Democratic citizenship and religious education: challenges and perspectives for schools in the Netherlands†

Abstract

This article deals with the question what pedagogical and religious educational contributions have to offer to the debate on citizenship. Some historical background and theoretical conceptualisations of nowadays political focus on citizenship are described particularly focusing on the Dutch case. Explicit attention is given to the role of religion in the public domain. It is stressed that religion is more and more perceived as a source of power which could be positively used within the public domain. This development raises questions in relation to religious education at school, as schools are located in the intermediate domain between the public and the private domain. It is stated that both state schools and religious‐affiliated schools have to take the impact of the process of globalisation seriously by preparing students for their encounter with cultural and religious ‘others’. From a societal as well as pedagogical point of view, it is argued that all schools should be obliged to foster a religious dimension to citizenship. † An earlier version of this article was presented by Siebren Miedema as invited keynote address at the conference ‘Europe, Democratic Citizenship and Education: Potential Contributions of Church and School’ of the Inter‐European Commission on Church and School (ICCS), Otepää, Estonia, 8 July 2006.