What should religious education in Germany be about and how does religiosity fit into this picture?: an empirical study of pre-service religious education teachers’ beliefs on the aims of RE

In secularising Germany the aim of religious education (RE) is under discussion. The churches opt for denominational education familiarising the students with their own religious tradition. Humanists claim an ethical education, giving students objective information about different religions. Which p...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Riegel, Ulrich 1966- (Author) ; Mendl, Hans 1960- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Published: Routledge 2014
In: Journal of beliefs and values
Year: 2014, Volume: 35, Issue: 2, Pages: 165-174
Further subjects:B aims of religious education
B religious education (RE)
B RE teachers
B Religious Pluralism
B Religiosity
Online Access: Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Description
Summary:In secularising Germany the aim of religious education (RE) is under discussion. The churches opt for denominational education familiarising the students with their own religious tradition. Humanists claim an ethical education, giving students objective information about different religions. Which perspective do students who will become RE teachers take in this discussion? Does their religiosity affect this perspective? All over Germany 1828 first-year students (with an average age of 21; 81% females; 72% Catholic and 28% Protestant) completed a relevant questionnaire. The respondents favour a RE which offers objective information. Most of them are pluralist thinkers in religious terms and show a moderate religious practice. The more relativist the students are thinking in religious terms, the more they tend to favour objective information. These findings challenge the churches’ perspective on RE, because even future RE teachers do not agree with the churches’ ideal on RE. A reformulation of this approach on cognitive level will be discussed.
ISSN:1469-9362
Contains:Enthalten in: Journal of beliefs and values
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/13617672.2014.953300