Derrida's Postmodern Thought and Religious Education

Abstract

Today the learners breathe in the atmosphere of postmodern thoughts. In this sense it is meaningful to deal with a postmodern thinker’s philosophy more closely. This work contributes to understand the learners’ intellectual environment deeply in the current postmodern society. Through this, educators can find the way to enrich learners’ epistemological and existential soil and can do this more appropriate way. In particular, Jacques Derrida's thoughts on deconstruction and <i>différance </i>offer profound insights for religious education in the postmodern era. In addition, his understanding of gift, forgiveness, and hospitality enriches the content of religious education and invites teachers and learners to a more responsible life, in that, for Derrida, responsibility connotes response ability. In this paper, I explore Derrida's thoughts on deconstruction, <i>différance</i>, gift, forgiveness, and hospitality. After investigating Derrida's thoughts, I present a framework for imagination-centered religious education that bridges between Derrida's thoughts and religious education. Here I propose three forms of imagination as the outline of imagination-centered religious education: constructive, empathetic, and visionary imagination. Finally, I revisit Derrida's thoughts from the perspective of the three imaginations and bring them into dialogue with one another. Through this I seek to enrich both Derrida's thoughts and religious education and to elicit helpful implications for religious education. The methods of this paper mostly rely on books and theses around the main issues. I hope that this study contributes to the nurturing of the next generation in the contemporary postmodern, globalizing, fourth industrial, and new normal era.