The Story Tent brings together the experience of Rose Castle Foundation in delivering Scriptural Reasoning in adult inter-religious dialogue and the Story Tent PhD research of Dr Anne Margaret Moseley which has highlighted the impact these encounters can have on primary aged pupils.
The Story Tent was conceived as part of a PhD research project. The research was developed through the Warwick Religious Education Research Unit (WRERU) at Warwick University, working alongside the Cambridge Interfaith Programme (CIP) and a group of three primary schools in the Midlands. Its aim was to explore the possibilities and challenges to developing a new approach to using sacred texts with KS2 pupils which would help them to develop intercultural competencies.
The Story Tent was based on Scriptural Reasoning principles with an emphasis on face-to-face discussion and joint study of scriptures. It provided a safe place for people of faith or no faith to explore the messages within those sacred texts and stories of significance. These texts were brought together with a faith representative as a guide to introduce, discuss and answer any questions. This provided an opportunity for open dialogue where difference was at the heart of the discussions.