Multi-faith Religious Education in Botswana1

Abstract

This article presents a historical approach to the multi-faith Religious Education introduced at the junior secondary level in Botswana in 1996. The article begins by examining the Christian confessional approach introduced during the missionary era and notes that despite various forms of earlier government opposition the Christian syllabus became popular again in the 1970s. In 1993, a movement toward a multi-faith syllabus gained momentum. Some of the background to this is given including the influence of British experience. This new syllabus is then subjected to some critique. An attempt to classify the new syllabus' methodology is also provided. A discussion of the public and religious groups' response to the multi-faith syllabus follows. Finally, through a small survey, views of teachers (n = 48) on the new syllabus are recorded and discussed and the overall outcome appears positive. The conclusion is that the Botswana multi-faith syllabus, with adjustments, is relevant to the educational needs of a homogenous society. 1I thank my students for their assistance in the teachers' survey and to my colleagues in the Religious Education Department at Molepolole College of Education for their comments and input.