Religious Education: Definitions, Dilemmas, Challenges, and Future Horizons (original) (raw)

International Journal of Educational Reform

This article analyzes religious education and highlights some points that can be the basis for reform in education to meet the diverse needs of religious students and broaden the scope of the field. In today's world, the main challenge of religious education and the basis for educational reform is diversity. Thus, there is a need for new theoretical models that can better define the target population of religious schools. An innovative typology is presented in which religiosity is expressed in terms of unique parameters constituting the concept of religiosity beyond the behavioral dimension, which enable us to suggest a more refined definition of religiosity and thus construct new, more relevant syllabi. A This article analyzes religious education and highlights some points that can be the basis for reform in education to meet the diverse needs of religious students and broaden the scope of the field. First, I present some of the definitions, dilemmas, and challenges of religious education, then I highlight possible future horizons. In a world of mass immigration and growing awareness of the role of religion, the main challenge of religious education and the basis for educational reform is diversity. Thus, there is a need to suggest new theoretical models that can more specifically define the target population of religious schools. From a religious point of view, these definitions have to be broad and diverse to reflect the differentiation and privatization processes that characterize today's multiple modernities. Religion is a major issue in global discourse today. It has become a major factor in the private and public spheres (REDco, 2009). Hence, it is also part of educational discourse. When dealing with religious education, Schreiner (2002) noted four major points that have to be taken into account: (1) differences in the religious landscapes of various countries; (2) differences in the role and value of religion in society; (3) the variety of state and religion relationships, ranging from separation of church and state (France, the United States) to sympathy (Poland, Ireland) to a complete merger between church and state (Israel); (4) differences in the internal structure of a country's school system (e.g., in the Netherlands, two thirds of the schools are religiously affiliated while the rest are religiously "neutral"; Schreiner, in press). Some countries have a monoreligious tradition (e.g., England), whereas in other countries, several religious traditions coexist (e.g., Germany and Swit