In this chapter, the authors focus on textbooks’ portrayal of religions and worldviews and their thinking and practice regarding environmental, climate and sustainability issues. Tomren shows how religious institutions work with environmental problems and climate change and analyzes how textbooks designed for religious education in the Norwegian school system address this commitment. His method thus falls under what is referred to as ideological textbook analysis. None of the analyzed books contain texts that explain how various religious institutions are involved in environmental work. The analysis also shows that textbooks for religious education do not place much priority on environment and climate ethics. Another finding is that environmental ethics is detached from the general descriptions of world religions in these books. Tomren argues that the new curricula for Norwegian schools (which will be introduced in 2020–2021), with an emphasis on sustainability education and existence-oriented instruction, requires an upgrade of material that shows how climate and environmental commitment is rooted in reflection and practice in world religions today. Tomren suggests that by taking these steps, the school system can provide a more truthful presentation of religion than they do in existing textbooks and that this can contribute to improved and more relevant environmental education.
In this article, the author analyzes environmental pedagogy in the Norwegian curricula for environmental and sustainability education from 1997 to 2020. The author investigates how climate-striking youth evaluate the outgoing curricula through a survey in which 88 respondents participated. The survey reveals that young climate activists demand a more action-oriented education that emphasizes political change. The author discusses the findings against the background of radical eco-pedagogy and the works of Richard Kahn, Chet Bower, and David Orr and concludes that the youth striking against climate change is practicing the curriculum they are asking for and that schools should welcome the strikes.
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