Abstract
Intercultural, interethnic, or interreligious encounters taking place open many opportunities for reflection on what brings people together, separates, or confronts them. From an educational perspective, it is a priority to prepare and educate students in respect and tolerance for everyone. On the one hand, students must learn to see opportunities on diversity of perspectives. On the other hand, students need to develop criteria to build up their thoughts and beliefs. Religious education is, in such sense, a fundamental tool. It is not new, however, that religion and religious education have lost influence both individually and institutionally, leading to poor formation of new generations on religious issues. We defend that disinterest and consequent ignorance of religion could contribute to the repetition of mistakes already made in our history. The main purpose of this study is to describe and compare how religious teaching is regulated in Secondary Education in the European context in general and in Spain and the United Kingdom in particular. A comparison of the curricula of both countries has been made with the aim of identifying points of convergence and differences between them, so that discussions can be opened on the essentials, the beneficial, and what can be dispensable. We focus on a multicultural approach to religious education and on the promotion of critical thinking through the subject of religion so that, progressively, we can reduce vulnerability to ideas that could be harmful to both the individual and society.
Presenters
Ana GraciaStudent, Sociology, Zaragoza University, Zaragoza, Spain Amparo Gracia Bernal
Profesora, Universidad de Zaragoza Amaya Gil Albarova
Docente, Psicología y Sociología, Universidad de Zaragoza, Spain
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Religious Community and Socialization
KEYWORDS
Religious Education, Education Policies, Cultural Diversity, Tolerance, Critical Thinking
