Responding to a question on a thread about this topic, an outline of the way that different schools of thought within Islam respond to the question of what sort of art is permissible. I hope to add the actual suras from the Qur'an which relate to art and the Hadiths to this plus a power point of examples of Islamic Art which can be used in both RE and Art lessons - but to start with, here is my response to the question on the thread.

Both these documents are more or less the same at the moment, but I will add to them. They arise from a question on Creation Story - but also touch on issues in other threads. KS4 + Post 16, give the whole document to 'thread info they already know' onto it, plus see where it falls short. (any generalisation is inevitably false.) Those who practise a faith can try to position themselves, those who belong to a religious community can look for examples of all these 'types' of Christian (or Muslim etc) in their faith community.

In her encounter with the Stone Age Tribe, Rebecca takes part in a mammoth hunt and then, during the feast that follows, tells the Wise Elder about her world. He is impressed and shares the problems of his own tribe, asking if we have peace in our world. When Rebecca tells him about war and poverty he asks if there is no God in our world. In the second story, the author wonders if the 'Druid-Man she met might be able to help her answer her own questions. Great stories for encouraging reflection and debate on the big questions, with elements for primary and secondary age students.

this is an astonishingly brilliant collection of important quotations from Christian and Hindu sources for GCSE students. You will find it also at chartere23's site and I am not sharing it here to take any of the credit for it at all - simply because it is so good I want it to be seen by and used in class by as many of my colleagues in RE as possible. The only changes I have made to this version are - an introduction with thanks - and slight adjustments to formatting. Ideally I would then pdf it but no facility for that here. Thanks again chartere23

From time to time I have mentioned a role-play Wedding exercise I have done with GCSE classes. I just came across some files relating to this from 2007. In 2007 I was HOD of RE and our year 10 classes did a 'Wedding Season.’ We explored weddings from the perspective of several denominations and the classes really enjoyed it. I include a detailed report on one wedding. I will add the ‘script,’ the music and photos - when I find them, but there is enough here to help other teachers to plan a similar event. It is a lot of work but well worth the exercise.

This film asks 'what is wrong with the world?' and &'What can we do about it?&'; It impressed and moved me so deeply that I would like to see the film shown at the start of Autumn term to all RE classes across the country. Each year the pupils would get more from it, as their own experience and understanding develop. Annoyingly these links have been removed - some copyright infringement. I have bought the film and will send you a copy if you give me a pm. It really is worth having and showing - in 'bite-size chunks&' for younger classes.

In response to a non specialist asking about the best way of approaching teaching RE I have collected the web-addresses for some of my most popular resouces and listed them grouped under headings to hopefully make them easier to find. First are the Exploring Religion and Reflections on Life slide-shows which are most popular. Then there are the poems and quotations, some files grouped with others from that religion, and finally some role-play exercises. I hope this will be useful especially for nonspecialists and NQT's

This Power Point slide show combines images and texts to encourage thought, reflection and discussion about important issues including evolution, family and relationship, peace and conflict, poverty and homelessness, global warming, disability, courage and hope.. It has evolved from the earlier slide-shows but this file is designed for use with GCSE, and older classes. There are images which could distress younger students - It's good for upper school assemblies I hope you enjoy this resource and find it valuable.

more interesting and insightful articles with some of the comments from the related forums - I have chosen a fair variety of views to encourage debate. The Anarchy News article was recommended by a friend! Those articles which I find most useful I have marked with AA or AAA rating, In some articles I have highlighted sections that if I were preparing material for use in school I would include - and blue highlighting indicates particularly pertinent sections - but of course this is a personal reaction. By copying the material in an Unformatted style they will be easy for you to edit.

A selection of interesting and useful resources relating to the above important topics. Also how to use silence and creative strategies Aiming to strengthen the spiritual lives of students improve mental health and self-awareness - and raise the peace and consciousness of the entire school community. please send me a pm to suggest other good resources to include here.

most of an essay I wrote on Christian Theology in around 1990 when working for my degree in Theology and Religious Studies. This is a good text to discuss with GCSE and A'level students.

A selection of quotes from the thousands that are on the web, Einstein is known as one of the greatest minds and scientists of our age, but he was also a mystic and a deeply 'religious or spiritual' person. The quotes I have chosen are about life, creativity and religion. I made some quotes into a video but it&'s too big to load here. See my youtube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mASYwXH5ue8 the url is https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=mASYwXH5ue8

This is a Power Point which explores the concept of Place of Worship and sets a reflective/mind-map exercise and research homework It explores the concepts of both place and worship encouraging reflection on what it means to be a human being, body, mind and spirit - where we go to find inner qualities such as peace and happiness - Very versatile introduction to the topic of places of worship but useful for more than that - including identity and meditation. Please give comments and ratings to help others.

There are 20 files here which explore many aspects of the subject of Capital Punishment. questions to use as a starter/plenary what is the difference between murder and manslaughter arguments for and against Capital Punishment, The UN and Amnesty and what they have to say on the subject several examples of wrongful convictions Religious Texts relating to Capital Punishment are 'in the pipe line'

These articles cover many aspects of village life - including local democracy, provision of water, education and opportunities for women, caste problems etc. Useful in any international work, citizenship, community cohesion and Religious Education topics with KS3 KS4, GCSE etc.

These are adapted from info on the OCR website. They give a basic outline which I hope to add to, when I have time to bring in info from other sites. Hope it is helpful. I would encourage students to turn this into mind-maps and spacial, or visual patterns which enable them to link common ideas and overlapping theories.

Hi Guys, I'm giving a workshop on this topic at a Teachmeet next week and they asked for resources that could be shared by participants afterwards. I have tried to think the subject through onto a Power Point and this is the result. I think it will be helpful and as always would love some feedback. I would use Tyger Tyger shining bright and selected poems and texts from different cultural and religious sources. So please send me a pm with some of those you find insightful. Thanks Love and Peace DurgaMata

16 - 17th Jan - Homophobia and sex-education 18th - 20th parking frustrations + gratitude to friends for helping my daughter . 20 - 23 outline only - 24 - 25th includes comment on competition and ‘excellence’ in school and on some of the atrocities committed by the British Raj in India + news of the rest of the day. An article about Lahore and Partition with interviews. 26th - flier and business card for Silk-Painting + Monsanto. Is it the world’s worst company? 29th Jan + ‘Against all the odds.’ 6th Feb is about the snow and 7th about Mum and being independent.

A collection of resources including youtube video which tells the story of a South African woman who forgives the policeman who killed her son and husband A poem and reflection on love A Role Play exercise based on Jewish practise partucularly suited to Yom Kippur

There are references to useful sites and ideas here on the subject of Religion and The Environment. I will add to this - but at present there are also resources that explore Global Warming, Eating meat or being Veggi, Buddhist Peace Gardens and more.