RE in Denmark – Political and Professional Discourses and Debates, Past and Present

Abstract

Religion education (RE) in the public school in Denmark, as in many countries, is often subject to political, public and professional debate, relating not only to different ideas about RE’s potential contribution to Allgemeinbildung, religious and/or moral formation and citizenship education, but also to reactions or responses to what is perceived as challenges posed by supranational processes such as globalization, individualization, and migration, including a new and growing Muslim presence. Based on an academic Study of Religions approach, defined in contrast to confessional RE, the article outlines relevant political processes and political, public and professional debates on RE, and analyzes the way they have set their mark in past and present Danish education legislation, national curricula and guidelines issued by the state for RE and for the training of RE teachers. Whereas a study-of-religions approach has long been seen as a ‘natural’ framework for RE in the upper-secondary school, RE in the compulsory school (as well as in teacher education for these schools) has traditionally been linked to theology, and is often seen as an instrument in political and ideological efforts to promote and secure a social and national-cultural identity, an identity defined with reference to the majority religion. RE is thus thrust into a key role in on-going ‘culture wars’.

A study-of-Religion(s)-Based Religion Education: Skills, Knowledge, and Aims

“…One of the tenets of the kind of RE propagated by the named scholars is that the school subject should not have different kinds of explicit political, existential or moral extra-academic aims. They find it problematic that RE should contribute directly to political-social aims, such as citizenship education, and thus be used as a key instrument in identity politics and 'culture wars' , not least because that often implies that the majority religion (a variant of Christianity) is given a special status in the subject and in the general education and formation (German: Allgemeinbildung) of the pupils (Alberts, 2007;Andreassen, 2014;Berglund, 2013;Jensen, 2015;Jensen & Kjeldsen, 2013;Kjeldsen, 2016). Tim Jensen, for one, has argued that, although there may be positive political and social side effects of RE, this should not constitute the primary justification for RE, and that RE ought to be relevant in all contexts, including future contexts, where the present problems and challenges may be irrelevant or may have changed in unexpected ways (Jensen, 2008, p. 131).…”

“…They especially recommend didactic approaches focused on intercultural and/or interreligious dialogues, including different ideas on learning from religion (e.g., Jackson, 2008Jackson, , 2014Keast, 2007;Miedema, Schreiner, Skeie, & Jackson, 2004;Weisse, 2007). However, as research from different countries show, discourses on citizenship education and learning from religion are also linked to political and ideological efforts to use schools and RE as key instruments to transmit and (re)socialise the pupils into what is seen as the traditional cultural and religious norms and values (Jensen, 2013;Jensen & Kjeldsen, 2013;Jödicke, 2013). Based on their research on RE, scholars of the study of religions including Tim Jensen, Wanda Alberts, Bengt-Ove Andreassen, Jenny Berglund,Katharina Frank,and Christoph Bochinger,3 have criticised several aspects of these approaches and the ways in which RE is implemented in many if not most European countries.…”

‘Knowledge about Religions’ and Analytical Skills in Religious Education: Reflections from a Norwegian Context

“…These tendencies are also present in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Sweden and Norway; Finland is an exception) (cf. Andreassen, 2013;Berglund, 2013;Husebø, 2014;Jensen & Kjeldsen, 2013). In these three countries, the RE subject in school is considered or intended to be non-confessional.…”

European Religious Education in Models and Approaches

“…For instance, Danish RE at upper-secondary school is totally non-confessional and it is taught from religious studies approach. While RE of folkeskole (which comprises primary and secondary school) still retains some signifi cant confessional traits such as the privilege of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Denmark (Folkekirken) of a confi rmation year at 7 th or 8 th grade (age [13][14] when there is no regular RE and most pupils attend an out-of-school confi rmation programme led by a local Lutheran minister [22].…”