Multicultural Religious Education

This insightful text examines the impact of Islamic schooling on Muslim youth in French-speaking Canada to consider how these institutions influence the formation of students’ cultural, national, ethnic, and religious identities, and their sense of belonging to Quebec and Canada.

Through close qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with first- and second-generation students, as well as parents, teachers, and leaders involved in Islamic high schools, this text explores how far institutions succeed in preparing young Muslims to participate in the broader secular society in Quebec and in English-speaking Canada. As well as investigating the historical and contemporary development of Islamic schooling in Canada, and addressing public perceptions of this educational sector, the volume foregrounds the voices of those directly involved in these schools to illustrate first-hand experiences, and the motivations and objectives of those choosing to support or engage in these schools. Overarching themes include citizenship, integration, and the complex interplay of Muslim, Quebecois, and Canadian values.

This book will be of great interest to graduate and postgraduate students, researcher scholars and academics in the fields of religion, education, Islamic studies, multicultural education curriculum studies, and faith-based teacher education.

For years I have wrestled with how to teach religion at a Christian school that teaches a relatively secularized student body in a multi-cultural and multi-religious environment, yet at the same time speaks to the deeply personal and spiritual needs of students.  In recent years Hong Kong International School has developed statements that seem to thread this needle, and in a way that seems to works for my students.  This blog entry shares these perspectives, and then shows how I apply this middle way approach to the teaching of my grade 9 World Religions class through the use of spiritual practices.

What is often described today as neo-nationalism or nationalist-populism today arguably looks like the old nationalism. What is emerging as genuinely new are the identity-based nationalisms of the centre-left, sometimes called ‘liberal nationalism’ or ‘progressive patriotism’. I offer my own contribution to the latter, which may be called ‘multicultural nationalism’. I argue that multiculturalism is a mode of integration that does not just emphasise the centrality of minority group identities but argues that integration is incomplete without re-making national identity so that all can have a sense of belonging to it. In this respect, multiculturalist approaches to national belonging have some relation to liberal nationalism and a majoritarian interculturalism. It makes not just individual rights but minority accommodation a feature of acceptable nationalism. Importantly, however, unlike cosmopolitanism it is national-focused and is not against immigration controls (subject to certain conditions). For these reasons multicultural nationalism unites the concerns of some of those currently sympathetic to majoritarian nationalism and those who are pro-diversity and minority accommodationist in the way that liberal nationalism (with its emphasis on individualism and majoritarianism) or cosmopolitanism (with its disavowal of national belonging and championing of open borders) does not. It therefore represents the political idea and tendency most likely to offer a feasible alternative rallying point to monocultural nationalism.

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 overall aim of this thesis is to explore and analyse how Religious Education (RE) can be socially constructed in the upper secondary school classroom practice in the pluralistic context of contemporary Sweden.

The result is based on findings from participant observations of 125 Religious Education lessons at three upper secondary schools in Sweden, both on vocational programs and on preparatory programs for higher education. Discourse analysis, curriculum theory, and didaktik of religion are used as theoretical and analytic approaches.

The findings indicate that a secularist discourse was hegemonic in the classroom practice and implied norm of talking about religion, religions and worldviews as something outdated and belonging to history. A non-religious, atheistic position was articulated as neutral and unbiased in relation to the subject matter and was associated with being a rational, critically thinking person.  However, there were also spiritual and swedishness discourses of religion that in some respects challenged the hegemonic discourse, but also enforced it. The programs at upper secondary schools were influenced by different educational discourses called a private discourse and an academic rational discourse, which affected the construction of the subject in these different contexts. Implications of the discourses are discussed in relation to the classroom practice and aims of Religious Education.

How might we design religious education to reduce religious conflict? After briefly summarising the problem and types of educational solutions, I propose strategies for non-confessional initiatives, including: increasing empathy for the religious other, decreasing exclusivism, reframing religion functionally, and critically and creatively engaging radically diverse worldviews. Such proposals require testing and continual improvement, so I also offer an approach toward collaborative design and evaluation. The premise behind my proposal is that religion is best conceived as a technology – a set of cultural tools for aligning attitudes, beliefs and behaviours. Religious education is therefore a form of technology education.

