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Bringing together the latest research and practical strategies for teachers of secondary religious education, Joe Kinnaird draws on his years of teaching experience and passion for high-quality RE to explore a range of ways to deepen pupils’ understanding of religion and worldviews.

This book presents a vision of what it means for students to truly engage with religious education: grappling with philosophical and ethical questions, engaging critically with beliefs and worldviews, and expressing informed responses with accuracy and purpose. Joe makes the case for the importance and value of RE, alongside tips for effective practice in all areas of a RE teacher’s role, such as approaches to curriculum design, teaching disciplinary knowledge and handling controversial topics.

Whether you are beginning your journey into teacher training, an experienced teacher seeking new inspiration, a non-specialist, a subject leader, or a senior leader line-managing RE departments, this book is an essential guide for everyone involved with religious education in the classroom.

For an EXCLUSIVE DISCOUNT FOR LISTENERS TO THE RE PODCAST use the discount code SRE10

Release date: 17th April 2026

Cost: £16 (£14.40 with discount)

https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/joe-kinnaird-2/secondary-religious-education-in-action/9781915261915/

What is in the book?

What is the subject about?
What are the challenges, debates and perspectives in RE?
What does the research tell us about teaching RE?
What are the different types of knowledge and concepts in RE?
How can you structure an RE curriculum?
How can I explain and model in RE?
What does questioning look like in RE?
What does writing look like in RE?
What does assessment look like in RE?
What does feedback look like in RE?
How can I use texts and scholarship in RE?
How can I teach controversial topics and sensitive topics in RE?
How can I promote RE beyond the classroom?

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One of the highlights of my year is watching BBC Pilgrimage. This is a reality show with heart and depth and authenticity and vulnerability. It’s not seeking drama or action, it’s seeking the best of humanity. The basic premise is that seven celebrities go on a pilgrimage. This year BBC pilgrimage is back for is 8th series and this time it’s the Celtic Christian road to the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. The 390km trail through NE England visiting Durham cathedral and discovering all about Cuthbert - the patron saint of Northumbria. Back in March, I had the pleasure of catching up with the pilgrims for a chat;

• Shia Muslim and stand up comedian Hassan Al-Habib
• Christian Ashley Banjo from the dance troupe Diversity
• Previous ultra Orthodox and now a non practicing Jew, Ashley Blaker, comedy writer and producer of little Britain
• Atheist and TV personality, Tasha Ghouri from Love Island and Strictly Come Dancing.
• 'Al la cartes' Catholic and actor Patsy Kensit
• Spiritual presenter Jayne Middlemiss
• Spiritual actor, Hermione Norris from Cold Feet and Spooks

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002trqw

Episode 1: BBC2 on Easter Sunday 5th April at 9pm

Episode 2: BB2 on Easter Monday 6th April 9pm

Episode 3: BBC2 on Tuesday 7th April BBC2 at 9pm

It will then be repeated throughout April and be available in iplayer.

Join us for a live tweet along as the programme is first aired.

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We all love Harry Clark, winner of Traitors season 2 and the deep, authentic. spiritual, curious pilgrim on BBC Pilgrimage. And now he embarks on a new journey - to Rome, to meet the Pope. On 2nd April at 10.40pm on BBC2, join me to watch Harry Clark Goes To Rome;

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002thdy

To find out more I catch up with Harry and have a delightful chat about his faith and what it means to be a catholic. And in true Harry style, he turns the tables on me and asks me about my belief in God. My answer is one I don't think I have ever shared publically.

What our chat on YouTube

https://youtu.be/Oxp5Iw4gBAQ

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A year ago, on 30th March 2025, Dawn was tragically taken from us in a car accident. It was a huge loss to us, her friends, to the RE community as a whole, but mostly to her partner Roy. I catch up with Roy to find out what life as been like over the last year. Amoung the poignant moments of grief we also discuss cats, Marakesh decor, bell ringing, the Green party, life after death, teacher pensions and kindness. Roys advice to us all is to be able to look ourselves in the mirror at the end of the day.

Read Roy's article in RE Today

https://www.retoday.org.uk/school-support/publications/samples/retoday-magazine-vol-43-no-2-now-available/

What makes this moment even more poignant is we are about to find out whether a consensus has been reached for a National Curriculum for RE - something Dawn campaigned tirelessly for. The joy at this landmark moment is tinged with sadness that Dawn cannot see her dream realised, but her fingerprints will be on each page if it is agreed by the DfE.

