Religious Education In Germany Research Articles

Religious Education and Comparative Theology: Creating Common Ground for Intercultural Encounters

In this paper, a conversation is initiated about the relationship between religious education (RE) and comparative theology (CT). It is the first time that these are both addressed explicitly in an international academic discourse. The authors are colleagues in a university setting of RE teacher education and are both involved in local RE research programs. Our approach is theological, and our shared interest is the existential lifeworld of children and young people. Firstly, we wish to bring RE and CT into conversation with each other, based on five common characteristics. Secondly, we describe how this conversation can possibly stimulate discussion on new pathways of intercultural encounters in the RE classroom, and this not only from a German (mainly confessional) perspective but also in light of other forms of non-confessional RE. After a (1) contextualization of RE in Germany, the authors describe (2) five central features of contemporary RE, followed by (3) five CT observations, connecting to these features. In (4), the relationship between the two is discussed as common ground for intercultural encounters and as a promising praxis and research field awaiting further development.

Between Fight and Theatrical Performance: Conceptual Metaphors of Positionality in Communication about Cooperative Religious Education in Germany

Whereas previous research has focused on religious education (RE), teachers’ religious attitudes, and personal religiosity, no studies to date have examined their experiences or discussion of positionality in a RE setting. The denominational-cooperative model of RE serves as a specific opportunity for such research since common denominational RE is a setting where denominational positionality seems to be an obvious factor beyond debate. Based on the analysis of RE teachers’ conversations on cooperative RE in Germany, the paper presents results of qualitative research into the conceptual metaphors of positionality and taking a position. In the analysis we found a consistent framing of experiences of positionality under three major conceptual metaphors with their source domains allocated to the semantic fields of motion, physical combat, and theatrical play. Since conceptual metaphors are assumed to stem from embodied experiences, to structure human thought, and can be found in language, the discussion of the data deals with the impression that these conceptual metaphors shape the RE teachers’ agency, i.e., the way they teach in the denominational-cooperative religious education classroom.

SCHOOL AND PARISH CATECHESIS IN THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY IN RELATION TO CANON AND UNIVERSAL LAW

The article deals with the topic of the school and parish catechesis in the Federal Republic of Germany. The author presents the legal basis of the catechesis, in the Church and in the State. The catechetic teaching is defined in the Code of Canon Law. Information on this can be found in the second chapter of the title “The Ministry of the Divine Word” in this code. After a brief outline of the legal basis the author proceeds to presenting the history of religious education in Germany. Its origins lie in the 16th century at the time of Reformation and Counter-Reformation. As Rainer Winkel stated, when one studies the history of education, there are seven fields of education to be distinguished: 1. pedagogy, 2. religion, 3. ethics, 4. economics, 5. science, 6. politics, 7. art. Each of them is based on the development of one of seven “athropina”, i. e. features that are characteristic for human beings. All in all, it can be said that the religious education must be an integral part of all-round education. In a further part of the article the author describes the current catechetic teaching in Germany. Since the 1960s we can observe a development from catechesis to religious studies in the religious education at school. Instead of forming and educating pupils religiously, knowledge of religions is imparted at school. It is taught that there are many equally valid systems of values. The truths of faith and the sacraments are omitted during lessons. Above all, it can be observed that the German society is misinformed about the sacrament of penance. Besides, the passion of Christ, its meaning for a Christian and the role of the Holy Virgin Mary are not among the topics in school. On the other hand, parish catechesis is not very popular. The reason for this is probably the disappointment of the young people about the institutional character of the Church. In addition, there is a high percentage of atheists (especially in the former East Germany). Therefore, the author claims that there is a need of a renewed evangelisation instead of catechesis in Germany, in order that people believe in Jesus and the Mother of God again.

Konfessionell-kooperativer Religionsunterricht. Zwischenbilanz und Zukunftsperspektiven

Abstract Enshrined in the Basic Law, Religious Education (RE) in Germany at schools is .confessional. - and hence closely linked to the religious communities, in particular the Catholic and the Protestant church. This does, however, not imply a mono-denominational structure (and even less a catechetical approach) of RE in Germany. On the contrary, due to the ongoing pluralisation, educational innovations and ecumenical progress, inter-denominational cooperation has become a decisive feature of RE in Germany in the last decades, with a plurality of forms and regional variations. This article gives an overview over the current state of this specific type of RE in German federal states. It accentuates conceptual innovations and structural improvements, but also critically reflects on some underlying tendencies which contradict the basic ecumenical and inclusive intention of inter-denominational cooperation. Finally, perspectives for further development are presented.

