teaching religious education in the midst of diversity
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Teaching Religious Education in the Midst of Diversity. Professor Peta Goldburg rsm Professor of Religious Education Associate Dean Catholic Identity and Partnerships Australian Catholic University. Global village now a reality Diversity within and among religions not new - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Teaching Religious Education in the Midst of Diversity
Professor Peta Goldburg rsmProfessor of Religious Education
Associate Dean Catholic Identity and Partnerships Australian Catholic University
Global village now a reality
Diversity within and among religions not new
Balance our teaching so that it does not restrict the tradition nor relativise the tradition
Religion not a private matter
Religion is matter for public square
Religion is important cultural, social and political phenomenon
Teaching about religions is central to inter-cultural education
300,000 Aboriginal people, 600 language groups, many spiritualities
First Fleet: 8 -14 Jews Convicts: Anglicans, Catholics, Presbyterians,
Methodists, Congregationalists, Baptists 1850s Gold Rushes: Buddhists 1860s: Afghan Muslim camel drivers Post 1945: European immigrants Post 1960s: Asian, Middle Eastern immigrants
Religious Diversity in Australia
Religious symbols
Religious clothing
Ritual requirements – praying
Dietary requirements
Religious identity
Stephen Prothero
What, how, and why of religion
Critical Religious Literacy Mary Boys - self-critical scholarship
It does not refer “to one’s attitude toward the content, but to ways of thinking that enable us to recognise the assumptions and bias that we might impose” (Boys 2004, p. 150).
Religious Literacy
Recognition literacy
Reproduction literacy
Reflection literacy
3 phases
Paulo Freire – evaluate and critique received ideas
Ask:
◦ What view of knowledge am I presenting?
◦ What or whose knowledge is seen as valuable?
Critical pedagogy
1. Dialectical teacher-student relationship
2. Student agency
3. Student subject of learning rather than object of learning
4. Dialogic methodology
Empowerment
Think about what you have heard
◦ One point of interest
◦ One question
Buzz
Religious Education in the Catholic TraditionReligious Education Beyond the TraditionInter-religious Education & Engagement
Three components of RE
Sacred Texts ◦ (Old and New Testament; Christian Spiritual Writings &
Wisdom) Beliefs
◦ (Trinity: God, Jesus the Christ, Spirit; Human Existence; World Religions)
Church ◦ (Liturgy & Sacraments; People of God; Church History)
Christian Life ◦ (Moral Formation; Mission & Justice; Prayer & Spirituality)
Catholic Christianity
characterised by a deep religious self-understanding and a desire to learn from differences without adopting or absorbing the other
Textured Particularism
We need to know and be able to teach about the exterior diversity of religions and the interior complexity of religious traditions.
In learning about the religious other we develop the ability to enter another’s religious tradition without losing our own boundaries.
RE Beyond the Tradition
Sound knowledge of religion as a foundation for dialogue
Does not compare religions
Inter-religious Education & Engagement
How do we educate within our communities of faith so that people can engage with religious diversity and with the religious other?
Litmus Test
Religious literacy
Firm foundation in Catholic Christianity
Introduces students to major world religions
Foundation for inter-religious relations in religiously diverse world
New RE Curriculum P-12