Background Across European countries, the education system plays a role in the transmission of religious or secular beliefs and values, with consequent implications for social cohesion between religious and cultural groups. The relative importance of the education system in religious socialisation varies across European countries, with religious authorities playing a significant role in school management in some countries while, in other cases, there is a deliberate separation between church and school structures. Theoretical location of the study Within social science, there is currently much interest in the ways in which individuals develop and negotiate their sense of self and identity over the life course. Social learning theory, for example, viewed a child’s attitudes and values as resulting from observing and imitating their parents in day-to-day activities (Bandura, 1977). Theorists of late modernity (for example, Beck, 1992; Lash and Urry, 1993) have questioned the notion of an essential self, emphasising instead the self as a social construct, constantly defined and redefined in a range of social contexts. These views have been criticised for placing too much weight on individual agency and neglecting the structural context within which identity is formed (Bendle, 2002). In response, a number of theorists have argued for the need to conceptualise the on-going construction and reconstruction of the self as framed by, and interacting with, existing social structures (Callero, 2003). Research questions and focus of the papers Two of the papers in this symposium explore the policy framework governing the treatment of religion and belief in primary schools in specific EU countries with very different religious and cultural traditions (Malta and Scotland). The third paper examines the interface between home and school in the religious and moral development of children in Ireland. The final paper considers issues associated with the identity formation of Muslim pupils in Flemish schools. The specific questions addressed include the following: • What is the relationship between the state and religion in specific European countries and how is this reflected in the treatment of religion in schools? • What tensions are evident between the legal and policy position on religion in education in particular member states and the experiences of teachers, parents and pupils? • What are the experiences of significant minority groups, e.g. children from Muslim families or those of secular belief, within schools informed by different religious traditions?

Methodology The papers within this symposium draw on research conducted over two years (2008 – 2009) as part of the EU Seventh Framework project entitled Religious Education in a Multi-Cultural Society (REMC), led by Dr Emer Smyth of the Economic and Social Research Institute, Dublin. The project consists of an international literature review of the position of religion in education, a secondary analysis of European surveys on religiosity, and a detailed analysis of policy and practice in five countries with different religious and cultural traditions (Ireland, Scotland, Belgium (Flanders), Germany and Malta). In the five countries, fieldwork is being conducted in schools to understand the nature of religious education and how it is being experienced by children of majority and minority religious groups and those of no religion. All of these data sources are drawn on in the papers presented in this symposium.

Overall, the project will be breaking new ground in providing an analysis of the treatment of religion in education in a range of European member states. In particular, it will provide insight into how Christian schools and non-denominational schools are experienced by minority groups, in particular children from Muslim backgrounds. The extent to which schools in different countries are moving towards a secular approach, reflecting attitudinal changes across Europe, will also be examined. This is the first symposium where project findings will be presented, and it therefore marks an important project milestone.