Research We Need in Religious Education: Four Facets

It is tempting to respond to the question of what research is needed in religious education by saying, “Everything¡” Although religious education as an academic discipline can be viewed as over one hundred years old, and much research has been done on a variety of issues, there is still so much we do not understand. Resisting the temptation of this kind of surface response, it seems to me that there are at least four major areas of research needed. These four areas fit well with a “Wesleyan Quadrilateral” theological method perspective: Theological research (Scripture and Tradition), Historical research (Tradition), Philosophical/Conceptual research (Reason), and Empirical research (Experience). 1 I will take these in turn and briefly discuss the kinds of research I think we need in each area if we are to make significant progress in the development of sound theory and practice in religious education. I come to this task as an “evangelical ecclesiastical mutt,” having my ministry roots in a number of denominational settings that have shared a common evangelical commitment to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I offer the following perspectives from within that broad theological tradition