Functions of religious education journals and international knowledge transfer

1 3 It seems timely to use a 70th anniversary of a journal– the Journal of Religious Education (and its precursors) – as an occasion to offer some reflections on the functions of journals in the field of religious education. Since I have been committed to the recent discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education I will do so by combining these reflections with perspectives from this discussion, not only, however, for reasons of personal interest but because I am convinced that international knowledge transfer is becoming more and more important for such journals. Yet should international knowledge transfer become the main or even the only function of the journals in the field of religious education? Or are there other needs which should also be addressed? The analysis in the following will be limited to academic journals. It would of course also be possible to consider professional religious education journals which, from the beginning, serve different functions beyond the academic field by mainly addressing more immediate needs and interests of practitioners. Yet the analysis of such publications which could, for example, be compared on an international basis or which could be scrutinized concerning their relationship to the academic journals, is beyond the scope of this limited reflection. Since probably not all readers are familiar with the new discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education, I will start with a brief overview on this discussion.

It seems timely to use a 70th anniversary of a journal-the Journal of Religious Education (and its precursors) -as an occasion to offer some reflections on the functions of journals in the field of religious education. Since I have been committed to the recent discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education I will do so by combining these reflections with perspectives from this discussion, not only, however, for reasons of personal interest but because I am convinced that international knowledge transfer is becoming more and more important for such journals. Yet should international knowledge transfer become the main or even the only function of the journals in the field of religious education? Or are there other needs which should also be addressed?
The analysis in the following will be limited to academic journals. It would of course also be possible to consider professional religious education journals which, from the beginning, serve different functions beyond the academic field by mainly addressing more immediate needs and interests of practitioners. Yet the analysis of such publications which could, for example, be compared on an international basis or which could be scrutinized concerning their relationship to the academic journals, is beyond the scope of this limited reflection.
Since probably not all readers are familiar with the new discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education, I will start with a brief overview on this discussion.

The new discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education
The new discussion on international knowledge transfer in religious education goes back to a special initiative from the Comenius-Institute in Germany (Peter Schreiner) and the chair of Protestant religious education at the University of Tübingen (Friedrich Schweitzer). Two consultations held in Berlin in 2018 and 2019 marked the beginning of this initiative. In 2021, there was another consultation held at the University of Bonn (Bert Roebben) and more consultations are planned for the future. While all of these consultations were held in Germany, participants came from a number of different European countries -Austria, England, Greece, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland -with Protestant, Roman Catholic and Orthodox as well as Muslim backgrounds. During the first two consultations the plan for drafting and publishing a manifesto on international knowledge transfer in religious education was developed. The ensuing Manifesto (Manifesto, 2019) has been published in a number of leading journals in different countries. A first book with international essays on the topic was published in 2021 (Schweitzer & Schreiner, 2021). Another book-length publication is in preparation.
One of the starting points of the Manifesto was the observation that although international cooperation in religious education has increased greatly through international conferences, symposiums and research networks during the last three or four decades, religious education has actually not yet reached the point at which one could speak of an integrated field of research. According to the Manifesto, especially the question of international knowledge transfer has not been given the attention which it would deserve concerning its importance for international research and cooperation in general (cf. Schreiner & Schweitzer, 2021). In addition, international cooperation in religious education still appears to fall short of the expectations and norms of today's academic world. Other disciplines appear to be more advanced and developed concerning international recognition, collaboration and professional networking in which valid knowledge produced by academic research is accepted and used beyond national boundaries (among others, the Manifesto mentions the field of medical research as an example).
The idea of testing or clarifying and, if possible, of also strengthening international knowledge transfer led to the now ongoing project on international knowledge transfer in religious education. The aim is to raise awareness of the problems implied by the current situation, to further analyze and discuss these problems as well as to contribute to a more coherent collaboration of international groups of researchers in religious education. According to the discussions within the project, further steps toward this aim must include identifying problems together and organizing respective research projects in order to investigate the surplus of international cooperation in the field. Moreover, the idea is to answer the question if research-based solutions for certain tasks, for example, in teaching and learning in RE can in fact be transferred internationally and if, as a consequence, one can rely on common cumulative knowledge upon which religious education should build in the future beyond national boundaries. Such knowledge must not, however, be limited to the transfer of solutions but can also comprise ways for analyzing such problems. As will become clear below, such views include important implications not only for research but also for the functions of religious education journals as well.
From the perspective of the Manifesto as well as of the contributions to the first book on international knowledge transfer in religious education mentioned above, it is evident that international cooperation and transfer in religious education imply a whole spectrum of new methodological and epistemological issues which are in need of further scrutiny and clarification. Some crucial questions are: • How can the national and the international context be productively connected to each other?
• Which concept or understanding of "international" should be used when it comes to transfer of knowledge? • What exactly is meant by "knowledge" in religious education? • What means "transfer" in this context? This is not the place for a more detailed discussion of such questions which, at least in certain ways, are related to the issue of the validity of knowledge produced by the discipline of religious education. In a comment on the initiative for international knowledge transfer in religious education, Julian Stern, Lead Editor of the British Journal of Religious Education (BJRE), points out that religious education journals have always played an important role in the process of internationalization (cf. Stern, 2019). The current website of the BJRE actually states: 'It is the leading journal in Britain for the dissemination of international research in religion and education and for the scholarly discussion of issues concerning religion and education internationally.' (Website, 2022). This is an interesting view which seems to limit the journal's function to importing knowledge related to religious education into Britain. Given the still mainly UK authorship of the journal one might have expected to also read about the journal's function in exporting British research and knowledge to other countries (which, of course, would not sound politically correct). In any case, there is a clear link between this religious education journal and international knowledge transfer in religious education.