A NEW DAWN FOR RE (c) Sarah Dennis

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In this episode I unpack Theme F: Religion, human rights and social justice Students should study religious teachings, and religious, philosophical and ethical arguments, relating to the issues that follow, and their impact and influence in the modern world. They should be aware of contrasting perspectives in contemporary British society on all of these issues.
They must be able to explain contrasting beliefs on the following three issues with reference to the main religious tradition in Britain (Christianity) and one or more other religious traditions:
Status of women in religion.
The uses of wealth.
Freedom of religious expression.

Human rights

• Prejudice and discrimination in religion and belief, including the status and treatment within religion of women and those in same sex relationships.
• Issues of equality, freedom of religion and belief including freedom of religious expression.
• Human rights and the responsibilities that come with rights, including the responsibility to respect the rights of others.
• Social justice.
• Racial prejudice and discrimination.
• Ethical arguments related to racial discrimination (including positive discrimination), including those based on the ideals of equality and justice.

Wealth and poverty

• Wealth, including:
  • the right attitude to wealth
  • the uses of wealth.
• The responsibilities of wealth, including the duty to tackle poverty and its causes.
• Exploitation of those living in poverty including issues relating to:
  • fair pay
  • excessive interest on loans
  • people-trafficking.
• The responsibilities of those living in poverty to help themselves overcome the difficulties they face.
• Charity, including issues related to giving money to those living in poverty

We also look relate this to key exam questions;

06.1 Which one of the following best expresses the religious ideal that everyone should get what they deserve?
A Tolerance.
B Prejudice.
C Justice.
D Compassion.

06.2 Give one example of what religious believers would see as exploitation of those living in poverty.

unfair pay

4-marker

Explain two different beliefs in contemporary British society about the right of freedom of belief. In your answer you should refer to the main religious tradition of Great Britain and one or more other religious traditions.
Some Christians believe it is right to give people freedom of belief today because that is what God has given humans
In Genesis, God gave Adam and Eve free will over whether to obey his rules or not
However, fundamental Christians do not agree with giving people freedom of belief as it is not always a loving action
This is because they believe people will be condemned if they choose the wrong religion

6 marker.

Explain two religious beliefs about the status of women in religion. Refer to sacred writings or another source of religious belief and teaching in your answer.
Some Christians believe women have equal status to men in religion as all humans are equal in the eyes of God
This is because the Bible says ‘there is no male, there is no female, we are all one in Christ.
This verse says that gender doesn’t matter as we are all the same in Jesus so men and women have equal status
However, other Christians think God made man and woman separately and differently so have different status

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Religion, crime and the causes of crime

• Good and evil intentions and actions, including whether it can ever be good to cause suffering.
• Reasons for crime, including:
  • poverty and upbringing
  • mental health problems and addiction
  • greed and hate
  • opposition to an unjust law.
• Views about people who break the law for these reasons.
• Views about different types of crime, including hate crimes, theft and murder.

Religion and punishment

• The aims of punishment, including:
  • retribution
  • deterrence
  • reformation.
• The treatment of criminals, including:
  • prison
  • corporal punishment
  • community service.
• Forgiveness.
• The death penalty.
  • Ethical arguments related to the death penalty, including those based on the principle of utility and sanctity of life.

Which one of the following expresses the religious idea that one aim of punishment should be to encourage people not to commit any more crimes?
A Reformation.
B Protection.
C Deterrence.
D Reparation.

4 marker f

Explain two different beliefs in contemporary British society about the death penalty for murder. In your answer you should refer to the main religious tradition of Great Britain and one or more other religious traditions.

Some Christians disagree because of the sanctity of life which is a belief that all human life is sacred as we were made in God’s image

Therefore we shouldn’t kill anyone, even a murder as a punishment for their crime
However, some Christians think that the death penalty for murder is a loving action because it makes society safer

This is because there are less murderers in society if they are executed.

6-marker

Explain two religious beliefs about breaking the law in order to get a bad law changed. Refer to sacred writings or another source of religious belief and teaching in your answer.

