Understanding ‘religious understanding’ in religious education

This paper takes as its starting point, one of the explicit aims of religious education in England, namely, the development of students’ religious understanding. It shows how curriculum documentation, whilst stating that religious understanding is an aim of religious education fails to clearly outline what is meant by it. This paper draws upon long-standing and ongoing debates in the field and suggests that religious understanding may be best conceived as a spectrum of understanding. Approached in this way, religious understanding becomes not an all or nothing affair, but a lens through which the student of religion may regard the beliefs and practices before them. Finally, the paper proposes an interpretation of religious understanding, which focuses on the soteriological dimension of religion, thus providing the student with a particularly religious lens to understand religious traditions in religious education and concludes by outlining what such an approach might look like in practice.     

青海省基督教、天主教发展状况及社会影响研究

近些年来，青海省天主教、基督教发展总体呈现上升趋势，尤其在西宁、大通等城市，信教人数不断上升，且信徒结构发生变化，呈现出新的特点。调查显示，信徒在皈依天主教或基督教以后，自身的心态和行为都有良好变化：严格规范个人行为，努力改善家庭环境，影响子女在社会生活中有更好的表现。天主教、基督教在现实处境中的这种伦理作用及其对社会结构性空缺的弥补，有助于社会秩序的稳定。     

Text interpretation and educational design in Norwegian textbooks of religious education

Drawing on sociocultural perspectives on educational design, this article presents a qualitative study investigating how religious texts emerge as educational objects and mediating artefacts in Norwegian textbooks of religious and moral education. The article describes how the distribution of text references in textbooks influences the formation of religious traditions as objects. It also describes how religious texts are given various roles and how textbook assignments use various means to facilitate the interpretation of religious texts in a response to the demands posed by Norwegian syllabuses of religious and moral education.     

Developments in religious studies: towards a dialogue with religious education

The early days of non-confessional, multi-faith religious education in Britain benefitted from close collaboration between academics in universities, teacher educators and teachers. This article attempts to initiate a revival of such a dialogue, by summarizing some developments in religious studies at university level and suggesting possible implications for religious education in schools. After a brief retrospective of phenomenological and ethnographic approaches in religious studies and religious education, it examines feminist, queer and postcolonial theory as well as the changing religious landscape in contemporary Britain and the wider world. Themes emerging from this analysis prompt the following proposals: to take an anti-essentialist approach to ‘religion’ and ‘religions’; to stress diversity within and between traditions; to recognise complexity and change in religion and society; to acknowledge both local and global contexts; to focus on real people and seldom-heard voices; and to criticize dominant discourses, whether as patriarchal, heteronormative or colonialist.     

浅谈宗教观教育的基本结构

正确认识宗教产业、发展和消亡的规律，以科学的态度而不是以主观的愿望对待和处理宗教问题，是实现宗教与社会主义相适应的理性基础，是实现社会稳定发展的一项长期任务。马克思主义宗教观教育的基本结构应包括马克思主义主义宗教学、宗教社会学和中国宗教化传统的教育。把宗教教育纳入国民教育，对全党和普通公司的益处良多。     

Dutch children and their ‘God’: the development of the ‘God’ concept among indigenous and immigrant children in the Netherlands

In the 1980s and 1990s in the Netherlands, as a reaction to the growing number of non‐Christian pupils at Christian schools, religious education and religious development became issues for debate. At some schools, it was the exclusiveness of the Christian tradition that dominated, and at others it was the inclusiveness. Another group specialised in inter‐religious dialogue. Our research studied the religious development of pupils from two primary schools. One is the first and only inter‐religious primary school in the Netherlands, the Juliana van Stolberg primary school. The other is a Christian school, the Prinses Margriet primary school that educates pupils exclusively in the Christian tradition. The research questions focussed on the development of the ‘God’ concept of children confronted with stories from different religious traditions. The ‘God’ concept is seen in our research as a concept that develops in an inductive way from the data. This way of conceptualising ‘development’ is coined as the prospective perspective on development. The results of this comparative research led to the tentative conclusion that pupils in our research population who were involved in inter‐religious learning, demonstrate explorative behaviour concerning their own religion and that of others. Their ‘God’ concept shows hybrid characteristics. These pupils are rooted in their own tradition, and at the same time they are ‘on the move’. This offers points of departure for the development of citizens articulating their commitments and turning imminent conflicts into inter‐religious encounters.     

