Terence Copley (original) (raw)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

British academic and author

Terence Copley (19 August 1946 – 17 January 2011)[1] was a British academic and author. Terence Copley was Professor of Educational Studies (Religious Education) at the University of Oxford, England and also Emeritus Professor of Religious Education at the University of Exeter, England.[2][3][4][5]

He was Professor of Religious Education at the University of Exeter from 1997 until 2007.[6] Before that, he was a Religious Education teacher and then deputy headteacher of a comprehensive school. He was a well-known speaker at academic conferences and teacher training provision.

His writings cover the history of Religious Education and 'spiritual development' in state-maintained schools in England and Wales and methods of teaching biblical narrative in primary and secondary schools. Copley has also published a biography of Thomas Arnold in which he challenged T. W. Bamford's long standing interpretation of Arnold, set forth in Bamford's writings in the 1960s and 70s, and instead upheld the more favourable view of Arnold's legacy put forth by Archer[_citation needed_] in the 1920s.

Copley was a significant Christian educationist who argues that a process of secular indoctrination is occurring in British society in which vocal secularists are using the media to exclude religion from the public square. By contrast, Copley argues for religious values to be instilled in young people through state-maintained schooling. His work includes the BIBLOS project on teaching the Bible in a secular environment.[7] As well as writing for academics'and teachers, he has written a number of books for children.[8]

He had a Methodist background but had been a Quaker for many decades.[6]

In 2008 he received a Lambeth degree of DD from the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Terence Copley had been a key figure in the life and thinking of the Religious Education community in recent decades.[1] He died from cancer on Tuesday, 17 January 2011. His funeral was held on Thursday, 27 January 2011 in Devon.

  1. ^ "RE Matters - RE News item". news.reonline.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  2. ^ Oxford University – Faculty of Theology: Staff Profile of Terence Copley, including his research interests and major publications. Archived 4 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Harris Manchester College, Oxford- Staff Profile. Archived 12 August 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Exeter University -School of Education & Lifelong Learning – Staff Profile (with portrait and bibliography).[_permanent dead link_]
  5. ^ RE Online News item on Copley's appointment at Oxford. Archived 18 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ a b Guardian interview/Profile: Education Guardian 10 July 2007: "The possibility of God: Religious studies is enjoying a boom. But in a multicultural society, what is it now for?" Victoria Neumark reports
  7. ^ BIBLOS Website Archived 8 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Religious & Moral Education Press: Search Find a Book under "Copley"". Archived from the original on 19 July 2008. Retrieved 11 July 2007.