The Roman Catholic mission established herself permanently in Suriname in 1785. From its inception the Roman Catholic Church took her responsibility to educate the Surinamese youth seriously. However, it did operate for almost 200 years within a framework of colonialism, since Suriname only received its independence from the Netherlands in 1975. As an actor in the educational field, the Church also co-contributed to Suriname’s independence, through her curriculum offered to the Surinamese youth in her schools. Notwithstanding the colonial framework in which Catholic education occurred, a process of Surinamization preceded Suriname’s independence.
The central question for this research is about establishing the degree in which the curriculum of Roman Catholic education during the period mentioned above, facilitated this process of Surinamization within a colonialist framework, and to assess the pedagogical underpinnings hereof.
For the collection of our data we have used both primary and secondary sources. The primary sources comprise both interviews and archival documents. The secondary sources comprise the literature to construct a theoretical framework and literature that directly regards the history of Roman Catholic education in Suriname, and concomitantly some material from its curriculum.
This research paper demonstrates that the Roman Catholic Church has played a pivotal role in shaping the educational infrastructure of Suriname. Through her schools it prepared numerous men and women to actively contribute to the further development of the country. Despite starting as a foreign based enterprise, the religious brothers of Tilburg were among the first to adopt the policy of Surinamization in the curriculum of the Catholic schooling system. Yet the role of the second inspector of Roman Catholic education can not be underestimated, for he too had his vision on Surinamization, and acted in conformity to that vision. Thus, the Church managed to shift from an alien perspective to a Surinamese perspective. But this transformation did not happen overnight, for it was a slow and arduous process.

With growing Muslim population in Europe and recent influx of migrants, it is vital to analyze schooling options available to Muslim parents in terms of Islamic studies in public and private sector. This research will accordingly help Muslim community and governments to plan their way forward in a number of ways such as teacher training, curriculum design, operating private schools and other aspects. In current study, we have analyzed a large body of academic research, news and opinions of various community members. Our findings from this explorative research identify a number of difference from country to country. Some countries consider confessional education where-as other provide it in a non-confessional manner. Some have complete separation between Church and state whereas others are heavily influenced by Church and
accordingly reflect this in their educational policies. We also find out that financial situation of Muslim communities is generally not very strong and they are reliant on foreign funding to meet their basic religious needs e.g. having a place of worship or a
mosque. Most of this support is found to be coming from Turkey or Saudi Arabia. Our findings also highlight the importance of Sunday or weekend schools as most of the
communities where adequate confessional Islamic knowledge  is not available through public education system and Islamic schools cannot be established, they are helping the communities in imparting religious knowledge they consider important for their children.

This article examines whether or not the ubiquitous model of religious education (i.e. non-confessional multifaith religious education (RE)) in state schools in Great Britain is capable of fulfilling the aims of education articulated in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). It maintains
that to the degree that this RE model aims to promote critical, rational, and cognitive understanding of religion, it seeks to facilitate the development of children’s mental abilities. It also contends that to the extent that RE curriculum contents mirror the theistic worldviews and non-theistic ideologies identified within its pluralistic social order, this curriculum subject aims to foster children’s development of respect for: human rights and fundamental freedoms; individual identity, affiliation, cultural diversity and pluralism; mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence; and, the natural environment. In these respects, RE in state schools in Great Britain aspires to fulfil the educational aims enunciated in the UNCRC.

John Tillson argues, on grounds of children's wellbeing, that it is impermissible to teach them religious views. I defend a practice of pluralistically advocating religious views to children. As long as there are no monopolies of influence over children, and as long as advocates do not use coercion, deceit, or manipulation, children can greatly benefit without having their rational abilities subverted, or incurring undue risk to form false beliefs. This solution should counter, to some extent, both perfectionist and anti-perfectionist reasons against initiating children into religions.

This article traces the historical background to the polarised religious education (RE) curricula in Nigerian primary and secondary schools, highlighting some post-colonial interventions and backlashes. Using regional treaties and international human rights frameworks, this article considers the probable justifications for deploying the confessional model of RE, accentuating the possible violations of the principles of religious freedom necessitated by the deployment of the confessional pedagogical model in Nigeria’s publicly funded schools. In consonance with contemporary trends in RE in Europe, Australia, Canada and South Africa, to mention a few, this article advocates the substitution of the currently deployed confessional, monoreligious education curricula with a non-confessional, multifaith RE curriculum. In emphasizing the potential benefits of non-confessional, multifaith RE, this article highlights how this model of RE respects, protects and fulfills the rights of the child which are unequivocally articulated in regional treaties and international human rights law. The article finally draws attention to strategies requisite for implementing non-confessional, multifaith RE in Nigeria’s publicly funded primary and secondary schools.

