| Popis: |
Religious book publishing has a notable presence in Ireland and beyond. However, it is an area which suffers from a dearth of academic research with “a conspicuous absence in scholarship” in what is “an enormous and uncharted field” (Smith, 2015, p. 5). If we accept that books are crucial to the educational endeavour, it is noteworthy that little research has focused on non-fiction authors who write on religious themes or linked their role to religious education that is lifelong and life-wide (Moran, 1998, p.18). It is such a deficit which this study has sought to address through investigating how thirty-four Ireland-based authors of books on topics linked to religion understand their role and whether they view their work as contributing to lifelong religious education. Each participant in this study has published at least one non-fiction book associated with religion within the decade between 2005-2015. The timeframe is significant in that it denotes a period of ecclesial, educational and societal change in Ireland and represents a time of increasing global discussion surrounding the place of religion in the public sphere (Habermas, 2010, 2013). Situated within a descriptive interpretivist paradigm and underpinned by the theoretical framework of constructivism, this qualitative study employed a research instrument in the form of a cross-sectional survey design supplemented by a number of follow-up interviews. Data was analysed using content analysis which uncovered four main themes. Research findings suggest that religious book publishing in Ireland emanates predominantly from the Roman Catholic tradition and this cohort had only limited representation from other Christian denominations. Participants defined religious writing as implicitly or explicitly God-centred, and as encompassing religion, and its dimensions, including faith and belief, the spiritual nature of living, prayer, liturgy and scripture. They understood their author role variously as supporting religious, theological, biblical and liturgical education, encouraging critical thinking, offering pastoral support and providing theological reflection in the light of Vatican II. Their purpose was also to advocate for church renewal and reform, to promote right relationship (including social, gender and ecological justice), and to foster dialogue and common cause between those of religious and non-religious worldviews in the service of the Gospel. Over two-thirds of the cohort considered themselves to be religious authors but the remainder did not, and for some, the word “religious” is an encumbered one. The findings documented seven positives and six negatives associated with the publishing endeavour with chief among the former being receiving support from others and chief among the latter revealing writing as a most demanding task. The findings also showed that participants drew close parallels between the aforementioned features of their role, their understanding of education and their conceptualisation of religious education in a lifelong context. The latter they characterised as a continuing journey of movement and development in religious understanding; a maturing of faith and “the beginning of the wisdom”; as multi-facetted and not restricted to formal educational settings and as including a currently under-developed and underresourced adult focus. In total, seventy-six and a half percent saw themselves as religious educators, seventy-three percent believed or hoped their books had made a contribution to lifelong religious education, and contributing to LRE was identified as a priority for sixtyfour percent of the cohort. |