Religious Education in Germany in Light of Religious Diversity: Constitutional Requirements for Religious Education

AbstractIn Article 7, paragraph 3, the German Constitution provides that religious education shall be a part of the curriculum of public school. This is one of the three approaches of dealing with religious education existing today. Originally, religious education as a regular subject at public schools in Germany was only offered by the two Christian Churches—Catholic and Protestant. As the number of Christians decreased and the number of Muslims increased, the demand for Islamic religious education at public schools grew. Therefore, the question arose whether the constitutional law concerning religion is capable of facing the new challenges of religious diversity. This Article tries to answer this question with regard to the introduction of Islamic religious education as a measure of adaptiveness. In the first step, the requirements of Article 7, paragraph 3 of the Constitution posed to religious education will be outlined in order to be able to examine in the second step whether Islamic religious education may be introduced at public schools as a regular subject. In this regard, the issue of the qualification of an umbrella association as a religious society and the constitutionality of the advisory board model will be discussed.

AN INTERCULTURAL APPROACH TO RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION IN HAMBURG: CONSTRUCTION, REFORM AND CURRICULUM PLANNING

I personally regard this proposal [the introduction of Islamic religious instruction in North-Rhine/Westphalia] as an important impulse for the present discussion about the demands and reality of a society in which people from many nations live together according to the principles of solidarity and tolerance. Indeed, the question must be asked how the religious and cultural identity of substantial minorities can be preserved adequately in our country. On the other hand – and I say that in the face of a more integrative approach which we strive for in religious education at schools in Hamburg – we may not ignore the danger of cultural fragmentation. This dictum of the Minister of Education of Hamburg summarizes, in a nutshell, the challenges facing religious education in Germany. At the same time, she indicates that the answers to the question differ significantly. Since school and education policy in the Federal Republic of Germany is not determined on a central level, but falls within the jurisdiction of the respective education ministries of the 16 Lander, the point of departure for education varies from state to state. In almost all Lander, except Hamburg, religious instruction is taught separately according to confession, i.e. either as Protestant or as Catholic. In practice, this means that Catholic pupils are taught by a Catholic teacher with Catholic-oriented teaching material, and Protestant pupils are taught by a Protestant teacher with Protestant-oriented teaching materials. The structure principle is aimed at Christian-confessional homogeneity. Pupils should grow into their faith. Those, however, who are not included (e.g. the Catholic minority in the Protestant north, or the Protestant minority in the Catholic southern part of Germany and, other than these, all pupils of other religions, and atheists) must leave the classroom. The price of homogeneity in religious education is high: it exists to the exclusion of others. This mechanism, which exists in most of the Lander, is only modified in that parents have the right to withdraw their children, up to 14 years of age, from religious education, and thereafter, pupils have the choice to attend religious instruction of the other confession or, to choose, as an alternative school subject, Ethics/Philosophy. The possibility of withdrawal and selection of an alternative also exists in Hamburg. Contrary to the confessionalist approach, a different approach has evolved in the federal state of Hamburg: here religious instruction is taught to all pupils integratively, and their respective confessional, religious or ideological background plays no role.

Wie steht es mit der Kompetenzorientierung in den Lehr- und Bildungsplänen für den Religionsunterricht?

Abstract About one and a half decades after the beginning of the debate it is time to ask about the implementation of competence orientation in the curricula for religious education in Germany. The focus is on the characteristics of competence orientation as well as its being embedded in the basic religious orientation of the curricula. The official guidelines and basic statements of the two major denominations in Germany were examined as well as all the curricula on the Protestant side in an exemplary selection. Competence orientation has been implemented in very different forms and proportions but at the same time, the focus has been on internal religious issues. This should be consciously reflected and the curricula should be opened in relationship to the whole of reality and society and connected with a consequent competence orientation – in the framework of its limited possibilities.

