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Koers

versão On-line ISSN 2304-8557
versão impressa ISSN 0023-270X

Koers (Online) vol.75 no.1 Pretoria  2010

 

ORIGINAL RESEARCH

 

Religion in education: Is there yet another solution?

 

Godsdiens in die onderwys: Is daar nie tog 'n ander oplossing nie?

 

 

J.L. van der Walt

Faculty of Education Sciences, Potchefstroom Campus, North-West University, POTCHEFSTROOM. E-mail: jlvdwalt@aerosat.co.za

 

 


ABSTRACT

As colleague and co-worker of Professor Bennie van der Walt, the author has been in a position for several decades now to apply some of Bennie van der Walt's philosophical and theological insights in the field of education. Professor Van der Walt's recent discussion and critique of secularism and of religious tolerance enables the author to analyse the educational situation in South Africa and elsewhere with particular emphasis on policies about religion in/and education. These investigations lead him to conclude that most education systems seem to resort to secular public-private and worldly-sacral dualistic policies for addressing the problem of potential religious conflict in schools. After considering the Dutch policy of (increasing) pillarisation and the South African policy of banning confessional aspects of religious education to the private spheres of citizens' lives, he proposes a solution based on the concept of institutional religious and life-conceptual identity. This approach can also lead to religious tolerance among learners in schools (as mooted by Bennie van der Walt and others) while circumventing the pitfalls of secularism.

Key concepts: diversity literacy, education, institutional identity, religion, schooling, secularism


OPSOMMING

As kollega en medewerker van professor Bennie van der Walt was dit vir die outeur verskeie dekades lank moontlik om sommige van Bennie van der Walt se filosofiese en teologiese insigte op die terrein van die onderwys toe te pas. Professor van der Walt se onlangse bespreking en ontleding van sekularisme en godsdienstige verdraagsaamheid stel die outeur in staat om die onderwyssituasie in Suid-Afrika en elders te ontleed, met besondere nadruk op beleid rakende godsdiens in die onderwys/die skole. Hierdie ondersoek lei hom tot die gevolgtrekking dat die meeste onderwysstelsels terugval op sekularistiese openbaar-privaat en wêreldse-heilige (sakrale) dualistiese beleide om die probleem van potensiële religieuse konflik in skole te voorkom. Na 'n oorweging van die Nederlandse beleid van (toenemende) versuiling en van die Suid-Afrikaanse beleid om die konfessionele aspekte van godsdiensonderwys na die private sfere van mense se lewens te verban, doen hy aan die hand dat 'n nuwe beleid geskep moet word wat op die idee van institusionele godsdienstige en lewens-beskoulike identiteit gebaseer is. Hierdie oplossing kan ook tot godsdienstige verdraagsaamheid onder leerders in skole lei (soos deur Bennie van der Walt en andere in die vooruitsig gestel), terwyl dit die voetangels van die sekularisme ontduik.

Kernbegrippe: diversiteitsgeletterdheid, godsdiens, institusionele identiteit, opvoeding, religie sekularisme, skoolonderwys


 

 

Full text available only in PDF format.

 

 

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