This study explores the role of education as means of creation and maintenance of religious hegemony in Iran and Turkey. In the context of this study, state-sponsored systems of mass education aim to socialize generations of children into accepting the ideology and values of the dominant groups as the normal state of affairs. Hegemony, thus, is advanced not solely by excluding oppositional forces but by moral leadership throughout the total ideological and socio-political structure. Reviewing the notion of education in Islam and the role of the Quran and Sunna and other sources of knowledge in Islam, the study focuses on the impact of Shari'a in forming the theories of state and education in Islam. Representing two different schools of Muslim thought, Iran and Turkey have different interpretations of the state and its role in education which determines the degree of involvement and extent of authority of the political and religious leaders over education. Unity of Islam and the state in the Iranian theocratic system provides an ideologically-laden education which is rooted in one principle: training a new generation of pious, “ideologically committed Muslims”. However, the endeavors of the Turkish secular state have been focused on establishing a mass popularized secular education in order to produce nationalist citizens. The Iranian revolution of 1979 contributed extensively to the awakening of the religious revival, calling for a shift from a Western model of social order to the one deeply rooted in Islamic beliefs and values. The close link between education and ideology in Iran is apparent from the goals set for educating the young, most of them openly political: acceptance of God's absolute authority manifested through the authority of ulama; support for the political, economic, and cultural unity of all Islamic global community (umma) and for oppressed peoples (mustaz’afin); rejection of every form of oppression, suffering, and domination. The four ideological pillars of the Islamic Republic, inseparability of religion and politics, Islamic revival, cultural revolution, and creation of a committed Muslim, have had a direct impact on Iranian education. The “Unity of Education Act” in the Republic of Turkey placed all educational activities under strict government control by introducing a state monopoly on education. Kemalism is based on an emphasis on national and republican principles and secularism in which religion has no place and is left out of the scope of formal education. Hence, the transmission of religious knowledge from one generation to another was only possible through informal channels such as family, the small community or underground activities of religious orders. Islam, however, gradually penetrated the public life in Turkey and challenged the secularism. The goal of the Turkish national education as to unite the entire nation through a national consciousness, to think along scientific lines, and intellectually as well as worldly, leaves no place for Islamic religious education. In spite of the government's emphasis on a secular and nationalist system, Islam remains as a force, particularly in its capacity to utilize new elements required for a modern society. Although Islam has not yet challenged the supremacy of secular education in Turkey, it expanded its influence both in formal and informal education, content and structure.

The aim of this study was to quantitatively measure refutation text's power for conceptual change while qualitatively discovering students' preference of refutation or expository text structures. This study also sought to examine if religious interest levels predict conceptual change. Participants for this study were 9th, 10th-, 11th-, and 12th-grade seminary students from the private religious educational system of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). The study was conducted in two sessions. Session 1 involved pretesting, interventions, and posttesting. Session 2 involved delayed posttesting and participant interviews. Results were predominately measured quantitatively with some qualitative interview analysis added to enrich the study. This research study provides insight into the refutation text effects in LDS religious education. Results of the study showed significant differences in conceptual change between participants reading refutation texts and those reading expository texts. In every case, the refutation text group performed higher on posttests than did the expository group. Results also showed participant preference toward refutation text structures. Furthermore, the study found significant correlations that verify topic interest as a possible predictor of conceptual change. Insights are valuable in aiding curriculum developers in implementing effective ways to teach doctrinal principles by utilizing refutation text interventions. The advantages of this research study add to educational research and identify areas for improvement and exploration in further research. This study of refutation text effects in religious education also broadens researchers' understanding of refutation text's power for conceptual change in subjects outside of K-12 science. Results of this study are of interest to researchers, teachers, curriculum writers, and LDS seminary teachers and administrators.

This study examines how English laypeople and clergy of lower ranks were taught the basic principles of Christian doctrine as articulated in the Apostles’ Creed and Articles of Faith. Chapter one addresses the theological and historical background. Over the course of the twelfth century, school-based theologians came to place an increasing emphasis on faith as a cognitive state while at the same time moral theologians sought to make sure that all Christians had a basic participation in the life of the Church. These trends led to an effort by the Church as an institution to make sure that all Christians had at least a basic understanding of the Christian religion. Chapter two examines how the episcopate carried out a drive to ensure this basic level of understanding through the venues of councils, synods, and deanery and archdeaconry meetings. In all three of these venues, the requirements of making sure the laity know the Creed and Articles of Faith were passed on to parochial clergy, and through these clergy to the laity. Chapter three concerns one particular aspect of presenting the basics of doctrine to the laity, viz., preaching. An examination of a sample of three works of religious instruction for clergy and three sets of model sermons shows how parochial clergy, Franciscans, and Dominicans preached the basics of Christian doctrine. The distribution of the manuscripts of these works shows a broad distribution among parochial clergy, Augustinian canons, and Franciscan and Dominican friars. Such a broad distribution suggests that the Augustinian canons may have been carrying out a good deal of pastoral care and catechetical instruction and that the ready access of preaching aids to clergy indicates that those with responsibility of preaching Christian doctrine to laypeople would have had resources available to do so. Chapter four concerns vernacular literature as a means of religious instruction. Most thirteenth-century literature of religious instruction was in Anglo-Norman, a language spoken and read by aristocrats, clergy, and the upwardly mobile. Three Anglo-Norman works, the Château d’amour by Robert Grosseteste, the Mirour de Seinte Eglyse by Edmund of Abingdon, and the Manuel des pechez by William of Waddington all contain the foundational Christian doctrines contained in the Articles of Faith. The manuscript distribution of all three show that they were owned by both clergy and laity, indicating that they served as teaching aids for clergy, and also that they served to provide laypeople who could afford copies of them with unmediated religious instruction. The broad conclusion of this thesis is that the available evidence shows that the basic principles of Christian doctrine were available both to the lower clergy who would preach and teach the Creed and Articles of Faith and also to the laity who would receive this preaching and instruction.

