Asbury’s Brown Helps With England-Based Templeton Project

March 21, 2018

March 21, 2018

Asbury University English Professor and C. S. Lewis Scholar Devin Brown was recently asked to serve as a consultant on an initiative titled “Narnian Virtues: A Character Education English Curriculum” which has received nearly $1,500,000 in funding from the John Templeton Foundation.

The project, which is housed at the University of Leeds, England, under the direction of Professor Mark Pike, investigates how students within a crucial formative period (ages 11-13) understand and acquire the virtues underpinning good character through their engagement with the Narnian Virtues curriculum which uses and is based on the first three books from The Chronicles of Narnia.

“Many schools in both Britain and American want teachers to teach character but not religion, to teach morals but not to mention God,” states Brown. “Incorporating Lewis’s Narnia books in the curriculum is one way to accomplish this difficult task… When young people read the Narnia books, they walk with the characters. They see what they see, feel what they feel, and in the end, learn what they learn.”

The John Templeton Foundation’s stated purpose is to advance human well-being by supporting research on the big questions, and by promoting character development, individual freedom and free markets.

The Narnian Virtues curriculum is free to participating schools. Students from all over the world have already participated in this ongoing project. More information can be found at: https://narnianvirtues.leeds.ac.uk

(release information provided by the John Templeton Foundation)