Project Report 2
Interreligious and Values Education: Ways ahead for
For the European Interreligious Encounter in Rovereto/Italy 2008 Johannes Lähnemann, chairman of the Peace Education Standing Commission (PESC) of Religions for Peace (RfP) in cooperation with Peter Schreiner of the Comenius Institut Münster has prepared a European Map of Interreligious and Values Education accompanied by a handbook containing project and country reports. It corresponds the general motto of the encounter - "Shared Values for a Changing Europe".
The "European Map of interreligious and values education" makes the conditions and developments in the different parts of
In the sessions of the project II at the Rovereto encounter – under the title: “Inter-religious and Values Education – Challenges, Developments and Projects in Europe” – more than 40 experts from different European countries worked together under the chairmanship of Prof. Brian Gates (Lancaster/UK), Prof. Johannes Lähnemann (Nürnberg/Germany), Peter Schreiner (Münster) and Prof. Wolfram Weiße (Hamburg).
In the following, the main outcomes of the project work are reported, describing in short 1) the situation in
1. The Situation
In nearly all countries of
public education:
• to transmit the necessary knowledge about the cultural-religious heritage
• to be orientated about the religiously rooted values and ethic for personal life as
well as for society
• to reflect meaning and aims for life in the light of the scriptures, traditions and
spiritual practices of religions
• to educate for tolerance and prevent wrong prejudices through authentic information
about and – if possible – encounter with the different living religions
The European Map of Interreligious and Values Education (EMIVE) shows that Religious
Education (RE) in public schooling is established in all Western, Central and South European
countries (exception:
communist Eastern states.
2. Tendencies
There is a general tendency not to leave RE only to the religious communities or to private
initiatives. Religion is increasingly seen as a field for public discourse and public
learning:
• The map shows that in the north-West and north of Europe RE is dominantly
multi-religious/non-confessional (England/Wales/Scotland,
in countries with a strong confessional tradition (
space for multi-religious learning. In the south and east we have predominantly
confessional RE and – traditionally – little information about other religions. But
there are examples of a lively discussion to incorporate more elements of interreligious
learning (e.g.
• There are three main Associations dealing with RE in
on World Religions in Education (EAWRE), the InterEuropean Commission
on Church and School (ICCS) and the European Forum for Teachers of Religious
Education (EFTRE).
• The international exchange has helped to establish common goals in most of the
syllabuses: that RE has to contribute to build up the students' personal identity in
relation to their own religious affiliation/cultural tradition, that they are rooted in
an understanding of the meaning of life which helps them to become responsible
citizens of their respective society, that they develop tolerance for different religions
and world views and a sensitive consciousness for ethical questions and decisions.
4. Problems
The concrete conditions for interreligious and values education are still extremely different
in the different parts of
• There are countries with a highly developed infrastructure where RE has a continuous
history – in countries with a multi-religious approach (for example
as well as in countries with a confessional approach (for example in most
parts of
and teaching material and in teacher training on a university level.
• There are countries where the whole position and presence of RE is very weak:
without or with little teaching material, without regular syllabuses and with teachers
who have little opportunity to gain the necessary professional skills (especially:
5. Tasks and plans for action
A new impetus on the part of the religious communities and the polititians is
needed for interreligious and values learning, in order to face the lack of cultural-religious knowledge, religious and ethnic fanaticism as well as relativism. Religions for Peace through its Peace Education Standing Commission (PESC) will work on this in cooperation with the Associations named above (under 2), with agencies of the EU and in informing and inspiring Interreligious Councils (IRCs) in action fields as described in the following.
It should become part of the Interreligious Councils' and of multi-religious groups'
efforts to assist the possibilities of interreligious and values learning – on the international,
the national, the district and the local level.
Religious and interreligious agencies should offer authentic information about the
religions and structured possibilities for encounter, dialogue and co-operation. This will be important for school as well as for community and family education.
Religious communities should be partners for syllabus and textbook development
(not only for RE, but also for history, geography and elements of the school ethic
and school life). In confessional RE knowledge about other religions should necessarily
be part of the curriculum. In multi-religious/non-confessional RE religions
should be presented as "wholes" and as "systems of responsibility" (and not only
in "piecemeal fashion"). Competent members of the religious communities should
be asked and prepared to re-read new curricula, textbooks and teaching material. In countries where there is no RE in state maintained schools fundamental religious knowledge should at least be offered in school subjects like history and geography.
Interreligious experts can offer their service as mediators in cultural-religiously
rooted conflicts or tensions (for example in questions of reciprocal participation in
religious festivals, questions of school worship, clothing and physical education of
girls, sex education ...).
Building on the Map and Handbook, it is proposed that ways and means be sought to create a comprehensive website covering Europe that will provide a gateway to each European nation in its individual richness, covering:
- its religious demography
- details and points of contact for its individual faith communities
- existing networks for inter faith dialogue
- RE teachers and organisations supporting their work
- university departments of Theology and/or Religious Studies
- resource materials on world religions
- relevant websites.
A skeletal structure should be created centrally. Flesh on its bones should come from named experts/contacts in each country. It should be fully in place for the start of the 2011-20 UN Decade of Interreligious Dialogue and Cooperation for Peace and from its beginning a model for every other continent.
Nürnberg, 27th May 2008 Johannes Lähnemann
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