Integrative RE in Flanders: a decade later

Franken, Leni; Loobuyck, Patrick

doi:10.1080/01416200.2020.1769555

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the Flemish Community in Belgium for instance, there has been a discussion for more than a decade (cf. Franken & Loobuyck, 2021) about a proposed school subject, focusing on religious studies, ethics, philosophy and citizenship (LEF -Levensbeschouwing -ethiek -filosofie). According to antagonists of this (thus far non-existing) school subject, such a non-denominational, neutral subject would be problematic because "neutrality is a dangerous ideology" (Torfs, Pollefeyt & Lamberigts, 2015) and is "in fact an anti-religious fundamentalism" .…”

Section: Religion Education Is Anti-religiousmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion Education and ‘weak’ Religious Education: Common Concerns

Franken

2023

RpB

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As a response to the increasing plurality of the student population, there have been several shifts in religious education over the past decades. After a brief sketch of these shifts, particular attention will be given to ‘weak’ religious education and to religion education. In order to do so, attention is amongst others given to the principle of neutrality and to several critiques on this concept. Subsequently, we will focus on several common concerns in religion education as well as in weak religious education: the need for religious literacy, the importance of (interreligious) dialogue, identity formation, and socialization. In order to comply with these concerns in different school types and in religion education as well as in (weak) religious education classes, the development of a common curriculum for religion and worldviews could be an interesting option. We will have a closer look at such a curriculum, which is at present in an advanced stage in the Netherlands, and which could inspire other nations as well.

show abstract

Section: Religion Education Is Anti-religiousmentioning

confidence: 99%

Religion Education and ‘weak’ Religious Education: Common Concerns

Franken

2023

RpB

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In terms of citizenship education this is a positive development, however, the organizers of religious education and non-confessional ethics did not advocate for official learning goals for citizenship education at all, because that could make their courses 17 Available at https://pro.g-o.be/blog/Documents/Toolkit%20MM.pdf (accessed 19-05-2020) superfluous. As such, their engagement with the interreligious competencies can also be understood as a rather defensive reaction to hinder the idea that Flanders needs a government initiative concerning dialogue and citizenship education (Franken & Loobuyck, 2020).…”

Section: Organizers Of Religious Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The policy shift towards citizenship education in Flanders. How can it be explained?

Loobuyck

2020

Journal of Curriculum Studies

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In 2018 the Flemish Government agreed to introduce citizenship education for all students in secondary schools. This is new, since Flanders does not have an elaborated tradition of citizenship education. After a presentation of the political genealogy and the content of the new educational goals, the article analyses which theoretical framework can be used to explain this policy shift in Flanders.Conventional theories such as 'interest groups' and 'rational choice' do not serve the purpose. We argue that the policy transformation can better be explained by a combination of both the 'path dependent explanation' and 'the paradigm creates politics approach'. While the paradigm shift has certainly played a big role, it does not offer the full explanation why Flanders formulated official learning goals for citizenship education. The path-way change has been initiated by a small reference in a parliamentary document to a European text in an early stage of the overall reform process of the educational goals in Flanders.

show abstract

The end of the opt-out era in Belgian governmental schools?

Franken

Lievens

2021

British Journal of Religious Education

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Belgian Constitution holds an obligation for governmental schools to organise RE in the recognised religions and in non-confessional ethics for all children of school age. While neither the Flemish nor the French Community legislator can thus abandon RE altogether, both legislators have recently taken initiatives, moving beyond the opt-out system, towards an opt-in system and a partial withdrawal of RE in governmental schools. After a brief description of the Belgian RE system and its historical roots, we scrutinise these evolutions. Although the Constitution does offer some room for manoeuvring, not everything goes: ending the possibility for students in governmental schools to opt for RE in any of the recognised religions or in non-denominational ethics altogether would, for instance, not be allowed. This is different from the perspective of human rights instruments such as the ECtHR, which permits, but does not require governmental schools to organise moral or religious education. Following the margin of appreciation doctrine of the ECtHR, the ECHR does not pose strict limits on governmental possibilities. It remains, however, to be seen whether the Flemish and French Community will manage to stay in line with the stricter regime of the Belgian Constitution.

show abstract

Integrative RE in Flanders: a decade later

Cited by 6 publications

References 15 publications

Religion Education and ‘weak’ Religious Education: Common Concerns

Religion Education and ‘weak’ Religious Education: Common Concerns

The policy shift towards citizenship education in Flanders. How can it be explained?

The end of the opt-out era in Belgian governmental schools?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About