Exploring the unknown: the language use of German RE-students writing texts about God

Language does not only play an active part in all processes of comprehension, recognition and learning, it is also essential for specific religious learning processes. Religious experiences and traditions have their own characteristic linguistic forms, and religious education has come to realise the necessity for an appropriate sensibility in religious language. Yet while linguistic features of religion or tradition have been widely discussed and developed, the use of religious language with regard to the learning subjects remains a significant, if not unknown, variable. What do we actually know about the religious language of students? How do we systematically assess their linguistic competence? By presenting selected results regarding the God-talk of German secondary school students, this paper shows how empirical research based on a corpus linguistic approach can provide access to the use of religious language. As such, the paper first aims to initiate a paradigm shift from looking at the linguistic features of content to exploring the language use of learners. Second, it aims to present a research framework that offers possibilities for further comparable and comparative research well beyond the original German speaking context.     

Faces of faith: reflections on examples of plurality in a Swedish RE classroom

This article illuminates how religious education worked when students posed questions to believing guests in a Swedish upper secondary classroom, which was homogeneous concerning ethnic origin. The guests invited to school represented four religious traditions but they also represented themselves. Their messages, as well as the questions posed by students, were very different from each other, which is interesting in relation to the discourse of plurality. Plurality of faith in this case is discussed in relation to pre‐modern, modern and post‐modern conditions.     

Should religious studies be part of the compulsory state school curriculum?

This article argues that of the various approaches taken in state education internationally, the inclusion of a discrete academic subject dealing with religious traditions and spiritual or secular alternatives is the most effective way of addressing religious plurality in education. It examines the increasing presence of religion in public discourse, various educational responses to this, and argues that a separate subject, taught by specialist teachers, is the most likely to achieve the aim of the United Nations for mutual understanding and peace between diverse religious and cultural traditions.     

试析周大新《安魂》的宗教情怀

周大新《安魂》这部对话录,实际上是一个灵魂的独语,在深情的人生回忆与奇异的天国想象中,流露出其浓郁的父爱和宗教情怀。周大新的宗教情怀富有终极关怀、救赎色彩和人文精神。从中西宗教文化传统来看,周大新的宗教情怀具有应激性和动态性,还不够深远澄穆,然而,在当下文学语境和新文学传统中,《安魂》都值得珍视。     

宗教形态的心理学述评——心理学的五种历史形态考察之三

宗教的心理学是心理学的一个重要的历史形态。宗教心理学可以有两种不同的含义。一是科学的含义或是科学传统中的宗教心理学,是科学家运用科学方法对宗教心理的研究。这是科学心理学的一个分支。二是宗教的含义或是宗教传统中的宗教心理学,是宗教家按照宗教的方式对人的心理行为的说明、解释和干预。后者既是宗教活动提供的传统文化资源,同时也是现代科学心理学的传统历史资源。宗教中的心理学提供了关于人的信仰心理方面的重要的阐释、以及干预人的心理皈依的重要的方式。这为科学心理学的发展和进步提供了非常丰富和重要的心理学思想理论、心理学研究方法、心理学干预技术。心理学的创新就必须提取宗教的心理学中的资源。     

藏传佛教文化的传承路径及当代适应性研究

藏族社会全民信教以及宗教生活与世俗生活的同一性特点,决定了藏传佛教文化的传承是通过两个途径来实现的:一种是包括家庭宗教经验和寺院学习的宗教教育,另一种是以强调习俗、禁忌为主的宗教礼仪规则。宗教教育与宗教礼仪在继承藏传佛教文化,增强民族认同感和归属感的同时,还将蕴含在其文化中的道德伦理观念传扬下去。当代社会,藏传佛教文化如何适应现代化发展,无疑是一个重要的研究课题。     

湘西宗教研究述评

学术界对湘西宗教的关注较早,在20世纪40-50年代,石启贵、凌纯声等苗族学者系统地整理了湘西宗教的相关资料。经过"文革"时期的沉寂,20世纪80年代涌现出一大批研究成果,主要集中在对宗教仪式环节中的符号分析、对宗教仪式变迁及其功能的考察、对宗教现象的艺术学研究等方面。尽管成果颇丰,还存在不足,在研究对象上多局限于宗教仪式、宗教现象等方面,忽略了宗教文化外化的物质实体——坛庙宫观寺院等宗教建筑;在研究方法上以田野调查、符号分析、历史考证等抽象描述为主,很少使用科学的量化分析研究。因此,有待加强运用量化分析的方法对坛庙宫观寺院等宗教建筑进行研究。     

少数民族大学生的宗教认同与心理健康的关系

本文选取666名藏族、回族等少数民族大学生,采用问卷法,运用回归分析、结构方程建模等统计方法,分析了少数民族大学生的宗教认同与自尊、抑郁—幸福感的关系。结果表明:少数民族大学生的宗教认同和自尊、抑郁—幸福感之间呈显著的正相关;宗教认同能显示正向预测自尊水平,并且通过自尊对抑郁—幸福感产生间接影响;宗教认同存在显著的性别、年级和民族差异,自尊存在显著的年级差异。结论:宗教认同是少数民族大学生自我概念中的重要部分,对其心理健康有重要的意义。     

