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In 2021, the Methodist Church voted 692-51 in favour of gay marriages. Two years later, the first gay marriage was performed in a Methodist Church - I think they were expecting more of a rush! In this episode I chat to Rev John Squares who performed the ceremony between John and Les.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cqll85zq5v0o

We discuss how gay marriage can be compatible with the Christian faith but more importantly, the need to love yourself before you can love others!

We also discuss the danger in extreme homephobic view points so a warning not to listen to this episode in front of young children or anyone who might be upset by it's content. Specifically we mention Matthew Shepard;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-45968606

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What are miracles? Do they happen? Are there any other explanations for them? Does believing in miracles open you up to being manipulated by faith healers? Do the presence of miracles in different religions cancel each other out?
I look into miracles. We look at Hume, Aquinas, Flew, RF Holland and Swinburne to help me do this.
I make reference to Miracles for Sale - the Derren Brown documentary which you can watch here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuP5uOI7Xwc&t=3281s

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Karenza Passmore has been a valued member of the RE Communinity for well over 30 years. In her role in the North East Religious Resources Center, she has emersed herself in RE resources so she is here so offer some of her insights.
Karenza is a passionate advocate for RE combining experience with Neuroscience to offer inspiration to all of us classroom teachers.
Below are some of the links of things that Karenza mentions

RE Hubs
https://www.re-hubs.uk/get-involved/resource-centres/

Areiac
https://www.areiac.org.uk/join-areiac

Gill Vaisey
https://www.booksatpress.co.uk/religiouseducation.html

RE Today membership
https://www.retoday.org.uk/school-support/natre-membership/

Please get in touch and let Karenza and I know what your one take away is from our episode!
@Karenza_RRC

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In this episode I talk to former CPS Barrister Michelle St John from VinE, and Heather Marshal from Edgehill University in Birmingham about Veganism as a worldview and how we can teach it in the classroom. We discuss;
What veganism is and why it is an important topic to discuss in the 21st century, why and how we should teach it, including how it is a unifying factor between religious and non-religious worldviews.

There were lots of places mentioned to find some great resources

www.teachvine.org

https://www.animalaid.org.uk/education/
https://climatehealers.org/
https://plantbasedhealthprofessionals.com/

https://www.cowspiracy.com/
https://gamechangersmovie.com/What the health
https://www.dominionmovement.com/watch
https://eating2extinction.com/

https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/

https://www.edgehill.ac.uk/?s=vegan

https://www.natre.org.uk/about-natre/projects/spirited-arts/spirited-arts-gallery/2023/?ThemeID=109

https://www.laudatosi.org/the-letter/encyclical-letter/

https://www.almizan.earth/

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I think one of the trump cards of RE is our ability to teach critical thinking. In the wake of a general election, with the diverse voices and opinions our young people are exposed to, and as they embark on relationships, it feels that an ability to spot flaws in people's arguments is vital. In this episode, I explain what I mean by 'flaw' or 'fallacy and break down into easily accessible chunks a few of the most common fallacies;

• Post hoc ergo proctor hoc - after this, therefore because of this
• Reductio ad absurdum - reducing something to it's most ridiculous extreme to try and prove an opinion is wrong
• Slippery slope - arguing that one event will evetually lead to something catestrophic
• Ad hominem - when you can't find anything wrong with someone's argument so start attacking the person
• False dichotomy - when someone assumes there are only two options
• Straw man fallacy where you slightly misrepresent someone's argument to make it look like it is flawed
• Circular arguments where your premise is assumed to be true and therefore is used to prove your conclusion is
• Non-sequiter so where a conclusion doesn't logically follow a premise
• Fallacy of composition where you assume that something that is true for an individual is also true for the whole
• False authority - where you use an authority figure who isn't an expert to prove a point
• Confirmation bias - where you look for evidence to support what you already believe.

I apply these fallacies to philosophical arguments and modern day dilemmas and talk about how to overcome them.
I really hope this is a helpful episode that will help you equip your students for life in the 21st century.

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I have been thinking a lot recently about the Science of Learning and what that looks like in the RE classroom. I think we have a lot to learn from educational research. But what I am noticing is that children don't seem to LOVE learning, in fact some seem to resent it. I have been trying to work out why. Like many things, I think it is multifaceted with social and political factors, but what I am more interested in is solutions. HOW do we encourage children to LOVE learning? Children are naturally curious and love to ask WHY - and the RE classroom is such an ideal place to cultivate their curiousity and encourage them to be like they were when they were younger. So I was thinking about HOW we can cultivate curiosity in our classrooms. This episode is the result of my thinking.

I'd love to hear how YOU cultivate curiosity in your classroom so please get in touch!

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Back in February, Jamie and I discussed doing an episode together! And three months later it happened! And it was a delightful chat. We dicuss so many things including the worldview approach to RE, what sentientism is and what it means in terms of how we treat living things, as well as the the importance of evdience and reason in working out what's real!

Here is a link to Jamies website, articles of RE today, Christspiracy and how to contact him;

https://sentientism.info/

https://www.natre.org.uk/resources/termly-mailing/secondary-investigating-worldviews/investigating-non-religious-worldviews-re-today-services/investigating-a-non-religious-worldview-what-is-sentientism/

https://www.christspiracy.org/

@jamiewoodhouse

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On 2nd May The RE Council has published its Draft Handbook for the Religion and Worldviews in the Classroom: developing a Worldviews Approach project.
This is an historic day for the RE community. But, what is the RE Council (REC) and what is this handbook? Who is it for? And how is it different from the National Content Standard?

I discuss all this and more with former NATRE chair, current Deputy Chair for the REC and RE advisor, Ed Pawson, and chair of the REC and educational officer for the free Churches, Sarah Lane Cawte.

After a hard day it was delightful to chat to such wonderful people and appreciated them giving their time to me considering how busy they are.

I also learn something and demonstrate how NOT to do respectful curiosity!

https://religiouseducationcouncil.org.uk/rec/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/REC-Worldviews-Project-double-pages-Revised-cover-v1.2.pdf

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