This collection of essays reads as if you were eavesdropping on an academic conversation between scholars on the definition of religion. With a simple, common prompt, 'Religion is…', articles are in response to one another but also work as standalone pieces on each of their different perspectives. This highlights the contentious nature of how we define the very term that our subject revolves around, with real-world examples given to show why these definitions matter beyond academia. The term 'worldviews' is also explored as an alternative to 'religion' through scholars such as Ann Taves, which resonates with current conversations in the RE world. This resource provides an academic backdrop to the curriculum which a department may develop around this theme. 

Wrocklage’s Senior Honors Project is a compilation of interviews from 20 people from various religions and traditions in Missouri about their faiths. The first of these short videos asks each interviewee one question: 'What is religion?' A rich variety of responses follow. Religion may be about gods and the supernatural to one person, and spirituality to another. It is a way of life for some and a belief system for others. Students could categorise the responses and evaluate and expand on those that they find the most compelling. A comparison of different definitions given within one world 'religion' but from different traditions could also help to show the diverse views that may be held within groups that are too often viewed as monolithic. This resource could be a good starting point for work around the theme of defining religion, or a way to open up a debate. 

Written for a KS3 audience, this resource focuses on key questions posed within philosophy and ethics around religious belief and religion itself. After dealing with the traditional philosophical approaches of Plato, Descartes, and the cosmological argument, Chapters 1.6 and 1.7 introduce psychological and sociological disciplines to religion through two 'masters of suspicion': Freud and Marx. These disciplines often feature in A-level specifications but this is a unique approach to KS3 that introduces the material in an engaging, readable manner. The sociological discipline can further be explored with Chapter 1.10, which considers the religious make-up of the UK (but using the data from the later 2021 census). This book not only introduces these ideas in an appropriate way for KS3 but would also be beneficial as differentiated work or revision material to A-level Students who may not be studying sociology and/or psychology along with RS. 

The videos in this collection can be used as standalone clips when taking a multi-disciplinary approach to religion (through thinkers such as: Dawkins, Freud, Marx, and Durkheim), or in conjunction with the resources listed in the further materials section of this list. Secondary school teacher Ruth Marx talks through each of the thinkers and the implications of their views for the understanding of what religion is. Bringing her own experiences of being a Christian student who was greatly challenged and threatened by these views in her youth, she is careful to show that a study of religion in this way does not have to be taken as an 'attack' on faith, but a way to better understand it as students can encounter these influential ideas and evaluate them for themselves. The clips are mostly addressed to students, so could be used in lessons as they stand. Non-specialist teachers would find them useful to assist with their subject knowledge. 

Billy Connelly's evolving thoughts on religion and the existence and non-existence of God are shown through archived footage, demonstrating that religion can be up to the individual to interpret.