Abstract
The relevance of religion within the discipline and practice of education remains paramount, not only in understanding how social control operates in contemporary society, but also in addressing draconian measures intended to combat radicalisation in schools. With this in mind this chapter draws upon Foucault’s analysis of governmentality to explore how religious schooling and education facilitates the ‘governing of the soul’. It also explores Gane’s analytical development of this concept, while broadening the definition of religion to include policies and practices related to violent religious extremism. Consequently, through the lens of neoliberal governmentalities, it can be seen that elements of religion and education have been appropriated to introduce repressive social controls, which benefit neoliberal markets. In conclusion, it is maintained that these practices need to be challenged through the introduction of radical and critical, religion and ethics education.
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Hope, A. (2020). Religious Education, Radicalisation and Neoliberal Governmentalities. In: Babie, P., Sarre, R. (eds) Religion Matters. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2489-9_6
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