The RE community is mourning the passing of Terence Copley. He was an important and influential scholar who as teacher, author and teacher-educator contributed much to the RE community in England and beyond and whose work inspired many local RE teachers during their studies in Initial Teacher Education.
In relation to Northern Ireland Terence will be remembered for his challenging comments on the aims of the first Core Syllabus for Religious Education, when he questioned the nature of the 3 Attainment Targets (Revelation of God, Christian Church, Christian Morality). More recently his vision of a broader, more open form of RE that acknowledges wide diversity has given food for thought in our local context (see Nelson 2007, p. 13):
'What British religious education needs to do… is not to continue teaching a sort of disembodied world-religions course as it is currently doing, but to engage with the complex cultural realities of religion in Britain, including popular spiritualities.' (Copley, 2007)
As well as presenting such challenges for relgious educators Terence Copley was well known as an author of teaching resources and learning support materials, and it is for these combined traits, of being able to offer both challenge and support, that he will surely be remembered.
In relation to Northern Ireland Terence will be remembered for his challenging comments on the aims of the first Core Syllabus for Religious Education, when he questioned the nature of the 3 Attainment Targets (Revelation of God, Christian Church, Christian Morality). More recently his vision of a broader, more open form of RE that acknowledges wide diversity has given food for thought in our local context (see Nelson 2007, p. 13):
'What British religious education needs to do… is not to continue teaching a sort of disembodied world-religions course as it is currently doing, but to engage with the complex cultural realities of religion in Britain, including popular spiritualities.' (Copley, 2007)
As well as presenting such challenges for relgious educators Terence Copley was well known as an author of teaching resources and learning support materials, and it is for these combined traits, of being able to offer both challenge and support, that he will surely be remembered.