Conclusion: Human Rights and Religion in Educational Contexts. Foundations and Conceptional Perspectives

Abstract

This concluding contribution is meant as an attempt to group several central lines of thought from the discourse documented in this volume and to inquire into viable perspectives on the relationship between human rights and religious education. The contributions collected here have made it clear that the relationship between human rights and public religious education can only be determined on the basis of fundamental philosophical, theological and jurisprudential deliberations. In my opinion, five fundamental questions appear to be central for the development of such a basis in regard to gaining a religious pedagogical perspective of human rights. 1. What is the relationship between (particular) religious traditions and (universal) human reason? In brief: How do faith and reason relate? 2. What is the relationship of the (major world) religions to each other? 3. What can religions contribute to society in regard to underpinning, promoting and critically monitoring a human rights culture? 4. What can a human rights culture contribute to a constructive and internal further development of the respective religions? 5. What contribution can a human rights culture provide to formation and education? After discussion of these five fundamental questions, I will then sketch the consequences for religious education in five theses. 6. Education in human rights and religious education—five theses.