Swedish religion education: Objective but Marinated in Lutheran Protestantism?

Abstract

In this article, I use the experience of a Czech doctoral student to discuss why religion education in Sweden can be understood as both deeply Lutheran and at the same time neutral and objective. In doing this, I look at the present syllabus in religion education, point to some of the changes that have been made in relation to the previous syllabus, and highlight some of the controversies that arose when it was written in 2010. I also put Swedish religion education and Swedish educational system in a historical context, pointing to its relation to liberal theology and cultural Protestantism. In addition, I present how teacher education is organized for religion education teachers and how the academic Study of Religions has been an important part of this during recent decades. At the end of the article I reflect upon the protestant taste of Sweden’s ‘non-denominational and neutral’ religion education.

A lot is at stake: On the possibilities for religion-related dialog in a school in Sweden

“…As already indicated, the term religion education is used in this article rather than religious education, because of the Swedish school subject's nondenominational nature and a study of religions approach. 20 In contrast, "religious education" sometimes refers to confessional RE teaching, which is not found in Swedish schools.…”

Religion and Education: Framing and Mapping a Field

“…Majority society is, in one way or another, "marinated" in the majority religion. Hence, certain religious values and narratives are transmitted through state institutions, traditions, cultural expressions, and so on-although formal education is also necessary for long-term survival (Berglund 2013). For minorities, on the other hand, the opportunity to teach their religion to future generations is far more urgent: if not somehow conveyed to the young, the religion will eventually disappear.…”

“…This notwithstanding, working comparatively across national borders can enable the accumulation of a vast amount of empirical data that will advance our understanding of religious education as well as its relation to important educational and societal elements on both a national and an international level. Comparative studies, for example, open numerous possibilities for countries to learn from each other's approach to religious education through the exchange of empirical data and knowledge on matters such as teaching methods, the organization and aims of religious education, the content of religious education textbooks, the comparative experiences of teachers and students operating under different approaches, the effects of religious education on value and citizenship development, and so forth; such studies also can bring to light certain peculiarities of a given country's approach to religious education when that approach is juxtaposed with the approach of other countries (Berglund 2013;Niemi 2016). Today many European countries face common challenges when it comes to organising religious education in secular schools, securing the rights of minority students in the face of increasing xenophobia, counteracting manifestations of extremism in school, and so on.…”

Negotiations on Inclusive Citizenship in a Post-secular School: Perspectives of “Cultural Broker” Muslim Parents and Teachers in Finland and Sweden

“…In both countries strong ideals of ideological neutrality in education exist, while the mediation of fundamental national values based on liberal Protestant secularism often emerges as a central educational aim. (Berglund, 2013;Rissanen, Kuusisto, & Tirri, 2015). It has been argued that, particularly in Sweden, positions and principles that are claimed to be secular are often in reality atheisticnon-religious views tend to be regarded as "normal" or "neutral", while religious positions are seen to be in contradiction to modern, rational and independent thinking.…”