This is a qualitative interview study that looks into teacher’s conceptualization of existential questions and their experiences with working with such questions in religious studies at upper secondary school. Previous research indicates that existential questions are often left behind in religious studies and that teachers feel unsecure when working with such questions in the classroom. Also, the term “existential questions” is not easily defined regarding meaning and scope and can therefore be understood in a variety of different ways. The purpose of this study has therefore been to investigate upper-secondary school teachers’ conception of what an existential question could be, what their experiences are with working with them in their teaching, and what they consider to be ideal when teaching about existential questions. Seven upper-secondary school teachers, currently teaching religious studies in the regions of Jönköping and Västra Götaland, have been interviewed from an inductive and explorative approach. The results of the study indicate that teacher’s conceptualization of existential questions differ significantly, and that teachers also have vastly different experiences regarding their student’s desire and capacity for conducting conversations about existential questions. The result also indicates that there exists a number of explanations as to why upper-secondary school teachers find it problematic to work with existential questions in their teaching. These include, among others, a lack of time, a polarized conversational climate in society, where questions without simple answers are avoided, ideological oppositions in the classroom and a lacking amount of background knowledge among students. What teachers seem to long for the most in their teaching of existential questions is a greater amount of time, cross-disciplinary cooperation and authentical encounters that could make even the big questions in life feel more relatable and less estranged by students. / Detta arbete grundar sig i en kvalitativ intervjustudie som genomförts för att undersöka lärares förståelse och erfarenheter av existentiella frågor inom religionskunskapsundervisningen. Tidigare forskning indikerar att existentiella frågor ofta bortprioriteras i undervisningen och att lärare känner sig osäkra inför att arbeta med sådana frågor i klassrummet. Begreppet ”existentiella frågor” är inte heller helt enkelt att definiera, varken gällande mening eller omfattning och kan därför förstås på olika sätt. Syftet med denna studie har därför varit att undersöka gymnasielärares förståelse av vad existentiella frågor kan vara, vad de har för erfarenheter av att arbeta med dem i sin undervisning, samt hur deras idealbild för undervisningen kring existentiella frågor ser ut. Sju gymnasielärare som idag undervisar i religionskunskap i Jönköpings- och Västra Götalandsregionen har intervjuats utifrån en induktiv, utforskande och explorativ ansats. Studiens resultat indikerar att lärares förståelse av vad existentiella frågor är, skiljer sig markant åt och att lärare även har vitt skilda upplevelser av sina elevers vilja och kapacitet för att föra samtal kring existentiella frågor. Resultatet indikerar även att förekommer ett flertal förklaringar till varför gymnasielärare finner det problematiskt att arbeta med existentiella frågor i undervisningen. Dessa inkluderar bland andra tidsbrist, ett alltmer polariserat samtalsklimat där frågor utan givna svar inte ryms, ideologiska motsättningar i klassrummet och en bristande förkunskapsnivå hos elever. Det lärarna främst tycks önska i undervisningen kring existentiella frågor är mer tid, ämnesöverskridande samarbeten och autentiska möten som kan göra även de stora frågorna mer relaterbara och mindre främmande för eleverna.

The study aims to investigate the correlation between teacher’s didactical choices and the student’s interpretation of religious studies that focuses on Islam. The data consists of two surveys answered by both teachers and students. In total, 22 teachers participated in the survey, and 55 students. Both the teachers and the students answered questions regarding the choice of material and the choices made by the teachers both in- and outside the classroom. The analytical framework applied to the data was norm critique and intercultural religious literacy. The results indicate that there is a partial symbiotic relationship between the teachers and the students  regarding the educational point of view. However, there is some dissonance between what some of the students’ experiences and the teachers’ intent. The teachers apply a norm critical approach to their education to some extent, but very little of the intercultural  religious literacy.