The purpose of this essay is to explain history writing and education in multicultural and multi-religious societies. In recent decades, many countries have become increasingly multicultural, multi-religious, multi-linguistic, and pluralistic. Thus, history writing and education has gained more importance in multicultural and multi-religious societies because history has an important place among these pluralistic societies. A major goal of history education is to provide all students with learning about their community's cultures, within the mainstream culture, and within and across other ethnic cultures in pluralistic societies. One of the basic principles of multiculturalism is that it is opposed to homogeneity, uniformity, and the standardization of cultural forms. Multiculturalism is committed to the protection, promotion, and maintenance of ethno-cultural diversity, which in turn, provides opportunities to minorities to preserve, maintain, and express their distinctive cultural form, life styles, and rights. These cultures and societies have sometimes remained together and sometimes separate and remained strong; hence, our world has hosted many cultures, races, and religions in the historical process.

Özet
Bu çalışmanın amacı çok kültürlü ve çok inançlı toplumlarda tarih yazımı ve tarih eğitimini açıklamaktır. Son yıllarda birçok ülke giderek daha fazla çok kültürlü ve çok inançlı bir duruma gelmiştir ve bu durumda artarak devam etmektedir. Bunun için de bu toplumlarda tarih yazımı ve tarih eğitimi daha fazla önem kazanmaktadır. Tarih ve tarih eğitimi bilhassa kültürel grup ve toplulukların eğitiminde daha fazla önemli bir yer tutmaya başlamıştır. Tarih eğitiminin temel bir amacı da çok kültürlü toplumlarda ana kültür içinde yaşayan farklı kültürel grupların kendi kültür ve tarihini öğrenmelerine imkân sağlayabilmektir. Çok kültürlülüğün temel diğer bir prensibi de homojenliğe, tekdüzeliğe ve kültürel formların standardizasyona karşı olmasıdır. Çok kültürlülük ana kültür içerisinde yaşayan diğer kültürlerin kendini ayırt edici özelliklerinin ortaya çıkarılmasına olanak sağlar. Onları korur. Onlara fırsatlar sağlar. Çok kültürlü toplumlarda bu kültürler ve gruplar bazen birlikte kalmıştır. Bazen de ayrılmışlardır. Dolayısıyla, dünyamız tarihsel süreç içinde birçok kültüre, ırka ve dine ev sahipliği yapmıştır. Yapmaya da devam edecektir. Anahtar Kelimeler: tarih yazımı, tarih eğitimi, çok kültürlülük, çok dinlilik, tarih müfredatı.

With the unfortunate abundance of religious conflicts in the world, it is important that attention is devoted to how students position themselves in relation to religions they do not associate with. On this score, a section of scholarship in social studies education has examined students making meaning  of  religio-historical  and  contemporary  happenings.  Yet, questions  relating  to  students’  representation  of  “other”  religions remain  underexplored.  From  the  Ghanaian  context  where  this  study  is situated, official curriculum mandates teaching about religion, however, little  to  no  evidence  exist  to  support a claim that students’ attitudes change  after  learning  this  curriculum.  To  explore  the  disconnect,  a qualitative study of six Ghanaian elementary schools were conducted for a  three-month  period.  Through  interviews,  observations  focus  groups and  document analysis, students’ representation of “other religions” were examined. Research outcome revealed that, students mediate their lessons  on  religion  through  the  lens  of  their  own  experiences  and metanarratives  of  their  individual  faiths.  Consequently,  they  hold  two forms of knowledge –authentic official knowledge used for examination purposes  and  secularized  cultural  knowledge  used  in  practice.  It  is concluded that, the vestiges of colonialism and emergent imperialism are deeply implicated in students’ discourses around religion. Therefore, the missing link between content knowledge and attitudinal change may be explained  by  the  failure  of  pedagogy  to  acknowledge  the  impact  of contextual  happenings  on  the  realization  of  curriculum  objectives.  A solution  to  this  conundrum  will  be  for  educators  to  connect  academic knowledge to the out-of-school socio-cultural experiences of students.