Some Christians agree with breaking the law in order to get a bad law changed because that is what Jesus did.
In the Bible Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath which was against the law at the time.
This shows that Jesus thinks doing the right thing is more important that following the law
As such Christians like Martin Luther King were willing to break segregation laws as they were unjust.
However, other Christians think it is always wrong to break the law even if it is bad
This is because they believe Christians should follow the law as all authorities are from God
Therefore, if they want to change a bad law, they should do it legally.

12-marker ‘Corporal punishment can never be justified.’

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This week I go through the main content and exam questions needed for GCSE AQA Paper 2 Theme D: Religion, Peace and Conflict

In theme D we should study religious teachings, and religious, philosophical and ethical arguments, relating to the issues that follow, and their impact and influence in the modern world. We should be aware of contrasting perspectives in contemporary British society on all of the issues.
Our three special topics are Violence, weapons of mass destruction and pacifism. For these we must be able to explain contrasting beliefs with reference to the main religious tradition in Britain (Christianity) and one or more other religious traditions:
The specification is separated into two sections as are the other themes. The first section is Religion, violence, terrorism and war and the second section is Religion and belief in 21st century conflict.

Give one way in which religious believers help victims of war.

Raise money

4-marker

Explain two different beliefs in contemporary British society about weapons of mass destruction. In your answer you should refer to the main religious tradition of Great Britain and one or more other religious traditions.
One Christian belief is that weapons of mass destruction should be owned but not used.
This prevents war therefore saves human lives which is important because they believe in the sanctity of life
A different Christian belief is that they should not be used because they go against the Just War Theory
This states that war should be proportional and using nuclear weapons is not proportional

6 marker

Explain two religious beliefs about forgiveness. Refer to sacred writings or another source of religious belief and teaching in your answer.
One Christian belief about forgiveness is that it is an important part of being Christian as it is what Jesus did
This means that in a war, Christians must forgive the enemy
This is shown in the Bible when Jesus said ‘forgive them father for they do not know what they do’.
This shows that like Jesus forgave those who tortured and killed him, Christians must forgive people who kill in a war
Another belief about forgiveness is that it can lead to peace and prevent war
This is because if you have forgiven someone, you will not want to fight them.

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In this episode I will unpack;

3.2.1.3 Theme C: The existence of God and revelation

Philosophical arguments for and against the existence of God

• The Design argument, including its strengths and weaknesses.
• The First Cause argument, including its strengths and weaknesses.
• The argument from miracles, including its strengths and weaknesses, and one example of a miracle.
• Evil and suffering as an argument against the existence of God.
• Arguments based on science against the existence of God.

The nature of the divine and revelation

• Special revelation as a source of knowledge about the divine (God, gods or ultimate reality) including visions and one example of a vision.
• Enlightenment as a source of knowledge about the divine.
• General revelation: nature and scripture as a way of understanding the divine.
• Different ideas about the divine that come from these sources:
  • omnipotent and omniscient
  • personal and impersonal
  • immanent and transcendent.
• The value of general and special revelation and enlightenment as sources of knowledge about the divine, including:
  • the problems of different ideas about the divine arising from these experiences
  • alternative explanations for the experiences, and the possibility that the people who claimed to have them were lying or mistaken.

https://www.lourdes-france.com/en/antonietta-raco-72nd-lourdes-miracle/

Explain two different beliefs in contemporary British society about visions. In your answer you should refer to the main religious tradition of Great Britain and non-religious beliefs.

Most Christians believe visions are a valid way that God reveals truth to his people.

This is because there is evidence of visions in the Bible for example when Mary saw a vision of an angel who told her she would give birth to Jesus

However, most non-religious people do not think visions are a valid way of understanding what is true

This is because there is no proof of that vision happening and the person's account may be unreliable

Explain two religious beliefs about miracles. Refer to sacred writings or another source of religious belief and teaching in your answer.

One Christian belief is that miracles demonstrate God’s omnipotence which means he is all powerful.

This is because only an all powerful God could perform miracles

An example of a miracle that shows God’s power is the resurrection of Jesus in the Bible

This shows the miracle of Jesus coming back to life after death which could only be done though the power of God

Another belief is that miracles show God’s omnibenevolence which means he is all loving

This is because an all loving God would want to heal people as an expression of that love.

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