Abstract: In this article, the author presents the most recent initiatives and research projects carried out with the participation of architecture students from Kielce University of Technology, Poland, focused on the relationship between religion and architecture, and the narratives related thereto in contemporary architectural education and research activity. Within this academic activity framework, a series of encounters with living religion was inaugurated, motivated by the special position of religion in Poland, and by a large number of poorly documented and researched modern Roman Catholic churches in the vicinity of the University campus. The key task was to provide future designers with appropriate resources and skills indispensable in recognising intangible values of church architecture, and to make them aware of the social needs of the religious. The original undertaking was carried out with the participation of 150 students, using a mixed-method approach. The knowledge, skills and experience amassed by the students during the often-demanding projects clearly indicate their high level of preparedness to meet the strict requirements related to church architecture and the life of the religious.
B I B L I O G R A F I AREFERENCES
1.Halafoff, A. and Clarke, M., Sacred places and sustainable development. Religions, 9, 10, 299 (2018).
2.Unstad, L. and Fjørtoft, H., Disciplinary literacy in religious education: the role and relevance of reading. BritishJ. of Religious Educ. (2020)
3.Pew Research Center Religion and Public Life (2015), The Future of World Religions: Population GrowthProjections, 2010-2050. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 15 January 2021, http://www.pewforum.org/2015/04/02/religious-projections-2010-2050/
4.Hackett, C., Grim, B.J., Stonawski, M., Skirbekk, V., Potančoková, M. and Connor, P., The Global ReligiousLandscape. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center (2012).
5.Zellma, A., Buchta, R. and Cichosz, W., The (non)transgressive character of religious education for children andyoung people in Polish schools, British J. of Religious Educ., 43, 2 (2021).
6.Berglund, J., Shanneik, Y. and Bocking, B. (Eds). Religious Education in a Global-Local World. Switzerland:Springer (2016).
7.Rothgangel, M. and Riegel, U., Research designs in religious didactics. British J. of Religious Educ. (2021).
8.Clarke, M. and Halafoff, A., Religion and Development in the Asia-Pacific: Sacred Places as DevelopmentSpaces. New York and London: Routledge (2017).
9.PaRD (International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development). The International Partnership onReligion and Sustainable Development: The First Year: From Vision to Action. Bonn: International Partnership onReligion and Sustainable Development (2017).
32
10.Olszewski, A., and Pudlowski, Z.J., The outcomes and achievements of the Urban Design and EducationProgramme. Global J. of Engng. Educ., 6, 1, 7-16 (2002).
11.Gil-Mastalerczyk, J., Impact of engineering education on sustainable local architectural practice. World Trans. onon Engng. and Technol. Educ., 18, 4, 473-478 (2020).
12.Gil-Mastalerczyk, J., Wpływ XX-wiecznej Architektury Sakralnej Kielc na Otoczenie i Przemianę StrukturyFunkcjonalno-przestrzennej Miasta (The Impact of the 20th-Century Sacred Architecture of Kielce on the Surroundingsand Transformation of the Functional and Spatial Structure of the City). Politechnika Świętokrzyska, Kielce:Wydawnictwo PŚk (2018) (in Polish).
13.Coghlan, D., Doing Action Research in Your Own Organization, Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd.(2019).
14.Białkiewicz, A., Architectural competitions support student creativity. World Trans. on Engng. and Technol.Educ., 18, 2, 157-162 (2020). 