[On religious education as cultural analysis] I denne teksten argumenterer eg for at eit religionsvitskapleg utsideperspektiv ikkje åleine gir tilstrekkeleg forståingsgrunnlag for religions- og livssynsfeltet i klasserommet, og at også filosofi- og etikkdelen av faget kallar på ein breiare fagleg basis. Drøftinga legg til grunn ei kulturanalytisk tilnærming til RLE-faga i skulen (KRLE og Religion og etikk) og søkjer å løfta fram nokre viktige omsyn i diskusjonen kring skulefaget med utgangspunkt i dette. Eg tar dels utgangspunkt i dei interessante didaktiske diskusjonane som går føre seg i RLE-feltet nett no, og dels utgangspunkt i eige arbeid innafor feltet, særleg i tilknyting til den franske filosofen Paul Ricoeur og temaområdet ‘religion som diskursiv størrelse’.

What are the challenges confronting religious education in Catholic schools? Understanding first the very context of young people is key to recognizing the gaps in religious education.  The sociological input can help in making sense why for some teachers "Catholic education is failing in the Philippines."  In terms of pastoral work, this question is also important in pondering how the faith can remain accessible and applicable for Filipino Catholic youth.  Many might not realize that even if the Philippines is predominantly Catholic, only a very small minority have access to Catholic schools. 

As this chapter will spell out, religious education offered by Catholic schools in the Philippines has a more fundamental issue to confront - its relevance.  In this light, the problem of religious education is not only that it is boring, in which the implicit expectation is for students to receive religious ideas as cold facts.  There are far bigger social contexts confronting religious education.  It has to compete for space, time, and attention with other subjects that both parents and students might see as more valuable for later success in life.  At the same time, it has to confront questions about religious diversity and changing moral worldviews.  If religious education were to become a beacon of hope, it needs to first comprehend the unique situation of its intended audience, the youth.

In this study, answers to the following questions about the Religious Culture and Ethics Teacher Candidates
(RCE) were sought:
What is the level of multicultural experience, attitudes and efficacies of the RCE teacher candidates?
What are the strongest beliefs of the RCE teacher candidates about multiculturalism?
What is the level of social desirability of the RCE teacher candidates?
Is there a significant relationship between the multicultural experience, attitudes and competencies, social desirability levels of the RCE teacher candidates, and the gender and grade level?
Is there a significant relationship between the multicultural experience, attitude and competence levels of the RCE teacher candidates?
Is there a significant relationship between the multicultural experience, attitudes and competencies of the RCE teacher candidates and their social desirability levels?

Berbagi kisah dan pengalaman menemani belajar mahasiswi/-a dalam 4 mata kuliah Pendidikan Agama, yaitu Pendidikan Agama (MKH-UKDW), Agama Kristen Kontekstual (FIB-UGM), Advanced Study of Christianity (CRCS-UGM), dan Religious Studies (IUP Communication-UGM). Berproses bersama mereka yang Generasi Z menempatkan pengampu bukan lagi sumber pengetahuan melainkan kurator pengetahuan dan inspirator. Belajar memahami mereka yang beragama "transisional," menekankan "pengalaman" daripada "afirmasi rasional," dan menghidupi kultur visual, gambar bergerak dan secondary orality. Bersiap menyambut mereka yang bisa jadi adalah The Nones, The Omnists, dan The Indigenous. Karena itu kelas perlu berdimensi lintasdenominasi dan lintasiman. Tidak lagi menekankan Conversion, tetapi Conversation. Dan terakhir perlu memasukkan materi Literasi Digital, khususnya untuk melawan polarisasi dengan kesanggrahan digital.

The increasing religious diversity in educational space has raised a legitimate question on how Catholic theology/ catechesis must be taught in Philippine Catholic universities given the institutional mandate to educate students "into the faith of the Church through teaching of Christian doctrine in an organic and systematic way" (Wuerl, 2013, 1). On this note, the paper makes reference to "centered plural-ism" (CP), a positional posture espoused by Georgetown University in dealing with this predicament. In an attempt to (re) appropriate CP into local context, there is a need to explore the Filipino conception of self/others as enveloped within the indigenous concept of kapwa. Hereon, the paper finds that CP is not just feasibly suitable in local context but with kapwa's more inclusive description of the relationship of self and others, a CP-based teaching paradigm in theology/ catechesis is a promising project in the educational scene of the Philippines.

