Models of Religious Education and the topic of Islam
Practical Philosophy
Final Report Abstract
The DACH research project examined how the topic of Islam is taught in confessional Protestant religious education (Tübingen and Vienna) on the one hand and in interdenominational religionrelated education (Potsdam LER and Zurich RKE) on the other hand. This involved two questions. (i) Firstly, two competing forms of religion-related teaching in German-speaking countries were to be compared. Empirical research in this area is needed. Because the evaluations of the sub-projects have not yet been completed, no final conclusions can be drawn here. From the Potsdam perspective, however, it seems to indicate that the differences might not be as significant as the debates suggest, because the teachers of all models seem to place a main emphasis on ethical attitudes (such as tolerance). (ii) Secondly, it was to be examined how the topic of Islam is taught in religious education. Although Islam is becoming increasingly important in Germany, there are still no empirical studies on this either. The present report focuses on the Potsdam's perspective. The research results here are very meaningful regarding the general distance to religions and to Islam in Brandenburg. It is striking that the topic of Islam is very rarely taught. However, despite initial distance, teachers and students develop interest when the topic (in accordance with the LER concept) is taught with a clear reference to their ordinary life's questions and problems. The lack of suitable teaching materials is criticized. (iii) In the course of the research, a complex category system for collecting and evaluating the data was developed, which can be used for future qualitative-empirical studies with comparable topics. From Potsdam's point of view, this is a third research result.
