This study investigates current teaching practice of the classroom religion program in two preschool settings in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. It also examines the approach to, and construction of, religious education in key Church and Brisbane Archdiocesan documents. Since the first Catholic school opened in Australia in 1820, research and scholarship have elucidated deeper understandings of the nature and purpose of religious education. Over time, a variety of approaches and curriculum models for the classroom religion program have been implemented in both primary and secondary schools. Broadly speaking there are two approaches to the Catholic primary school classroom religion program: educational and catechetical. The educational approach does not presume students' faith, and aims to develop students' religious literacy. The catechetical presumes student faith and aims to develop it. Currently, the Brisbane Catholic Education Religious Education Guidelines (Barry & Brennan, 1997a, 1997b; Barry et al., 2003) adopts an educational approach to the classroom religion program. However, while the approach to religious education in Catholic primary and secondary schools has received scholarly and professional attention over the years, the nature and purpose of religious education in early childhood education in the context of the Catholic preschool, have received minimal attention. Although the first preschools in Catholic schools in the Brisbane Archdiocese opened in 1988, there is no set curriculum for the classroom religion program for the preschool sector. However, Brisbane Catholic Education is presently preparing such a document in preparation for the introduction of the preparatory year of schooling into all Archdiocesan Catholic schools in 2007. The specific focus of the study is to use teachers' talk-in-interaction with their students during classroom religion lessons, as a means to exemplify their approaches to, and constructions of, their classroom religion programs. Underpinned by an Ethnomethodological methodology, the study gathered data in the form of lesson recordings from two preschool teachers. The lesson transcripts are analysed using the ethnomethodological analytic tools of Conversation Analysis and Membership Categorisation Analysis. These analyses reveal deep insights into teachers' practices: the nature of the content they present, their approaches to, and constructions of, their religion programs, as well as the ways in which they construct their students. In addition to classroom practice, this study also investigates relevant sections of the key Church documents The Religious Dimension of Education in a Catholic School (Congregation for Catholic Education, 1988) and the General Directory of Catechesis (Congregation for the Clergy, 1997), as well as the Archdiocese of Brisbane Catholic Education document, 'Religious Education in Preschools', which is part of the Preschool Handbook: Towards Continuity of Learning in the Early Years (Catholic Education Archdiocese of Brisbane, 2002b). Together with the Ethnomethodological methodology, this part of the investigation adopts a functional linguistic methodology using the analytic technique, Systemic Functional Linguistics. Both Systemic Functional Linguistics and Membership Categorisation Analysis are used to explicate these documents. The two Church documents are critical documents, as they contribute to curriculum development and implementation of the classroom religion program in all Australian Catholic schools, whilst the Brisbane document outlines the current policy for religious education in Catholic preschools in the Archdiocese. These analyses elucidate key insights into how the classroom religion program is approached, and reveal that whilst the Church documents maintain an educational approach, aspects of the documents are ambiguous. Analysis of the Brisbane Archdiocesan preschool document reveal it to be at variance with the current educational approach taken by the Archdiocese in its classroom religion curriculum for primary and secondary schools. This study contributes significantly to the nature and purpose of religious education in the early years. It has implications for the theory and practice of the classroom religion program in early childhood, and for preservice and inservice teacher education programs. It also contributes to policy design that guides and shapes curriculum development and implementation. The use of analytic techniques drawn from two different methodologies, Ethnomethodology and functional linguistics, enables a detailed and in-depth analysis, showing them to be effective techniques to be used together in research. These methodologies complement each other to reveal critical insights into both the document studies and teacher classroom interaction. The nature and purpose of religious education in early childhood education is evolving. As Catholic dioceses continue to expand into early childhood education, the focus on religious education in this sector becomes more critical. This study provides a significant foundation for future research.

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臺灣目前共有七家宗教頻道，而慈濟所屬的大愛電視，自1998年成立後，透過衛星播出，遍及全球，現已成為全球華人世界第二大電視臺（僅次於大陸中央電視臺）。不過到底是宗教臺？或是公益頻道？證嚴法師言明大愛電視不是以宗教立場為出發點的電視媒體經營。因為在她的解讀中，每個人都須要有宗教的依靠；「宗」是生活的宗旨，「教」是生活的教育。慈濟號稱有五百萬以上的會員，志業範圍遍及全世界近50個國家，其組織與義工型態發展，點點滴滴都在累積社會信任的資本。 大愛電視有四套關於證嚴法師的節目，本研究以即時性最強，且兼具紀實教育功能的《人間菩提》節目收視作為研究對象；運用接收分析理論，採取質化方法研究，先抽選《人間菩提》兩集主題進行分析；接著以深度訪談方式，訪問八位觀眾。這些觀眾對慈濟事務，有高涉入和低涉入的差異；觀看節目也有高收視和低收視之不同，藉以瞭解不同背景的觀眾如何透過《人間菩提》這樣的節目，去建構日常生活中對社會真實的解讀與詮釋；並瞭解當觀看《人間菩提》節目，出現感動反應後，如何產生收視之後續行動。 本研究發現，《人間菩提》節目對觀眾而言，確實具有其宗教價值與行善助人雙重元素，但不會讓觀眾認為它是傳統印象中的宗教節目，反倒能連結至受眾個人的情感與生活體驗，帶動出一股慈善力量的動能。 / In Taiwan, there are seven local religious channels, DaAi TV is owned by the Tzuchi Foundation. DaAi TV was established in 1998. Through satellite broadcasting, it has already become the second largest television station among the global Chinese population. (next to the Central Committee Television in the mainland China). The Tzu Chi Foundation is a volunteer-based, nonprofit, spiritual and welfare organization that was founded in 1966 by Dharma Master Cheng Yen. For over 40 years, the Foundation has been contributing to improved social and community services, medical care, education, and humanism in Taiwan. Tzu Chi is an international organization with over 5 million supporters. Today, Master Cheng Yen's influence on the world is revealed through inspiring stories. There are four different programs about Master Cheng Yen on DaAi TV. The change Cheng Yen attempts to initiate in society begins with the individual. Among the four programs, the content of “Life Wisdom" is the most direct. Master Cheng Yen provides “living wisdom" daily for 12 minutes. The wisdom is a record of actual events and it is updated daily. This research adopts reception analysis, thorough interviews to understand how the audience watches this type of religious program. Further, it studies the manner in which the audience interprets the content and applies it in their daily lives, in order to construct a perspective of the real world. The present research also examines the reactions of the audience upon watching the program and the manner in which the act of watching Life Wisdom influences the larger community to work toward the betterment of society.