Swedish RE teachers are facing a number of difficulties today: decreasing teaching hours, long lists of required content from the national syllabi, as well as low student interest in the subject.This paper investigates a possible solution to these combined problems: namely, an approach to RE which centers on new religions. Recent research indicates that younger generations engage widely with new religions in their everyday life, such as through popular media (Partridge, 2006; Visuri 2020). For this reason, a focus on new religions might spark student interest. While earlier studies within the field of New Religious Movements (NRMs) focused on so-called "sects" that emerged in the 1960s, there is growing awareness of how "new religions" can also include "older" religions (as well as non-religions, such as atheism) which were all new at one point. Through an emphasis on the notion of "newness" within the study of religion(s), by for instance focusing on how all religions have developed and changed over time (and in some cases declined, and eventually been revived), RE teachers have the opportunity to cover religion as a whole, while leaving the concept of religion open for each student to define, and without overwhelming students with "facts" only. With the definition of religion kept open and unbounded, students get the opportunity to engage analytically with religion(s) as they draw parallels between the old and new. This is an ability which the national syllabi calls for, yet does not offer practical examples of. An approach to religion which centers on the concept of "newness" is, in other words, likely to engage student interest as well as make the subject of RE more relevant for the contemporary Swedish school.

This correlation study investigates the relationships between prospective teachers’ multicultural education attitude and classroom management styles. The participants were 495 prospective teachers majoring in different departments of education faculties at two state universities in Turkey. “Democracy and Multicultural Education Attitude Scale” and “Classroom Management Style Scale” were used as data collection tools. Correlation and regression analyses were performed for data analysis by using SPSS 23.0 software. The results of descriptive analyses showed that most of the participants adopted authoritative style in terms of classroom management. Also, they had positive attitudes towards multicultural and democracy education. According to correlation analysis, there were significant relationships between the variables. Specifically, authoritative style was a powerful predictor of the attitude towards democracy and multicultural education. The prospective teachers with more authoritarian and indifferent styles had more biases towards multicultural education. Moreover, it is estimated that discussion and educational implications will shed light on teacher education.

"For the Bible to be considered to have come
from an all-powerful and all-knowledgeable
God, a book must meet certain requirements.
First, it must be conveyed to us correctly from
the period it was initially written so that we
may have a precise image of what God said
and did. Second, it must be truthful when it
deals with historical events. Finally, it must be
without any scientific silliness, which would
portray that it came by human authorship. The
Holy Bible meets the above requirements and
much more. There are several proofs to make
me personally have confidence in the
authenticity, correctness and relevance of the
bible. Below are some of the proofs."

This study investigates how multicultural citizenship education is taught in a Chinese
Christian school in Jakarta, where multiculturalism is not a natural experience.
Schoolyard ethnographic research was deployed to explore the reality of a ‘double minority’
— Chinese Christians — and how the citizenship of this marginal group is constructed
and contested in national, school, and familial discourses. The article argues
that it is necessary for schools to actively implement multicultural citizenship education
in order to create a new generation of young adults who are empowered, tolerant,
active, participatory citizens of Indonesia. As schools are a microcosm of the
nation-state, successful multicultural citizenship education can have real societal
implications for it has the potential to render the idealism enshrined in the national
motto of ‘Unity in Diversity’ a lived reality.

Islamic religious education (IRE) in Europe has become a subject of intense debate during the past decade. There is concern that states are doing too little, or too much, to shape the spiritual beliefs of private citizens. State response to the concern ranges from sponsoring religious education in public schools to forgoing it entirely and policies vary according to national political culture. In some countries public schools teach Islam to Muslims as a subject within a broader religious curriculum that gives parents the right to choose their children's religious education. In the other countries public schools teach Islam to all pupils as a subject with a close relation to the academic study of religions. There are also countries where public schools do not teach religion at all, although there is an opportunity to teach about Islam in school subjects such as art, history, or literature. IRE taught outside publicly funded institutions , is of course also taught as a confessional subject in private Muslim schools, mosques and by Muslim organisations. Often students who attend these classes also attend a publicly funded " mainstream school ". This volume brings together a number of researchers to explore the interconnections between Islamic educations and public schooling in Europe. The relationship between Islamic education and public schooling is analysed within the publicly and privately funded sectors. This volume will be of interest to scholars of Islam in Europe, policy makers of education and integration and teachers of religious education.

