Teaching and Learning About Religious Diversity in the Past and Present

This edited book explores examples of different ways in which societies and individuals have dealt with the concepts of religious diversity, toleration and peace-making in politics and law, and how these examples can inform educators and learners in (in- and non-)formal education today. Chapters introduce and analyse nine key documents: the Capitulations of Granada (1492), the Confederation of Warsaw (1573), the Peace of Westphalia (1648), the Royal Charter of Rhode Island (1663), the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (1789), the European Convention of Human Rights (1950), the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement (1998), the Ohrid Framework Agreement (2001) and the Mardin Declaration (2010). In addition to explaining how each document manages toleration and peace, the authors also provide ‘clippings’, short visual and textual excerpts relating to the document under discussion. These aim to challenge thinking about the historical document and its potential significance for the present. The book’s contributors consider the past as a source of inspiration for learning in formal and informal educational contexts such as classrooms, museums and youth work. It will be of interest to teachers and scholars in history, citizenship, philosophy, ethics and religious education in schools and beyond.

Karel Van Nieuwenhuyse is Professor in the History Research Unit, KU Leuven, Belgium. 

John Maiden is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at The Open University, UK. 

Stefanie Sinclair is Senior Lecturer in Religious Studies at The Open University, UK.