The Relevance of Charlotte Mason's Saviour of the World

Taking Charlotte Mason’s poetic rendering of the Bible in her series Saviour of the World as an example, we explore whether the Bible should be seen as a source of authority for moral development, as a vehicle for the spiritual development of learners, or as a text for hermeneutical study in the 2020s educational context. We provide a few examples from contemporary British RE researchers to capture how current practice compares with Mason and to open a dialogue. We comment on the efficacy of Mason’s use of paintings in the Saviour of the World and how this relates to her pedagogy concerning works of art in the classroom. Table 19.1 presents the contrasts between the context of the Bible in the Christian learning environment in Mason’s social world, compared with the contemporary hermeneutical classroom (in the UK context), which includes a range of worldviews. Such comparisons can inform contemporary practitioners’ use of Mason’s approach. We conclude with the creation of a metaphor to assist us in evaluating whether it is possible to draw on Mason’s curriculum ideas and her philosophy of education as distinct from the Christian faith, which underpins all aspects of her pedagogy and practice.