Secular state

Sociology

Archaeology

Pedagogy

Social science

Politics

History

Center for the Study of Religion and Society

History of religions

Political science

Religious education

Curriculum

Center for Educational Policy Studies Journal

Different approaches to religion education have been in place for a long time or developed more recently to meet growing religious and cultural plurality in European countries and schools. In this article, I summarise and discuss basic principles for a study-of-religion(s) approach to religion education, adding arguments and perspectives from critical theories about education in general. I shall also argue that national curricula for, respectively, religion education in Sweden and History in Denmark indicate that analytical-critical skills can be a central part of religion education in elementary and lower secondary public schools. The structure of the article is based on a modified version of the ‘map of history’ developed by the scholar of education and history education Rosie Turner-Bisset who has formulated principles for teaching History in primary schools. The model will be used as a framework, for systematising and discussing key principles of a study-of-religions approach to religion education with reference to three categories: 1) attitudes, 2) skills and concepts, and 3) knowledge.

A study-of-Religion(s)-Based Religion Education: Skills, Knowledge, and Aims