Affective Engagements with Religion and Citizenship in English Primary Schools

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Bibliographic Details
Title: Affective Engagements with Religion and Citizenship in English Primary Schools
Language: English
Authors: Anna Strhan (ORCID 0000-0002-0875-1197), Joanna Malone, Peter Hemming, Sarah Neal
Source: British Journal of Sociology of Education. 2026 47(3):482-500.
Availability: Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 530 Walnut Street Suite 850, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Tel: 215-625-8900; Fax: 215-207-0050; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Peer Reviewed: Y
Page Count: 19
Publication Date: 2026
Document Type: Journal Articles
Reports - Research
Education Level: Elementary Education
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Religious Education, Citizenship Education, Elementary Education, Elementary Schools, Christianity, Religious Factors, Psychological Patterns, Elementary School Students, Educational Policy, Justice, Cultural Pluralism, World Views
Geographic Terms: United Kingdom (England)
DOI: 10.1080/01425692.2025.2462954
ISSN: 0142-5692
1465-3346
Abstract: This article draws on qualitative data from the 'Becoming Citizens of "Post-secular" Britain' study to examine different ways in which religion becomes interwoven in affective citizenship in school worlds. Focusing on the 'affective atmospheres' associated with Religious Education (RE) and collective worship in two contrasting primary schools in England, our analysis highlights how Christianity remains privileged to different degrees in both. We investigate the children's emotional and embodied engagements with the aspects of religion they encounter through RE and collective worship -- ranging from interest via boredom to feelings of injustice -- and reveal how these problematize current policies for English schools as failing to mirror shifting landscapes of non/religious diversification. We argue that the children's responses can be interpreted as an expression of their lived citizenship in relation to the new non/religious pluralism they are growing up within and shaping.
Abstractor: As Provided
Entry Date: 2026
Accession Number: EJ1502822
Database: ERIC
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