formal religion in the early years of Outward Bound, a significant outdoor education organisation in Britain, from the 1940s to the 1960s. Design/methodology/approach: This article is based on archival and other documentary research in various archives and libraries, mostly in the United Kingdom. Findings: The article shows that religious "instruction" was a central feature of the outdoor education that Outward Bound provided. The nature and extent of this aspect of the training was a matter of considerable debate within the Outward Bound Trust and was influenced by older traditions of muscular Christianity as well as the specific context of the early post-Second World War period. However, the religious influences at the schools were marginalised by the 1960s; although formal Christian observances did not disappear, the emphasis shifted to the promotion of a vaguer spirituality associated with the idea that "the mountains speak for themselves". Originality/value: The article establishes the importance of organised Christianity and formal religious observances in the early years of Outward Bound, a feature which has generally been overlooked in the historical literature. It contributes to wider analyses of outdoor education, religious education and secularisation in the mid-twentieth century.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2025
Accession Number: EJ1462705
Database: ERIC
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  Data: Emerald Publishing Limited. Howard House, Wagon Lane, Bingley, West Yorkshire, BD16 1WA, UK. Tel: +44-1274-777700; Fax: +44-1274-785201; e-mail: emerald@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emerald.com/insight
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  Data: Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the role of formal religion in the early years of Outward Bound, a significant outdoor education organisation in Britain, from the 1940s to the 1960s. Design/methodology/approach: This article is based on archival and other documentary research in various archives and libraries, mostly in the United Kingdom. Findings: The article shows that religious "instruction" was a central feature of the outdoor education that Outward Bound provided. The nature and extent of this aspect of the training was a matter of considerable debate within the Outward Bound Trust and was influenced by older traditions of muscular Christianity as well as the specific context of the early post-Second World War period. However, the religious influences at the schools were marginalised by the 1960s; although formal Christian observances did not disappear, the emphasis shifted to the promotion of a vaguer spirituality associated with the idea that "the mountains speak for themselves". Originality/value: The article establishes the importance of organised Christianity and formal religious observances in the early years of Outward Bound, a feature which has generally been overlooked in the historical literature. It contributes to wider analyses of outdoor education, religious education and secularisation in the mid-twentieth century.
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