A Nonfoundationalist Approach to Education in Religion

This article suggests an epistemologically nonfoundationalist approach to education in religion. First, it reviews the meaning of “epistemological foundationalism” and gives examples of its influence in the field of religious education. Then, differentiating between antifoundationalism and nonfoundationalism, it considers the educational implications of Richard Rorty's concepts of normal and abnormal discourse. Although acknowledging Michel Foucault's poststructuralist perspective as a critical caveat to Rortian optimism, it maintains the usefulness of Rorty's categories in relation to a proposed redefinition of the terms instruction and education.