Public Religious Pedagogy: Linking Public Theology, Social Theory and Educational Theory

Abstract This paper addresses the relationship of public theology and education, a field of research that has been neglected in theology as well as in educational theory and religious pedagogy. It does so by firstly analyzing the discourse in the public sphere at the intersection of theology and religious education in Germany, and secondly by drawing on the social theories of John Rawls and Jürgen Habermas to provide a framework for relating public theology and (religious) education. In the German context the rediscovery and revaluing of the political dimension of public religious education has led to the evolving concept of ‘public religious pedagogy’, with obvious analogies to public theology—a concept that may have the potential to become a new paradigm in the academic discipline of religious pedagogy. Systematically, the article advances the hypothesis that philosophical discourse on the question of ‘how citizens who remain deeply divided on religious, philosophical, and moral doctrines, can still maintain a just and stable democratic society’ (John Rawls) corresponds to the discourse in educational philosophy and educational science on the question of how a consensus on major objectives of public education in general and the role of religion in this context in particular can be reached. It will be demonstrated that the academic discourse around religious education can benefit from dialogue and interaction with the social theories of (the later) Rawls and Habermas.

Auszüge aus Taḏkiratu s-sāmiʿi wa-l-mutakallimi fī adabi l-ʿālimi wa-l-mutaʿallim von Badruddīn b. Ǧamāʿa (gest. 733/1332)

Abstract This Arabic-German translation of excerpts from Taḏkiratu s-sāmiʿi wa-l-mutakallim fī adabi l-ʿālimi wa-l-mutaʿallim by Badruddīn b. Ǧamāʿa (d. 733/1332) describes the code of conduct and practice for a teacher of Islamic knowledge. Although Islamic Religious Education as we know it today may not be considered to form part of the traditional classical canon of Islamic scholarly disciplines, numerous considerations exist in traditional theological scholarly work with regard to suitable methods of education and forms of knowledge transfer and acquisition. Believing they will prove helpful in the process of de-termining the exact contents and concepts of Islamic Religious Education in Germany, the Institute of Islamic Theology is currently compiling a handbook, which will also contain this text and further translations dealing with this topic.

Fragen zum Stand der Forschung in der islamischen Religionspädagogik in Deutschland. Freundschaftliche Anmerkungen aus der Sicht eines evangelischen Religionspädagogen

Abstract This article considers the state of the art of research in Islamic religious education in Germany from a perspective of Protestant religious education and, in this sense, an external perspective. This aim is not pursued in the shape of a report on existing publications but with general considerations concerning the theory or philosophy of science. Different approaches as well as different thematic fields of religious education research are discussed as well as the understanding of religious education as an academic discipline.

Life Design-Ethics-Religion Studies: non-confessional RE in Brandenburg (Germany)

‘Life Design-Ethics-Religion Studies’ (LER) is the only non-confessional form of religious education (RE) in Germany. Six years after German reunification, the federal state of Brandenburg introduced LER with its dimension of non-confessional RE into the school curriculum. In this contribution, LER will be elucidated in three steps. First, the focus will be on LER as an integrative concept encompassing (a) an integration of mainly philosophical investigation as well as religious issues and (b) social integration, in a course where secular pupils and those of different denominations learn together. Second, I will describe how this new concept brought about a break with the long history of confessional RE in Germany and realised the precept of neutrality of religious education provided by the State. Finally, I will examine how the subject was accompanied by a new understanding of RE and how the concept of ‘Religion Studies’ is related to the concepts of ‘Ethics’ and ‘Life Design’. Here, attention will also be given to the competences that can be specified for LER.

New beginnings? The refugee “crisis”, the “Other”, and Islamic religious education in Germany

The recent influx of refugees has been in the headlines for more than a year in Germany. On a daily basis, new items about refugees, asylum policies, disasters, or xenophobia makes it into print, visual, or social media. Everybody has an opinion about this issue. In this essay, I record some of my own observations in this regard, as someone, who, in different ways, has been involved with refugees and “Others”. I am trying to make some sense of the discourses and actions that the so-called “refugee crisis” has produced. It has become evident that the discourse about the refugees is as much about the “Other” as it is about the “Self”. It is my argument that Germany is at a crossroads as a consequence of the arrival of relatively large numbers of refugees mainly from a Middle Eastern context – it can either lead to Germany closing in on itself, trying to exclude the “Other”, which in a globalized world would probably be a disadvantage; on the other hand, the “refugee crisis” has the potential of a new beginning, expanding on the already existing efforts to integrate “Others” into one’s own society. One example for such integration efforts would be the fairly recent introduction of Islamic Religious Education in state schools. The success or failure of this experiment can provide an indication of the willingness and ability of Germans to find constructive ways to integrate refugees into their communities.