(English translation below)
In dit artikel behandel ik de vraag of en zo ja, hoe de film 'Fitna' van Geert Wilders behandeld kan worden in de lessen godsdienst/levensbeschouwing in het voortgezet onderwijs. Ik beschrijf de aanleiding en uitwerking van mijn derdeklaslessen en besteed aandacht aan de omstreden Fitna-verzen uit de Koran. Het onderwerp is zwaar, heftig en verwarrend, maar biedt ook een verrijking en bovenal een nuance in een vaak weinig genuanceerd debat.
---
Fitna in the classroom
The present paper was the 2015 prize-winning contribution to the Dutch journal for teacher religious education Narthex. The paper presents a series of lessons devoted to the theme of presumed "terrorist" passages in the Qur'an, as highlighted in the short movie Fitna made by the Dutch populist politician Geert Wilders. By means of a careful analysis of both this movie and the relevant verses in the Qur'an (and parallels in the Bible) pupils of ca. 14 years of age are invited to review critically the various statements, deconstruct current claims and interpretations and formulate a well-considered viewpoint. The theme is challenging and leads to several debates, but, at least in the practice here described, almost always to a deeper and nuanced understanding.

Berbagi kisah dan pengalaman menemani belajar mahasiswi/-a dalam 4 mata kuliah Pendidikan Agama, yaitu Pendidikan Agama (MKH-UKDW), Agama Kristen Kontekstual (FIB-UGM), Advanced Study of Christianity (CRCS-UGM), dan Religious Studies (IUP Communication-UGM). Berproses bersama mereka yang Generasi Z menempatkan pengampu bukan lagi sumber pengetahuan melainkan kurator pengetahuan dan inspirator. Belajar memahami mereka yang beragama "transisional," menekankan "pengalaman" daripada "afirmasi rasional," dan menghidupi kultur visual, gambar bergerak dan secondary orality. Bersiap menyambut mereka yang bisa jadi adalah The Nones, The Omnists, dan The Indigenous. Karena itu kelas perlu berdimensi lintasdenominasi dan lintasiman. Tidak lagi menekankan Conversion, tetapi Conversation. Dan terakhir perlu memasukkan materi Literasi Digital, khususnya untuk melawan polarisasi dengan kesanggrahan digital.

Religious education (RE) in Norwegian schools today is of a so-called integrative kind, meaning that the subject gathers all students, is multi-faith oriented, and its context is non-confessional. Current guidelines for the school subject, which also includes ethics and philosophy, underline that the same pedagogical principles are to be employed for all topics. Furthermore, it is stated that all religions and world views shall be presented in an objective, critical and pluralistic manner.

In recent didactical discussions the question of what critical teaching about religions and world views is and should be has gained particular attention. To what extent and in what way should this compulsory school subject also involve a critique of religion in a more focused sense and thematise as problematic various beliefs or practises of religions and other world views?

Open Access:

https://oda.oslomet.no/oda-xmlui/handle/10642/8656

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 overall aim of this thesis is to explore and analyse how Religious Education (RE) can be socially constructed in the upper secondary school classroom practice in the pluralistic context of contemporary Sweden. The result is based on findings from participant observations of 125 Religious Education lessons at three upper secondary schools in Sweden, both on vocational programs and on preparatory programs for higher education. Discourse analysis, curriculum theory, and didaktik of religion are used as theoretical and analytic approaches. The findings indicate that a secularist discourse was hegemonic in the classroom practice and implied norm of talking about religion, religions and worldviews as something outdated and belonging to history. A non-religious, atheistic position was articulated as neutral ...

In Children, Religion and the Ethics of Influence, John Tillson develops a theory concerning which kinds of formative
influence are morally permissible, impermissible or obligatory. Applying this theory to the case of religion, he
argues that religious initiation in childhood is morally impermissible whether conducted by parents, teachers or
others. Tillson addresses questions such as: how we come to have the ethical responsibilities we do, how we
understand religion, how ethical and religious commitments can be justified, and what makes children ethically
special.

