Religious education (RE) teachers know the importance of a balanced, well-rounded debate. It is one of the cornerstones of the subject, and allows deep and personable conversations about difficult topics.

However, religion is generally seen to have a far superior, serious and well-respected opponent in science.

This shouldn’t be the case: these subjects don’t have to be seen as complete opposites. In fact, they could be perceived as two sides of the same coin.

How science can help RE teaching

Science can enhance religious education, help spark debate and ultimately garner better engagement from students. Here’s how science can be used effectively to enhance the teaching of RE.

1. Engagement

There are many facets to ensuring you have a class’ engagement during a lesson. However, I am sure we have all encountered at some point the brick wall: a student simply switching off, because of a preconceived notion of a topic.

This can be difficult to tackle. How can I engage a student in a discussion about the creation of the universe, if they already know the answer is the Big Bang?

The answer: know the science. If I can talk about the science of the Doppler Effect, or the basic principles of a singularity, then it makes the classroom a level playing field. I have proved my worth in pupils’ eyes, and the brick wall falls down.

Once that’s happened, we can start discussing whether the universe has a prime mover or a first cause, and who or what this might be.

2. Perception

Students are not a blank canvas when they set foot in the classroom. Their perceptions of religion have already been formed in many ways, and some will be very dismissive of it.

Science has long been seen as the antithesis to religion. This perception has only been fuelled by prominent atheists in recent years. This, in turn, has given many young people the idea that religious ideas and theories are far inferior to their ordered, scientific counterparts.

Teaching RE offers a unique opportunity to not only show the wonders that RE has to offer, but to also offer a calming voice in the often heated atheist-theist debate. By focusing on a plethora of views and ideas -including mainstream scientific ideas - you can show that there is always a common ground. For many students, this may not have been previously apparent.

The discussion then becomes a debate not about the weaknesses of religion, but the limitations of our own current understanding, and the different theories - past and present - about how to answer these questions.

3. Collaboration

RE shouldn’t become a watered-down science lesson. The subject offers far too much that is incredibly important and it needs protecting by subject professionals.

In this sense, collaboration might be the best solution. Given the push of cross-curricular activities, an unlikely tag team could form between science and RE.

Topics such as cloning lend themselves perfectly to this collaboration. Studied in biology and as part of RE, it is a science-heavy topic with many subsections, and relies on previous scientific knowledge of other topics (such as genetics).

If a collaboration were possible, biology teachers and RE teachers could plan and work together on larger projects. This would give the students a deeper understanding of what is being discussed. With the full scientific knowledge in place, they would be in a better position to argue their ethical stance on the matter.

There are, in fact, many areas where science and RE can link and cross over. These topics may already be taught to students, but it may be that the timings are not in sync.

The solution, then, is to have RE and science working together to supplement each other, so as to provide wider context and understanding. 

Joshua Ward is a religious education, philosophy and ethics teacher, based at a secondary academy in the East Midlands. He tweets @JoshuaWardRE