The Authority of Women's 'Ordinary' Experience: Peggy Morgan and the Teaching of Buddhism in Schools

Abstract

This article celebrates the outstanding contribution made by Peggy Morgan to enabling the teaching of Buddhism in UK schools. Peggy was a pioneer in this cause, creating a convincing rationale for including Buddhism in the religious education curriculum, making academic scholarship accessible to teachers without oversimplifying it, drawing on lived religion as well as texts, and addressing the lack of resources by creating them herself. She has persevered through the decades with both her own work and supporting that of others in this cause. Following a personal reminiscence about our first meeting, I look at some of Peggy’s important written contributions. As well as Peggy’s extensive scholarship, it is the way that she can draw upon her lived experience as a teacher, tutor and lecturer, her experience of getting to know many Buddhists from different traditions, and of befriending other scholars and teachers that make her such an authority in this field, and one whom we are all immensely proud to call a friend as well as colleague. 

Keywords Religious education; Buddhism; Teaching Buddhism; Buddhist children; women’s experience.