‘Playful Searching Truth’: An Exploration of the Role of ‘Life Orientation’ in a Plural World

Abstract

In these days of secularisation, and of loosely dropped ‘alternative facts’, a pivotal quality in the process of authentic life orientation development is the capacity of critical reading and an attitude of not letting oneself be taken for a ride by firmly stated opinions or truth claims. In this contribution, we show how teachers in different (cultural and religious) educational contexts facilitate and stimulate their students’ critical and contextual reading of sacred scriptures—both from their own and others’ tradition(s)—through their pedagogical objectives and didactical strategies. After presenting our interpretation of secularisation, three examples of ‘good practice’ are introduced: originating from South Korea, the Netherlands, and Scotland. Teachers exhibit different rationales in their development of lessons and core activities that facilitate and stimulate students’ religious identity development. More research is needed on the development of RE teachers’ rationales in the context of the society they prepare their students for, aiming at their critical contribution and participation as responsible citizens with their own authentic life orientation.