The following theological reflections are intended to aid in the continual improvement of educational systems for theistic educators, or those who seek to engage in their educational vocation from a theological perspective. Based mostly upon the western Christian religious tradition, the purpose of these theological reflections is to help develop a theology of education based on the educational system guidelines and further refine these theological claims in dialogue with this particular religious tradition. Readers from other faith traditions are encouraged to review the beliefs and practices of their own traditions for convergences or divergences with these reflections. The underlying framework for these guidelines asserts that there are at least three tiers that impact student learning and development: 1) Learners, 2) Courses-Instructors, and 3) the Educational Organization in part or as a whole. In order to improve the quality of education, we must work with each of these three tiers and a series of guidelines have therefore been developed for them. These theological reflections on the guidelines may be used for such endeavors as developing objectives for educational development interventions, conducting system-wide assessments, providing feedback to specific entities within the institution, et cetera. These reflections are intended to be used in conjunction with the other resources and reflections that have been developed for each tier.

Bu çalışma, Religion im Zeitalter der Globalisierung(Ed. M. Polat) kitabında yer alan Prof. Dr. Elisabeth Naurath’ın “Position und Dialog. Zur Zukunft des Religionsunterrichts im gesellschaftlich Pluralen Kontext” başlıklı makalesinin çevirisidir.

The paper reconstructs the life and activity of the author of a famous novel for boys as well as a textbook of arithmetic and of essays on educational issues, who was also the sister of a famous economist. The bulk of the paper is dedicated to 'Alfred Dudley', a novel for boys about wealth, status, speculation, poverty, manual work, emigration and the role of virtue in making a decent society possible. Also the author’s educational views are discussed, highlighting her opposition to Benthamite programs and her proposal for an inter-denominational religious education, and arguing that her contributions to plans for a general education system were meant to respond to what had been Smith’s, Malthus’s, and perhaps also her brother’s question, namely, how may wealth and virtue go together?

The following theological reflections are intended to aid in the continual improvement of educational systems for theistic educators, or those who seek to engage in their educational vocation from a theological perspective. Based mostly upon the western Christian religious tradition, the purpose of these theological reflections is to help develop a theology of education based on the educational system guidelines and further refine these theological claims in dialogue with this particular religious tradition. Readers from other faith traditions are encouraged to review the beliefs and practices of their own traditions for convergences or divergences with these reflections. The underlying framework for these guidelines asserts that there are at least three tiers that impact student learning and development: 1) Learners, 2) Courses-Instructors, and 3) the Educational Organization in part or as a whole. In order to improve the quality of education, we must work with each of these three tiers and a series of guidelines have therefore been developed for them. These theological reflections on the guidelines may be used for such endeavors as developing objectives for educational development interventions, conducting system-wide assessments, providing feedback to specific entities within the institution, et cetera. These reflections are intended to be used in conjunction with the other resources and reflections that have been developed for each tier.

Europe’s population has through history always been complex and diverse.
Migration is nothing new, but is today combined with secularisation, globalisation  and  democratization.  This  has  changed  diversity  and  created challenges  within  education.  Formerly  closed  territorial borders  have been  opened,  others  have  closed;  fixed  borders  between  ethnic  groups, classes, and sexes are dissolving, new ones emerging.In this paper I will reflect on certain concepts that are of significance for
Shifting borders in Religious Education which was the topic of the XIII Nordic  Conference  on  Religious  Education.  It  is  an  exciting  theme  that can  be  addressed  in  very  many  ways  which  is  also  evident  in  this  publication.  My  way  of  addressing  it  in  this  paper  will  be  by  arguing  for  the importance  of  studying  Religious  Education  (R E)  but  also  by  sharing some of the results from a resent study on R E and borders that I have been part of and then also suggest some areas of further research.

This article maintains that the teaching of religion in state-funded schools in liberal democracies, especially in Western Europe, is premised on the need for the child to acquire critical, rational, and cognitive understanding of religion rather than seeking to nurture her or him in a specific faith tradition. Drawing on one hypothetical religious education classroom scenario, this article contends that the deployment of epistemic egalitarianism and epistemic neutrality in the relativistic, pluralistic, and equitable presentation of competing claims arguably facilitates critical thinking, rational autonomy, and the child's right to an open future. It, therefore, exemplifies how the teaching of religion in state-funded schools in liberal democracies could engender the actualization of the liberal aims of education articulated in educational theory and philosophy.