Beyond the Bullet Points: Teaching the Bible in Norwegian Upper Secondary Religious Education

Abstract

This qualitative study examines semi-structured interviews with four Norwegian teachers to explore how they teach biblical texts in upper secondary religious education (RE). The theoretical framework combines one model from biblical hermeneutics with one from RE. The former differentiates between the worlds behind, in, and in front of the biblical text, the latter between the universal, common religious, and religion-specific dimensions of religious narratives. Chief findings: All teachers utilize examples from the reception history of the biblical texts; they thus extend Ricoeur's notion of the world in front of the text. The common religious aspects of biblical texts are mostly overlooked.

Arbeid med religiøse skrifter i mangfoldige klasserom. En undersøkelse av religions­didaktiske innføringsbøker

“…[6] Prismet forskning linger (se for eksempel Hartvigsen, 2020;Hartvigsen & Tørresen, 2020;Kjørven, 2016). Laerebokanalyser har vist at elevene i norsk skole vil møte flest tekstutdrag fra kristen og jødisk skrifttradisjon (Vestøl, 2014, s. 95).…”

Teaching about the Qur’ān in public schools in Norway

“…Previous research on religious scriptures in the Norwegian classroom has focused on how teachers and pupils interpret and use these texts, emphasizing the Bible (Hartvigsen and Tørresen 2020;Kjørven 2016). However, recent contributions have provided new insights into the discussion of what pupils learn about religious scriptures and why they learn these things.…”