Hur kan lärare på bästa sätt möta elever med religiös positionering i religionskunskapsklassrummet?  Hur kan undervisningen utformas för att ge religiösa traditioner en framställning som elever med religiös positionering kan acceptera, relatera till och kanske också lära nytt av? Den här religionsdidaktiska studien handlar om hur elever som positionerar sig inom muslimsk, kristen, buddhistisk och judisk tradition talar om skolans religionskunskapsundervisning. Studien berör tre teman. För det första undersöks mötet mellan undervisningsinnehåll och elevernas erfarenheter av sin egen religiösa tradition och tro. För det andra riktas uppmärksamheten mot hur eleverna talar om sina erfarenheter av att vara eller att förväntas vara representant för sin egen tradition i undervisningen. Ett tredje tema handlar om hur eleverna beskriver ramar och förutsättningar för religionskunskapsundervisningen. Intervjumaterialet har analyserats med hjälp av kritisk diskursanalys. Resultaten visar bland annat att eleverna har svårt att känna igen och relatera till sin egen tradition i undervisningen. De befarar att undervisningen snarare förstärker än dekonstruerar stereotypa föreställningar om religion och religiöst liv. / This study focuses on the encounter between students who postition themselves within a religious tradition and the Swedish school system´s mandatory, integrative and non-confessional subject Religious Education. The aim of the study is to show how students who position themselves within a religious tradition speak about the school's religious education. The interest is directed towards three themes. Firstly, the encounter between teaching content and the students experiences of their own religious tradition and faith. A second theme deals with the issue of being representatives of their own tradition in the classroom. A third theme addresses how the students describe the framework and conditions for religious education. The empirical material consists of twenty-one group- and individual interviews with students ages 16-19 from Muslim, Jewish, Christian and Buddhist traditions. Social constructionist theory provides the basis and critical discourse analysis is used as theoretical and analytical approach. The results show that all the students in the study find it difficult to recognise and relate to their own tradition in the framework of religious education. According to the students, religious traditions are presented in a shallow, stereotypical and fact-oriented manner with a focus on history, strict rules and obedience. Another finding is summarised in the discourse "religious positioning as an independent choice". These articulations are understood as a resistance discourse. It seems necessary for the students to challenge what they perceive as dominant discourses of religion and religious life, as expressed in the religious education classroom, in school and in society. For some students, representing their own tradition in the classroom, is discribed as a selfimposed position allowing them to defend and give a more nuanced picture of their own tradition. Most students, however, describe the position of being a faith representative in the classroom as assigned and undesirable. Within the discourse "the neutral religious education", teaching is described as tightly regulated by the requirements of neutrality, objectivity and fairness. In the light of students' talk about other school subjects (NO and Philosophy), it is possible to understand ”the neutral religious education” as part of a wider secular, possibly secularist discourse, where the school fosters critical thinking and imposes a strict scientific worldview, where religion and religious beliefs are dismissed, ridiculed and denied. Although the students criticise the teaching, they value the subject´s potential of contributing to tolerance and mutual understanding. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the teachers didactical choices, the classroom practice and the aims of Religious Education.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka hur nyanlända elever ser på religion utifrån två teman. Det första behandlar hur dessa elever positionerar sig till religiösa traditioner, samt på vilka sätt dessa positioner kan ha förändrats i diaspora. Det andra temat behandlar hur de nyanlända eleverna upplever religionskunskapsundervisningen i Sverige. Studiens resultat är baserat på kvalitativa intervjuer med sex nyanlända elever och deras lärare i religionskunskap. Intervjuerna har analyserats utifrån kritisk diskursanalys och ett postkolonialt perspektiv. Studiens resultat på det första temat visar hur de flesta av eleverna inte ser sig som religiösa, utan benämner sig som troende, och deras religionsutövning präglas av en stor variation. Av de sex eleverna kommer fem från en muslimsk bakgrund, och hos flera av de fem finns ett språk som tyder på stereotypisering av muslimer. Samtliga muslimska elever beskriver en förändring av tro och minskad praktik som ett led av att befinna sig i diaspora. Resultatet av det andra temat visar hur elevernas upplevelser av religionskunskapsundervisningen i Sverige generellt sett är positiv, men en elev har en negativ bild av undervisningen och menar att undervisningen leder till ateism. Undervisningen och läromedel upplevs som bra eller neutrala på att skildra islam, vilket inte stämmer överens med tidigare forskning, samtidigt som några av de muslimska eleverna anmärker på felaktigheter. / The aim of this study is to explore how recently immigrated pupils perceive religion based on two themes. The first theme deals with how these students position themselves in regard to religious traditions, and how these positions might have changed in the diaspora. The second theme deals with how the pupils experience Religious Education (RE) in Sweden. The results are based on semi-structured interviews with six recently immigrated pupils and their RE teacher. Critical discourse analysis and postcolonialism are used as theoretical and analytical approaches. The findings on the first theme indicate that most of the pupils do not see themselves as religious, and instead refer to themselves as believers, and their religious practice is characterised by a large variation. Five of the six pupils come from a muslim background, and the language these pupils use show signs of stereotyping muslims. All the muslim pupils describe a change in belief and a decrease in practice as a result of being in diaspora. The findings on the second theme indicate that the pupils generally have a positive experience of their RE in Sweden. One pupil had a negative view of the education, which was seen as a leading factor in becoming an atheist. The teaching and study materials used in the classroom were perceived as good or neutral in their depiction of islam, which does not match the findings of previous research, although some of the muslim pupils remarked on a few inaccuracies.