Understanding religions in multicultural education

Author(s):

Anna-Leena Riitaoja

Conference:

ECER 2009

Network:

7. Social Justice and Intercultural Education

Format:

Paper

Session Information

07 SES 04 A, Challenges in Responding to Cultural Diversity

Paper Session

Time:

2009-09-28

16:00-17:30

Room:

HG, HS 31

Chair:

Chris Gaine

Contribution

The presentation deals with religions in the context of multicultural education. Religions are essential for shaping identity, and religious understanding is vital for constructing ideologically multicultural society. Religion is also an elemental part of culture, even more essential than ethnicity or gender. It creates a frame of reference, “lenses” to the world. The essence of religions deals with the deepest level of culture: the basic assumptions about life and existence. Religious worldviews are not, in essence, similar with each other or with e.g. secular humanistic worldview – although there are some similarities. Despite the need religions and religious education have not been widely discussed in the context of multicultural / intercultural education neither in US nor Europe or Finland. The importance of religions has not understood well enough compared to gender, ethnicity or class. When considered, religions have been approached mainly through external elements, whenever the essence of religion has not discussed. Or, religions have been discussed in negative light trough the problems of fundamentalism. Religious frames of reference (e.g. world religions) are useful for multicultural education, because they decrease the risk that education is based on one unrecognized frame of reference only; lenses of secular humanism and liberalism. Knowing the lenses is vital for critical education and for acquiring religious literacy as a part of intercultural competence. An interesting theme in the Finnish (as well as European) educational discussion is emphasizing of tolerance, which is supported by liberal pluralism especially. In the recent years in Finland, there has been announced a tendency to eliminate Christian traditions from schools. However, according to critical pedagogy, there is no neutral education. Therefore, elimination of Christian elements easily leads to unrecognized strengthening of secular humanism and liberalism. Then, “hidden curriculum” of Christian privilege will just change to another one, where the meaning of religions is ignored and eliminated outside of one’s private life. In multicultural education there should be considered how to discuss religions in a way that takes account their own frames of reference. This allows also self-critical examinations of secularism. The starting point of multicultural education would not therefore be in eliminating of religious elements but taking account both religious and non-religious diversity and give students possibilities to understand how the world looks like from religious viewpoints. This does not, however, mean confessional teaching in religions. There has been interest in this kind of discussion both in Finland and internationally.

Method

The discussion on connections of religious education and multicultural education is mainly theoretical.

Expected Outcomes

Theoretical discussion shows the importance of religious education as a part of – but also as starting point of – multicultural or intercultural education.

References

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Author Information

Anna-Leena Riitaoja

Uníversity of Helsinki

Applied Sciences of Education

Lohja

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