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This book answers the question on how students and teachers talk about religion when the mandatory and nonconfessional school subject of Religious Education is on the schedule in the “world’s most secular country” To do this, it analyses discourses of religion as they occur in the classroom practice. It is based on findings from participant observation of Religious Education lessons in several upper secondary schools in Sweden. The book discusses different aspects of the role and function of nonconfessional integrative Religious Education in an increasingly pluralistic, multireligious, yet also secularized society, at a general level. It looks at the religious landscape, different perspectives on school subjects, various models and the development of Religious Education, and discourses of religion of a secularist, spiritual and nationalistic nature. Religious Education is a school subject that manoeuvres in the midst of a field that on the one hand concerns crucial knowledge in a pluralistic society, and on the other hand deals with highly contested questions in a society characterized by diversity and secularity. In the mandatory, integrative and non-confessional school subject of Religious Education in Sweden, all students are taught together regardless of religious or secular affiliation. The subject deals with major world religions, important non-religious worldviews and ethics, from a non-confessional perspective. Thus, in the classroom, individuals who identify with diverse religious and non-religious worldviews, with a different understanding of what religion could be and what it might mean to be religious, are brought together. The book examines questions raised in this pluralistic context: What discourses of religion become hegemonic in the classroom? How do these discourses affect the possibility of reaching the aim of Religious Education which concerns understanding and respect for different ways of thinking and living in a society characterized by diversity?
This book answers the question on how students and teachers talk about religion when the mandatory and nonconfessional schoolsubject of Religious Education is on the schedule in the "world's most secular country" To do this, it analyses discourses of religion as they occur in the classroom practice. It is based on findings from participant observation of Religious Education lessons in several upper secondary schools in Sweden. The book discusses different aspects of the role and function of nonconfessional integrative Religious Education in an increasingly pluralistic, multireligious, yet also secularized society, at a general level. It looks at the religious landscape, different perspectives on school subjects, various models and the development of Religious Education, and discourses of religion of a secularist, spiritual and nationalistic nature. Religious Education is a school subject that manoeuvres in the midst of a field that on the one hand concerns crucial knowledge in a pluralistic society, and on the other hand deals with highly contested questions in a society characterized by diversity and secularity. In the mandatory, integrative and non-confessional school subject of Religious Education in Sweden, all students are taught together regardless of religious or secular affiliation. The subject deals with major world religions, important non-religious worldviews and ethics, from a non-confessional perspective. Thus, in the classroom, individuals who identify with diverse religious and non-religious worldviews, with a different understanding of what religion could be and what it might mean to be religious, are brought together. The book examines questions raised in this pluralistic context: What discourses of religion become hegemonic in the classroom? How do these discourses affect the possibility of reaching the aim of Religious Education which concerns understanding and respect for different ways of thinking and living in a society characterized by diversity?
In this volume, questions are addressed revolving around religious literacy and education. The term religious literacy is explored as the ability to discern and analyze intersections of religion with social, political, and cultural life in pluralistic societies. Questions about what types of religious literacies are possible in a non-confessional, and even secular, educational context are in focus. It delves into the intricate relationship between religious literacy, religious education in the Nordic countries, and the development of subject knowledge and generic abilities. The Nordic countries, as modern secular welfare states with shared characteristics, provide an intriguing framework for comparison. The exploration of variations in the organization, content, and goals of religious education in Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden sheds light on the process of shaping educational content within specific historical and societal contexts and the anthology broadens its scope by incorporating global perspectives from the Indian, Italian, and Indonesian contexts. The volume features contributions from 18 researchers who explore empirical, methodological, and theoretical aspects of religious literacy and education. The concept of religious literacy, encompassing both knowledge and generic skills, proves to be indispensable for navigating the diverse religious and non-religious worldviews present in pluralistic societies. Tailored for students, educators, education researchers, and policymakers, this anthology contributes to the ongoing discourse on religious literacy. It not only provides valuable insights into the Nordic educational landscape but also fosters a global dialogue on the crucial role of education in understanding diverse worldviews.
