Religious education in public schools and religious identity in post-communist Serbia

Abstract

The author analyses types of religious education in European and Serbian state-run schools searching for an innovative approach to existing classifications. He suggests four criteria to differ and categorize types of religious education in public schools, claiming that the actual taxonomy is often insufficient, inconsistent or perplexed (having usually been based upon one or two elements). He proposes categorization which encompasses point of view and interests of tax payers, of the politics, of the pupils and of the religious teachers. More criteria could lead to a better assessment of particular system of religious education. He also suggests that, apart from usual categorization in confessional and non-confessional religious education, it would be useful to introduce categories like 'mostly confessional' and 'mostly non-confessional', as clear-cut models are very rare. In addition to this he offers arguments why 'cognitive' type of religious education would be more proper label instead of 'non-confessional'. Further on the author examines controversies, disputes and manner of reintroduction of religious instruction in Serbian legislation after the fall of the communist regime in 2000 and presents the current situation, including very recent changes considering curricula. He points to some very distinctive features of religious education model in Serbia which could be of interest in comparative perspective, particularly in the time when many states in Europe tend to improve their religious education system. Finally, he points to importance of religious education in building religious identity of young generations in post-communist countries, and differs two types of religious identity - perceptive (intuitive) and cognitive (rational). He concludes that 'educating into religion' has to exist for some time in post-communist countries due to historical circumstances (within more or less confessional model). Additionally, he finds that it should be only gradually transformed into 'educating about religion' and 'education from religion' pattern, fostering cognitive religious identity to strengthen parallel with the perceptive one.