What is Children’s Theology? Children’s Theology as theological competence: Development, differentiation, methods

Children’s Theology, theologising with children, or Child Theology has become an established concept in the discipline of religious education in Germany. The discipline departs from the point of view that children have a right to their religion, which makes the process of religious education the focal point. It is, however, important to understand the theology generated by children and also to create interaction with their religious views. This requires dialogue in which relevant questions are to be considered and discussed. The challenges for religious educators are subsequently treated.

What should religious education in Germany be about and how does religiosity fit into this picture? An empirical study of pre-service religious education teachers’ beliefs on the aims of RE

In secularising Germany the aim of religious education (RE) is under discussion. The churches opt for denominational education familiarising the students with their own religious tradition. Humanists claim an ethical education, giving students objective information about different religions. Which perspective do students who will become RE teachers take in this discussion? Does their religiosity affect this perspective? All over Germany 1828 first-year students (with an average age of 21; 81% females; 72% Catholic and 28% Protestant) completed a relevant questionnaire. The respondents favour a RE which offers objective information. Most of them are pluralist thinkers in religious terms and show a moderate religious practice. The more relativist the students are thinking in religious terms, the more they tend to favour objective information. These findings challenge the churches’ perspective on RE, because even future RE teachers do not agree with the churches’ ideal on RE. A reformulation of this approach on cognitive level will be discussed.

Education and Religion in Times of Secularization: Problems and Possibilities within the German Situation1

In the current climate of increasing alienation from religion, traditional concepts no longer suffice to explain the relation between education and religion. Thus, Religious Education needs to take on the task of reconceiving of this relation. This article looks specifically at Religious Education in Germany. The term religious literacy, which is understood here as religious competency, is of particular importance. Competency in religion, just as in other subjects of study, is determined by one's knowledge and experience. This article begins by explicating the necessity of Religious Education using an example. The final two sections look at the notion of religious competency by examining the meaning of religious knowledge and religious experience.

Religious individualization: new challenges to education for tolerance

The focus of this article is on the relationship between tolerance and individualized religion as the most common type of adolescent religion in many western countries. Drawing on a number of qualitative studies conducted by the author with children and adolescents in Germany, as well as on other larger studies conducted by others, the author identifies a number of problem areas, for example, in Christian adolescents’ views of Islam, and discusses the consequences of individualized religion for tolerance education. Different models of religious education in Germany and other European countries are considered. Special emphasis is given to the following question: if and under what conditions can religion and religious education become sources of tolerance? The author suggests that the model of co‐operative dialogical religious education has the potential to support religious identities and, at the same time, to foster dialogical openness.

Let the captives speak for themselves! More dialogue between religious education in England and Germany

This article offers a German response to John Hull's recent article on ‘religious education in Germany and England’ (in BJRE, volume 27, issue 1). The author claims that recent developments have brought religious education in both countries much closer together than in the past and that the differences between the respective systems should be understood contextually. In his view, more complex approaches to comparative research in religious education are needed. Agreement should be sought in terms of criteria for quality religious education rather than in terms of a unitary model because religious education in different countries needs a pluralism of different models.

Islamic Religious Education in a Pluralist Society

Muslim teachers and students encounter aspects of pluralism which spring from the distinctive character of Islamic faith and culture. This article discusses the traditions of tolerance, pluralism, freedom of conscience and dialogue as they are perceived by Turkish Muslims. A concluding enquiry considers the possibilities and the limits of the Turkish Muslim experience as a resource for the enrichment of religious education in Germany.

Religious Education in Germany: Developments and Problems

Religious Education in Germany: Developments and Problems

Religious Education in Germany

Religious Education in Germany