Abstract
Triggered by secularization, individualization and increasing religious pluralism, RE has undergone profound changes in Europe and elsewhere. One of the main changes has been the shift from confessional and denominational RE, to non-confessional and nondenominational RE. In spite of its merits, this shift has been criticized frequently, mainly by religious stakeholders who wrongly equate ‘neutrality’ with ‘anti-religiosity’ and ‘atheism’. In this chapter, I will counter this critique and explain what is meant by a ‘neutral’ or ‘reasonable’ justification for non-confessional RE. In order to do so, I will, from a political philosophical perspective, elaborate on the core principles of liberal democratic states and its implications for education in general and for RE in particular. It has been argued that, in these states, confessional RE should no longer be part of the regular school curriculum in state schools because this policy prioritizes religion over non-religion and is, accordingly, not neutral. Alternatively, students should learn about different religions and worldviews in an open and critical way. This way of organizing RE does not only fit with autonomy-based liberalism and its need for shared citizenship, but it also allows that religious as well as non-religious students become aware of the ‘semantic potential’ of religion in post-secular societies. In a final part, some common critiques concerning liberal education and its implications for RE will be addressed and critically evaluated. Until the 1960s, Christianity was the major religion in most European nation states and society was largely influenced by this religion. Today, this Christian dominance belongs to the past and most European nation states are characterized by secularization, but also by ethnic and religious diversity. Although the number of believers in western-Europe decreased substantially and even though the overall impact of religion on public life diminished, the famous secularization thesis (Berger 1967; Bruce 2002, 2011) does not persist in its original form. Rather than saying that religion will disappear, it seems to be more correct to say that religion transformed into a less institutionalized and more individualized and spiritual phenomenon (cf. Davie 1990; Heelas and Woodhead 2005; see also the concept of secularization as a “return of religion in society” in the introduction of this book, pp. 9–12). Besides, nation states worldwide are increasingly confronted with religious terrorism, which is often related to fundamentalist interpretations of Islam.
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Notes
- 1.
For the difference between denominational and confessional RE, see Bråten 2013, 22–23.
- 2.
Noteworthy exemptions in this classification are Finland, which has a combination of separative, non-denominational and ‘semi’-confessional RE; and the German states Hamburg and Bremen, where RE is integrative, denominational and inter-confessional.
- 3.
Non-confessional RE is, like confessional RE, sometimes also criticized by ‘secular’ stakeholders (e.g. humanists), promoting a general ban of religion – and thus also of all kinds of RE – in public schools.
- 4.
In Belgium, about 30% of the public schools are state schools or governmental schools, i.e. schools funded and established by the state. Most schools (70%) are public, non-governmental schools, i.e. schools funded by the state, but established by a private organization. 99% of these non-governmental schools are Catholic. They are funded on an equal basis as state schools and open for all the students, provided they/their parents agree with the school’s Catholic mission statement.
- 5.
We will not go into further detail here, but it is obvious that my argument has also implications for faith-based schools, especially if they are recognized (and subsidized) by the state.
- 6.
This policy is, for historical reasons, not applied in the region Alsace-Moselle and in the French transoceanic territories.
- 7.
http://www.men.public.lu/fr/actualites/grands-dossiers/systeme-educatif/vie-societe/index.html (accessed 30 January 2020)
- 8.
One example is the libertarian position of Chandran Kukathas. According to Kukathas (2001, 2003), a state’s policy should not be based on the principle of autonomy, but on freedom of conscience and freedom of association. As a consequence, there is no need for an educational system wherein the capacity to act and think in a critical way is developed. Moreover, because every educational system is based on a specific concept of the good life, Kukathas rejects all kinds of compulsory education: “[t]he last thing a liberal state should offer its subjects is education – even if that should be a liberal education” (Kukathas 2001, 323). However, since Kukathas also defends the right to exit, which is in practice impossible without liberal (autonomy-facilitating) autonomy, his view is considered inconsistent at this point.
- 9.
Probably the most well-known court case in this regard is the Wisconsin v. Yoder Supreme Court case (1972, 406, US. 205), wherein the American Supreme Court decided, referring to the freedom of religion, that Amish-children can be exempted from compulsory education from the age of 14 onwards. However, one of the consequences of this decision is that Amish children may not be able to substantially develop the required capacities in order to make autonomous choices. A decision in the other direction – preferring the right to liberal education which gives children “the opportunity to participate in ‘normal’ society” over homeschooling in a ‘symbiotic’ family system – was made by the ECHR Great Chamber in 2019 in the case of Wunderlich v. Germany (appl.18925/15).
- 10.
A common idea among liberal educational philosophers (e.g. Boucher, Callan, Levinson, MacMullen) is that faith-based schools should not and cannot be forbidden in liberal societies (since this would infringe with the core principle of liberty itself), but that state schools are, due to their ‘neutral’ and open character, to be preferred over faith-based schools.
- 11.
For a discussion about Jewish orthodox schools and their refusal to teach in a ‘liberal’ way (e.g. by means of refusing ‘controversial issues’ and avoiding critical dialogue and reflection), see Franken & Levrau 2020 (forthcoming).
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Franken, L. (2021). Autonomy and Shared Citizenship: A ‘Neutral’ Justification for RE?. In: Franck, O., Thalén, P. (eds) Religious Education in a Post-Secular Age. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47503-1_11
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