Human rights in relation to education about religions and world views: the contribution of the Council of Europe to classroom religious education

Abstract

The article considers human rights and their relevance to an impartial and inclusive form of religious and world views education. Such a form of education is justified because of its intrinsic worth as part of a liberal education, and its instrumental value to the personal development of students and to their social development as members of societies in which people need to live together, despite holding different religious and secular beliefs. It is argued that the human rights codes are especially relevant to the argument for inclusive religious education related to the social development of young people. The Council of Europe's work in this field since 2002 is summarised, including its publication of Signposts (Jackson in Signposts: policy and practice for teaching about religions and non-religious world views in intercultural education, Council of Europe Publishing, Strasbourg, http:// www.theew c.org/Conte nt/Libra ry/COE-Steer ing-docum ents/Recom menda tions /Signp osts-Polic y-and-pract ice-for-teach ing-about-relig ions-and-non-relig ious-world-views-in-inter cultu ral-educa tion, 2014). Its impartial (secular but not normatively secularist) approach sees the human rights codes as vital reference points for discussions about the limits of individual freedoms, including 'freedom of religion or belief', supports forms of 'education about religions and beliefs' which combine impartial study with opportunities for student dialogue and exchange, and regards such education as complementary to forms of faith nurture within families and communities.

Human rights education—a republican perspective

“…Corresponding with the ethical ambition of human rights education to persuade people to engage in the realisation of human rights, I would argue that philosophy and a nonconfessional religious education play an important part (Jackson, 2018). It is beyond the scope of this article to spell out and discuss didactic operationalisations in detail.…”

Pemenuhan Hak Belajar Pendidikan Agama bagi Anak oleh Orangtua Tunggal

“…Oleh karena itu perlu memberikan pendidikan agama sejak anak masih kecil sehingga nantinya diharapkan anak dapat tumbuh dan berkembang menjadi pribadi yang taat beragama dan bermanfaat bagi bangsa dan negara. Pendidikan agama ini merupakan bagian dari hak anak yang harus dipenuhi (Jackson, 2018).…”

Human rights education as a framework for transmitting religion as cultural heritage

“…With reference to migration-related religious diversity this position argues for a monoculturalism where a stable community depends on shared values (Iversen, 2014;Erdal & Strømsø, 2018), often considering these values to be founded on Christianity. Some national conservatives even advocate withdrawing from certain human rights conventions, seeing such international obligations as a threat to national sovereignty (Jackson, 2018;Christoffersen, 2016).…”

“…Recent research reveals how human rights education (HRE) can contribute to an impartial and inclusive RE (Zembylas, 2014;Jackson, 2018;Andreassen, 2013). To contribute to this discussion, this article illuminates some of the human rights challenges related to the state's reproduction of specific religio-cultural traditions and norms in a pluralistic and democratic society by analysing how national narratives are integrated into RE in Denmark.…”