Launch of the National Centre of Religious Education for Wales at the Eisteddfod

The National Centre of Religious Education for Wales has existed in various forms since 1979, when it was first established by Rheinallt Thomas. With the passing of the years, the Centre has evolved as society has changed and different aspects manifested themselves. And recently, two lecturers from Bangor University have been appointed co-directors of the Centre: Dr Joshua Andrews (lecturer in Ethics and Religion) and Dr Gareth Evans-Jones (lecturer in Philosophy and Religion).

During the launch held in the Bangor University tent at the National Eisteddfod in Boduan this year, Dr Joshua Andrews and Dr Gareth Evans-Jones provided a detailed overview of the Centre's composition, intention and objectives. In essence, the aim of the Centre is to promote religious and social education in Wales, by emphasizing the importance of learning about different religions, different perspectives, different cultures, and different worldviews that can be found in our society today. At the heart of the presentation was the importance of striving to ensure tolerance, respect and cooperation for the vast diversity in our society. The Centre will focus on Wales but it will also collaborate with religious education, values and ethics centres in other parts of Britain.

Dr Gareth Evans-Jones said: 'The Centre is founded on respecting the diversity that characterizes our society today. There have been significant changes in the number of people who practice different religions, and all kinds of developments have been felt in social ethics, philosophy, and values. Therefore, we are keen to promote an attitude which recognizes this vast diversity, which respects it, and which encourages people to ensure that tolerance and appreciation characterize their engagement with others in our society all the time. There are those who follow religion, there are those who don't. Some have specific views, others different. But we are all people living in the same society, and that is what is worth remembering.'

The Centre has a dynamic and diverse management board with expertise in primary and secondary education, and faith schools, together with representatives of early career teachers, and there were presentations from a number of different members during the launch, including an inspiring address from Modlen Lynch, who has been training generations of effective teachers; energetic words from Emilia Johnson, who is a Religious Education teacher at the beginning of her career and who is full of enthusiasm to develop a relationship between various proffesional and pedagogical circles; and a sincere presentation by Daniel Latham, who is keen to see inter-faith conversations develop in the coming years.

Following this, there was a very interesting conversation with Kristoffer Hughes, Chief of the Anglesey Druid Order, about religion in contemporary Wales, and it was noted how patterns of faith change and vary with time, and that they are extremely personal. This conversation was highly stimulating and there was a warm discussion with everyone present.

To conclude the session, the name of the person who would receive the role of Honorary Fellow of the National Centre for Religious Education in Wales for the period 2023-2025 was announced, namely, the National Poet of Wales, Hanan Issa. And in a video recorded by Hanan Issa, she expressed her enthusiasm for the development of the Centre and that she completely agreed with its ethos: 'I’m a great believer in building connections with others by celebrating our differences and looking at the ways in which we practice our faiths differently through curiosity and kindness, and that is very much the ethos of the National Centre.

'I think the National Centre has so much potential in that it aims, through education, to raise awareness and build connections between people of different spiritualities and faiths across Wales.'

The Ethos of the National Centre of Religious Education for Wales

Aims and Goals
The aim of the National Centre of Religious Education for Wales (NCREW) is to promote the study, knowledge and awareness of the variety of religious, values and philosophical traditions that exist in Wales and the wider world. We aim to enhance the education provision in primary schools, high schools and further education institutions in the field of religion, values, ethics and philosophy, in addition to bridge the link with higher education. As such, we will aim to work closely with Religious Studies and Philosophy, and Humanities teachers, in addition to primary school teachers, to develop a rigorous, engaging and beneficial education provision, and complement the learning experience of young people through Wales.

We will work closely with other establishments and bodies, locally, nationally, and beyond, including faith and youth communities, SACRE groups, and RE Hubs UK, to enhance provision and develop understandings of different religion, values, ethics and philosophy traditions.

The NCREW aims to offer as wide an approach as possible, therefore, the more widespread religious traditions will be engaged with, but we will also engage with religious traditions beyond the six world religions that have traditionally been the focus of Religious Education in Wales (Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism), and other schools of thought, due to their very existence being significant and telling of the diverse and ever evolving cultural breadth of Wales.

Principles of the Centre
The NCREW is predicated on certain principles that will be at the heart of its function and engagement:

• Intellectual curiosity: the NCREW is predicated on the importance of education and the invaluable gift of knowledge, and as such, an intellectual curiosity to learn, understand and engage more with various traditions that illuminate our society is needed.
• Inclusivity: the NCREW is open to all religious traditions, in addition to people who do not profess a particular religion, or who do not conform to such labelling. The Centre also aims to work with and include as wide a variety of people from all over Wales, and will strive to include under-represented members of society, including the LGBTQ+ community, people who are BAME, people who are disabled, and people from low income backgrounds. 
• Respect: at the heart of the NCREW ethos is respect. We emphasise the importance and need to show respect for every member in society and for the variety of beliefs and views people adhere to.
• Appreciation: the NCREW believes that everyone who engages with it holds a level of tolerance for different views and beliefs, and an appreciation of such diversity, as long as they do not conflict with respect and compassion towards one another.
• Awareness: the NCREW states that awareness of varying views, beliefs and opinions is key in order to best engage with the people of Wales and ensure that the Centre is culturally aware of current developments and evolutions.

Equality
The NCREW holds that equality is key for its organisation and engagement with others. There are co-directors and board members, but equality and respect will be shown to one another throughout, as will be demonstrated when engaging with schools and society, locally, nationally and internationally.  

What next?
The Centre will soon announce its work program for the coming months and a bilingual launch will take place during Interfaith Week in November 2023. In the meantime, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to contact Dr Gareth Evans-Jones (g.evans-Jones@bangor.ac.uk) or Dr Joshua Andrews (j.andrews@bangor.ac.uk).