Human Security and Citizenship in Finnish Religious Education: Rethinking Security Within the Human Rights Horizon

Abstract

This paper discusses citizenship in Finnish religious education (RE) in relation to human security. It traces the characteristics of human security that connect citizenship, religion, and education in Finnish policy documents. The article focuses on basic education (grades 7-9). Its data were analyzed employing qualitative content analysis (QCA). The findings indicate that citizenship in Finnish RE entails personal security concerns dealing with psychological and human rights issues. These are found to be essentially human security as conceptualized by the United Nations (UN). However, Finnish policy documents sparingly utilize human security in explicit terms. Finland rather emphasizes the practical applications of human security. Incorporation of explicit global citizen and human rights issues into RE in the new Finnish curriculum seems to project critical global citizenship. This is found to promote human security. Following Finland's bid for practical application of human security, we recommend (but cautiously) that human security be explicitly integrated into the Finnish RE curriculum.

In Search of Maximal Citizenship in Educational Policy for Young People: Analysing Citizenship in Finnish Religious Education in View of the “Maximal” Conception

“…Unlike Poulter's studies, Adebayo and Mansikka (2018) seem to have treated some specific thematic content of the national core curricula and of the other selected policy documents relating to citizenship in Finnish RE. However, their analysis (like that of Poulter) was of qualitative content analysis (QCA) and realist assumptions.…”

“…The notion of citizenship education is hardly separable from religious beliefs. Citizenship and religious education (RE) remain inseparable because religion has impacted, is impacting and will continue to influence the behaviour of private citizens and the policies and laws of many non-Western and Western countries, including Finland (Adebayo and Mansikka 2018;Fouts and Lee 2005). The impact of religion on private citizens and the State could be seen in their behaviour and attitudes towards non-secularization, secularization and post-secularization in the spheres of private and institutional religion (Poulter 2017).…”

“…Although citizenship education has been treated in many studies in Finland (e.g., Piattoeva 2009, 2010aTorney-Purta 2002), little concern is being given to the relationship between citizenship and Finnish RE. Besides Poulter (2013Poulter ( , 2017 and Adebayo and Mansikka (2018), one hardly finds any studies that specifically deal with citizenship in Finnish RE, let alone maximal citizenship in Finnish RE; hence, this inquiry.…”

“…Moreover, Poulter (2017) never claimed to have employed critical realism. Adebayo and Mansikka (2018) examined the security concerns relating to citizenship in Finnish RE. Their study employed some education-cum-security policy documents of Finland in relation to some selected United Nations (UN) policy documents.…”

“…Following Adebayo and Mansikka (2018), Finland seeks to address the security concerns by: (a) allowing the individual pupil (both Finn and immigrant) to receive RE and citizenship in RE in his or her own religion so as to allay fear relating to assimilation and loss of religious and cultural identity and heritage; (b) enabling Finns and immigrants to mutually learn and understand each other's cultures and religions with a view to enhancing good ethnic relations; (c) incorporating global citizenship, human rights, and "critical thinking" ideas into its new RE curriculum with a view to making young people critical consumers of information. This aims at preventing them from being radicalised through extremist ideologies and religious fundamentalism.…”