Religious education (RE) in the Swedish school context is supposed to teach students primarily about religions, and to promote a continuous learning from religions. Following the Swedish curriculum, RE needs to be non-denominational. Previous research shows that the knowledge students receive in school contexts about religions and religious people tends to become knowledge about the ‘strange other’. Moreover, the risk has been observed that students will be unable to relate to the content of the RE they receive, regardless of whether they describe themselves as religious or not. The aim of the chapter is to present the reader with two concepts that can play a significant role in bringing a knowledge about meaning-making to the RE classroom that includes all students—a knowledge that can contribute to ‘good’ religious education and enable students to learn about religion in a relevant and significant way. These concepts are existential configurations and shared configurations. Throughout the chapter, it is argued that these concepts can make a significant contribution to the pedagogical practice of diverse forms of RE, including non-denominational RE.

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Existential Configurations as a Conceptual Tool in Learning About Religion

  • Caroline Klintborg

摘要

Religious education (RE) in the Swedish school context is supposed to teach students primarily about religions, and to promote a continuous learning from religions. Following the Swedish curriculum, RE needs to be non-denominational. Previous research shows that the knowledge students receive in school contexts about religions and religious people tends to become knowledge about the ‘strange other’. Moreover, the risk has been observed that students will be unable to relate to the content of the RE they receive, regardless of whether they describe themselves as religious or not. The aim of the chapter is to present the reader with two concepts that can play a significant role in bringing a knowledge about meaning-making to the RE classroom that includes all students—a knowledge that can contribute to ‘good’ religious education and enable students to learn about religion in a relevant and significant way. These concepts are existential configurations and shared configurations. Throughout the chapter, it is argued that these concepts can make a significant contribution to the pedagogical practice of diverse forms of RE, including non-denominational RE.