Religion, Politics and Civic Education

The proper role and influence of religion in the public sphere continues to be contested and has important implications for civic education in a liberal democracy. Paul Weithman and Michael Perry argue that religion makes valuable contributions to civic participation and that religiously grounded beliefs should be fully welcome in political decision-making. In response, this paper strives for a middle ground of preparing citizens to engage thoughtfully with a wide range of moral perspectives, religious and otherwise, while promoting a civic virtue that still honours a commitment to public reason.     

Understanding the Study of Religion in Undergraduate Programs of Religious Studies as Religious Education

The aim of this research is to investigate the intergenerational changes that have occurred in Australian Jewish day schools and the challenges these pose for religious and Jewish education. Using a grounded theory approach according to the constant comparative method (Strauss 1987), data from three sources (interviews [296], observations [27], and documents) were analyzed, thus enabling triangulation. Findings show that there is an incongruity between what the adult community defines as the central components of Jewish and religious identity, which are more particularistic, and the perspectives of Jewish youth, which are more universalistic.     

文化身份与保护文化多样性 --从怒江开发的讨论说起

文化身份的认同在全球化时代显然已成为非常尖锐的问题。可持续发展不仅是人类当前利益和长远利益的兼顾,而且也必须做到人口、资源、环境各方面的兼顾。即不能不顾环境进行掠夺性的发展,也不能以环境问题为借口,无视人口发展的正当要求。当我们完美的环保主义进化到要把人类文明的范围,扩大到全部生物物种和整个世界的时候,我们至少应该保留对我们同类中的弱势群体的同情心,特别是对现有贫困地区人口的生存和发展问题决不能视而不见。文化身份不仅仅是一个认同的问题,它也包含着重新建构的问题,即如何在新的历史背景下实现传统文化的现代性转型问题。     

The Characteristics of Religious Education Teachers and Respecting Diversity in Religious Education in Croatia

The first part of the article deals with the European and, specifically, Croatian sociopolitical and cultural framework of inclusive pedagogy and presents its basic postulates. The second part contains answers to questions linked to the treatment of differences in religious education in Croatia and characteristics of teachers that can be linked to this theme. It presents and interprets the results of a quantitative study conducted in April 2015 among religious education teachers of various religious communities that teach religion in schools (N = 471).     

Faith and the Nation: Education and Religious Identity in the Republic of Ireland

Through an examination of selected documents, this article explores the role which the Irish state attributed to education in promoting the Christian, specifically Catholic, identity of its young citizens. The essay also examines the evidence of a desire to distance the state from a direct role in reinforcing the religious dimensions of cultural identity and of an endeavour to reconcile respect for the nation's Christian heritage with respect for other versions of human self-understanding.     

政治文化、政治社会化与高校思想政治教育

当前,高校思想政治教育中存在主导政治文化呈弱化趋势,政治社会化手段缺乏创新,政治社会化实施主体素质亟待提高等问题。因此,必须加强主导政治文化建设,优化政治社会化途径,加强高校政治社会化实施队伍建设。     

乡土文化教育的学生认同:机理与阶段

乡土文化教育本身内隐着学生认同的可能,其意义追求内在规定着学生认同的必然.乡土文化教育认同要素一般包括学生、乡土文化教育、认同媒介和外在环境.根据双重态度模型理论,其认同机理分为显性认同机理和隐性认同机理;认同阶段一般可分为前认同阶段、认同萌发阶段、认同形成阶段和认同稳固阶段.     

Performativity,Faith and Professional Identity: Student Religious Education Teachers and The Ambiguities of Objectivity

Abstract

This paper considers the way in which Christian Religious Education (RE) teachers articulate the difficulties and challenges they experience both in school and with their peers as they navigate their way through their Initial Teacher Education. The paper offers a unique exploration of the relationship between elements of the three discourses of faith identity, emerging professional identity and the requirements of a performative teacher training context. Semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 184 student RE teachers across three universities. It became clear that all students interpreted the Standards and policy guidelines ambiguously, as being value-laden or value-free. The idea of the ‘good teacher’ as someone who was, by very definition, neutral and objective immediately made the faith position of students problematic. This is a key point in relation to the notion of performativity and education and the disproportionate impact it made on Christian students. It appeared as though many Christian students were concerned to stress that although their faith was personally important for them it was not something that contributed to their understanding of a ‘good teacher’.