Functions of religious education journals
The question of the functions of religious education journals is not raised very often, nor has the history of such journals been a major object of research. From today's perspective, the first and most important function of a religious education journal can probably be most aptly described as providing insights on current discussions and research results for readers who are interested in academic religious education. Yet considering different religious education journals around the world and their origins and outlooks, this does not appear the only function.
The journal Religious Education, for example, grew out of the American reform movement at the beginning of the 20th century and was to serve the purpose of spreading the views of this movement as well as offering authors and readers who felt close to its aims, a chance for identification. This type of journal can also be found in other countries, for example, in Germany, where the journal Monatsblätter für den evangelischen Religionsunterricht (Monthly for Protestant RE) started at a similar time. In such cases, one can speak of a programmatic function of the respective journal in that the journal identifies with certain programmatic aims. The present journal -the Journal of Religious Education (JRE) -had its origins with Roman Catholic religious education in Australia to which it is still linked in special ways. In this case, it is probably appropriate to speak of a denominational function, although not only in a programmatic sense but also in terms of offering a forum to Catholic religious educators.
Sometimes even the names of journals like the British Journal of Religious Education (BJRE) -interestingly enough introduced not during the heydays of national thinking in the 19th and early 20th century but in the 1970s -refer to a national function which can have two meanings. It can be expressive of the claim that the journal is the only one of national scope while other journals are more limited, for example, by their connectedness to regional or denominational bodies. Yet it can also be understood as referring to a special, i.e. British way of understanding and doing religious education as opposed to other countries. In other cases, the national function of a journal is closely related to a particular language, like with the Korean Journal of Religious Education which offers authors a forum for exchange in Korean.
The BJRE as well as JRE are also good examples of a tendency which seems to have affected all of these functions. The JRE started out as Our Apostolate  and continued as Word in Life (until 1988). The BJRE's predecessor called itself Learning for Living (1961)(1962)(1963)(1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978). Similar changes occurred in Germany with the Evangelical Educator (Der Evangelische Erzieher, 1949-1997 which then became the Journal of Education and Theology (Zeitschrift für Pädagogik und Theologie). The new titles of these journals indicate a move from a creedal or religious and even denominational point of view -one could even speak of a religious function of the journals -to a more professional academic orientation which also follows the path of scientification. The Journal of Beliefs and Values, which started in 1970 as the Religious Studies Bulletin of the Association of Teachers in Colleges and Departments of Education and is now rivaling the BJRE, also shows this tendency, although the time of its beginnings already seems to tie it in more closely with an academic background than was the case with earlier journals. Both professionalization as well as scientification can be seen as blurring the earlier functions of the journals in that they do not allow for programmatic, denominational or national preferences or obligations anymore. Correspondingly, the authorship of the articles in the journals also has changed. Most religious education journals are now proud to accept articles upon double blind peer review which has no space for other characteristics of the authors than the academic quality of their writing, and most journals try to attract an international authorship as much as possible -an ideal also mirrored by the respective composition of editorial boards (which in turn also mirrors the criteria of internal journal rankings). In this respect the journals follow the call to internationalization and international knowledge transfer in religious education as it has become explicit with the initiative described above.
In certain ways, given the recent changes of at least some of the journals mentioned above (and the list is not complete), one could say that the disciplinary function on these journals is becoming more and more important. Academic disciplines seem to require a journal which goes by the name of the discipline.
Yet describing these functions and developments does not answer the question of what the future of religious education journals should look like. This question clearly requires additional considerations.

The future of religious education journals and the need for balancing different functions
Given the increasing importance of internationalization in all academic fields including religious education and given the well-known standardizing effects of internationalization, it is probably no surprise that religious education journals around the world have tended to become similar over the last two or three decades. As can be seen from the example of the JRE, the expectation to exclusively find authors with a certain nationality or denominational background in a certain journal no longer holds true. Given the limited number of authors in the field of religious education even around the world at least in terms of academic research, it is also no surprise that the same authors can often be found in different journals at the same time.
When looked at from the perspective of international knowledge transfer, this development can be appreciated and affirmed. It can advance international exchange, support professional standards as well as further the scientification of religious education as an academic discipline. Universal validity and transferability then become more and more important as criteria in evaluating manuscripts. From this perspective, journals could even be encouraged to make the perspective of international knowledge transfer one of their main criteria in selecting articles or even in composing whole issues. Yet as the discussion on international knowledge transfer also shows, not all knowledge important in religious education is universally valid, and universal validity and transferability cannot be the only criteria. Given the national or even regional presuppositions which continue to play a central role for the practice of religious education it remains important that academic research and discourses will also refer to these levels. The same is true for the influence of denominational traditions and institutions shaped by them, as well as different religious traditions, for example, in Judaism, Christianity and Islam or also other religions, depending on the location and country in question. Journals should also serve as forums for respective discussions.
If this is true the guiding image for the future development of religious education journals could indeed be the idea of consciously balancing different functions. It would certainly not be a good idea to attempt to go back to the exclusively denominational or regional formats of earlier times, although certain language situations may speak for maintaining respective traditions in the future. Yet one should also carefully consider the need to address national issues, even if they may not be of interest to a worldwide audience. Since education and especially educational institutions are subject to national regulation and legislation, there is a need for forums to address them within a national horizon. A similar argument can be built concerning denominational horizons with regard to, among others, church sponsored schools but also because of their continuing importance in general.
Coming back to the beginning of these reflections and the 70th anniversary of the Journal of Religious Education, one may wonder if this is not exactly what this journal has been doing for the last few years, i.e. seeking for a balance as described above. Indeed, in a certain way it is. But how should its path for the future continue and where exactly should it lead? The advice from the present reflections can only be to continue the process of internationalization but to also never lose sight of the need for an Australian forum and for a Roman Catholic voice.
Funding Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.
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