The challenge of religious education to deal with past and present Catholicism

Religious education (RE) in secondary schools in the Netherlands is challenged to redefine the educational aims. Concerning this debate, the preference for a cognitive approach is remarkably dominant, not only among scholars but among RE teachers as well. This appeal for a cognitive turn is based upon two hypotheses: first on the presumption of religious blankness among religiously unaffiliated pupils and second on a specific view on the way religious affiliation, religious reflectivity and religious tolerance are intertwined. The current article elaborates on a empirical research that questions both hypotheses. It first discovered the ongoing connection religiously unaffiliated pupils have with a former and conventional type of Catholicism, which impedes the development of their reflective personal religiosity as well as that of their interreligious openness. Second, this investigation revealed that personal connectedness with contemporary Catholic faith encourages these two developments. As such, this research contributes to a nuanced perspective on the chances and bottlenecks within religious learning by religiously unaffiliated and affiliated pupils. Concerning the redefinition of religious educational aims, it provides empirical arguments for a balanced combination of cognitive, attitudinal and experiential aims and advocates a preference for experiential and attitudinal aspects as a didactical starting point.     

俄罗斯文学中圣愚文化以及圣愚人物形象分析

所谓圣愚就是对基督盲目炽热的信仰,圣愚人物被看作是一些内心完美而外表丑陋的东正教信徒之类的人物.尽管学术界对于圣愚的准确概念一直保持着不一样的态度,在各种俄罗斯的文学作品中,“圣愚”更是常常被理解为“弱智”、“白痴”、“疯子”的形象,但是我们不可否认的就是圣愚所具有的宗教性质.一般认为,圣愚文化是俄罗斯的本民族文化与拜占庭愚人的古老传统结合在一起的产物,是一种极具宗教性质的现象.然而它的影响已经超越了宗教的范畴,并且渗透到俄罗斯文化的方方面面,从俄罗斯的绘画和文学到俄罗斯的现代电影,我们都能够看见圣愚文化的痕迹.     

Learning from religions as ‘skilful means’: a contribution to the debate about the identity of religious education

This article is a revised version of the author’s contribution to the 2006 meeting of the International Seminar on Religious Education and Values in Driebergen, the Netherlands and is concerned with the need for continuing discussion about the identity of religious education. The article begins by arguing that, despite current criticisms, Smart’s original intentions for phenomenological religious education were far from inappropriate for a critical religious education. It then attempts to introduce some fresh ideas about how we might understand the commonly used terms of learning about and from religion. It suggests that in learning about religion it is important to engage students with the soteriological dimensions of religious traditions. The article then goes on to offer a revised version of learning from religion based on the Mahayana Buddhist concept of upaya or ‘skilful means’.     

继承中国传统宗教文化 发展现代宗教休闲

以佛道二教为主的中国传统宗教文化,其对现代休闲的意义与价值主要体现在两个方面：一是藉助于宗教休闲文化可提高休闲活动的创造性与建设性,克服非积极的休闲方式带来的负面效果;二是宗教休闲有助于改善休闲者的健康状况,实现身心的和谐统一.发展适应时代要求和社会需要的现代宗教休闲,应遵循如下原则：以服务社会大众为根本宗旨;与传统宗教的现代转型相结合;保持必要的宗教神圣性和超越性.在遵循这些原则的基础上,可从彻底取消寺庙的门票收费、大力推广普及寺庙休假、充分利用现代科技手段弘扬宗教休闲文化、探索发展宗教休闲文化产业等方面着手,推进现代宗教休闲的发展.     

The Essence of Education: Whitehead and the Spiritual Dimension

Whitehead's contention that the essence of education is that it be religious has been widely overlooked by many of his adherents who have found it a difficult, or even embarrassing, concept with which to deal. But what did Whitehead mean by religious? In Britain there is currently a deep interest in what is being termed the, "spiritual dimension of education" which is itself to be seen in the context of the postmodern rejection of positivistic modes of thought which have dominated educational discourse in recent decades. This article examines Whitehead's own concept of religion both in his explicit academic work and in his assessment of what we might term, indirect education. It goes on to suggest links with other key thinkers, in particular William James, Soren Kierkegaard, and Ludwig Wittgenstein.     

宗教民族主义刍议

宗教民族主义是基于宗教认同基础上的民族主义。宗教的文化性,文化的宗教性,宗教的民族性,民族的宗教性以及经济发展的滞后性是其产生的根源。这种思潮在世界范围内都有影响。由于宗教民族主义作用的两重性,我们要对其作辩证的看待。