There are two constants in academic and theological discourse throughout history, they are the debate around secularization and the dialogue concerning the intersection of religion and education. Each age has had its debate about modernizing forces that drive concerns of impending secularization. In this publication this theme is approached from perspectives of teachers, of students, of policy makers and situated in a politico-historical context. Aware of the fact that in today’s plural societies one sacred canopy is non-existent anymore, cracks of the sacred canopy/canopies are described, as well as ‘the light that gets in’, the possible and challenging ways out are roughly sketched.
In an age of intolerance where religious persecution is widespread, Barbara Ann Rieffer-Flanagan explores how societies can promote freedom of religion or belief as a fundamental right of citizens.
This book presents new conceptual and methodological approaches to studying religiosity in Europe. From her unique background of working with the Church of Sweden statistics and official statistics on the increasing religious diversity in Sweden, Willander illustrates how previous and current methods of analysing religiosity overlook substantial aspects in patterns of affiliation, belief and practice. Unity, Division and the Religious Mainstream in Sweden draws on the sociological imagination in the sociology of religion to offer a new and empirically-driven analytical framework that shifts the focus to religious change in general, and will contribute greatly to ongoing discussions about majority forms of religiosity and their social relevance in contemporary times. It will be of use to students and scholars with a focus on the sociology of religion, as well as sociology, political science, epistemology and media studies.
There is an increasing recognition today that young people need to have knowledge about religions and world views in order to live and work in diverse societies. What kind of 'maps' are they provided with through religious, values and ethics education? Does education address the challenging existential questions that children and adolescents ask about life and the world? This volume addresses different aspects of how existential questions have been dealt with in educational research. It especially draws attention to the Swedish research tradition of focusing on life questions and the interpretation of life in education, but with contemporary international research added. It also addresses issues of ethics education and discusses possible options for the future of existential questions as a resource for education.
This volume presents the findings of a number of empirical and theoretical studies on education about religions and worldviews (ERW) conducted in the Western societies of Britain, Ireland, Canada, Norway, Finland, New Zealand, Australia and Canada. Educational programmes about diverse religions and worldviews began to be investigated and implemented as strategies to encourage interreligious understanding and social cohesion, particularly following the 2005 London bombings when a fear of youth radicalisation and home-grown terrorism became prevalent. In addition, as a growing number of people in Western societies, and young people especially, declare themselves to have no religious affiliation, state actors are currently grappling with the reality that we are living in increasingly multifaith and non-religious societies and government education systems have become places of contestation as a result of these changes. This volume examines ERW research and policies in a number of diverse places in the hope of identifying common themes, overlapping insights and best practices that can inform research and policy for religious literacy and interreligious understanding in other contexts. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Intercultural Studies.
During the 20 year history of the European Network for Religious Education through Contextual Approaches (ENRECA), several books have been published on the subject of Religious Education, from sociological, psychological or anthropological perspectives and always in the contextual settings of national educational frameworks and other specific culturally bound phenomena. Also, very often, an international comparative perspective was included. The shared goal was not so much to reflect on religion as such, and on its changing doctrines, institutions and prescriptions, but to try and understand religion in the specific European contexts of secularization and the plurality of life orientations, and to understand how religion becomes manifest in education in a variety of concrete policies and classroom practices, reflecting various social issues. This volume, marking the 20th anniversary of ENRECA, has a specific focus on the contextual dimension of time.
"Dialogue", "secularisation" and "pluralism" have been key concepts in international discussions concerning religion, public space and education for the past decades. Due to increasingly intense intercultural and transnational movements, national educational systems face new challenges in negotiating with the multitude of civic identities and memberships, those being also related to religions and worldviews. The purpose of this volume is to enrich and complement the discussion concerning religion in education by contextualising the respective phenomena in the current Finnish educational policy and practice, as well as by drawing together empirical and theoretical observations from several case analyses. Even though international comparative studies are integral for the development of knowledge on religion and education, this localised approach concentrating on the Finnish education system provides an interesting case for the analysis in many ways: The Finnish society is rather slowly becoming diverse and plural, whereas the processes of secularisation have recently been quite rapid. The volume at hand discusses how these changes of secularisation and pluralisation in a religious landscape create new conditions for understanding educational dialogue amidst diversity.