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of using the Aboriginal principles of “Respect,” “Reciprocity,” “Relationship,” and “Responsibility” (known as the “4 R’s”), Seventh Generation Stewardship, and an Aboriginal circle of giving and receiving, to teach Muslim students in one Islamic elementary school setting about environmental stewardship. The research tracked the thoughts and emotional connections of students as they undertook to establish the Aboriginal circle of giving and receiving, with plants they planted for their science unit. Through lessons and practices around the 4 R’s, the majority of students demonstrated an increased emotional attachment to the plants in their respective circles, which was documented in journals. While establishing these practices, the students expressed a heightened awareness of the various ways in which they may enhance the practice of environmental stewardship mandated in traditional Islamic texts.

This study investigates the challenges and opportunities of using the Aboriginal principles of “Respect,” “Reciprocity,” “Relationship,” and “Responsibility” (known as the “4 R’s”), Seventh Generation Stewardship, and an Aboriginal circle of giving and receiving, to teach Muslim students in one Islamic elementary school setting about environmental stewardship. The research tracked the thoughts and emotional connections of students as they undertook to establish the Aboriginal circle of giving and receiving, with plants they planted for their science unit. Through lessons and practices around the 4 R’s, the majority of students demonstrated an increased emotional attachment to the plants in their respective circles, which was documented in journals. While establishing these practices, the students expressed a heightened awareness of the various ways in which they may enhance the practice of environmental stewardship mandated in traditional Islamic texts.

The purpose of this dissertation is to identify the impact of moral emotions (sympathy and empathy) and religious education on individual behavior. This dissertation is divided into three main chapters. The first chapter examines the effect of sympathy and empathy on tax compliance. We run a series of experiments in which we employ methods such as priming, the Davis Empathic Concern scale, and questions about frequency of prosocial behaviors in the past year in order to promote and to identify empathy and sympathy in subjects. We observe the subjects’ decisions in a series of one-shot tax compliance game presented at once and with no immediate feedback. Our results suggest that the presence and/or the promotion of sympathy in most cases encourage tax compliance. The second chapter takes into consideration religious schooling as a way of helping the development of religiosity or morality on individuals. Our intent is to investigate the effect of religious education on charitable donations in adulthood. Our empirical analysis is based on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics dataset. Our estimation results indicate that there is a positive effect of religious education on donations to secular and religious organizations. The third chapter explores the hypothesis that sympathetic individuals are more likely to support income redistribution because they believe that the poor may benefit from this policy. We use data from the General Social Survey to estimate support for income distribution. Our results suggest that some measures of sympathy have a positive effect on support for redistribution. Across all three main chapters, we find that sympathy has mostly small and positive effects on the types of behavior examined in this dissertation, although we are not able to determine the impact of religious education on charitable donations. Despite the sometimes weak results of this research caused by the limitations of the available data and the complexity of the issues studied, we believe that the development of these moral emotions is likely to generate benefits to society.

This study examines how English laypeople and clergy of lower ranks were taught the basic principles of Christian doctrine as articulated in the Apostles’ Creed and Articles of Faith. Chapter one addresses the theological and historical background. Over the course of the twelfth century, school-based theologians came to place an increasing emphasis on faith as a cognitive state while at the same time moral theologians sought to make sure that all Christians had a basic participation in the life of the Church. These trends led to an effort by the Church as an institution to make sure that all Christians had at least a basic understanding of the Christian religion. Chapter two examines how the episcopate carried out a drive to ensure this basic level of understanding through the venues of councils, synods, and deanery and archdeaconry meetings. In all three of these venues, the requirements of making sure the laity know the Creed and Articles of Faith were passed on to parochial clergy, and through these clergy to the laity. Chapter three concerns one particular aspect of presenting the basics of doctrine to the laity, viz., preaching. An examination of a sample of three works of religious instruction for clergy and three sets of model sermons shows how parochial clergy, Franciscans, and Dominicans preached the basics of Christian doctrine. The distribution of the manuscripts of these works shows a broad distribution among parochial clergy, Augustinian canons, and Franciscan and Dominican friars. Such a broad distribution suggests that the Augustinian canons may have been carrying out a good deal of pastoral care and catechetical instruction and that the ready access of preaching aids to clergy indicates that those with responsibility of preaching Christian doctrine to laypeople would have had resources available to do so. Chapter four concerns vernacular literature as a means of religious instruction. Most thirteenth-century literature of religious instruction was in Anglo-Norman, a language spoken and read by aristocrats, clergy, and the upwardly mobile. Three Anglo-Norman works, the Château d’amour by Robert Grosseteste, the Mirour de Seinte Eglyse by Edmund of Abingdon, and the Manuel des pechez by William of Waddington all contain the foundational Christian doctrines contained in the Articles of Faith. The manuscript distribution of all three show that they were owned by both clergy and laity, indicating that they served as teaching aids for clergy, and also that they served to provide laypeople who could afford copies of them with unmediated religious instruction. The broad conclusion of this thesis is that the available evidence shows that the basic principles of Christian doctrine were available both to the lower clergy who would preach and teach the Creed and Articles of Faith and also to the laity who would receive this preaching and instruction.

The purpose of this thesis is to examine the activity of the Gulen community in the Central Asian republics through different perspectives with a focus on the activities in the educational realm. My main concern in this thesis is to find out what role Islam and Turkishness plays in the educational activities of the Gulen community in the region. Throughout the thesis first I focus on Fethullah Gulen as the leader of the community followed by an analysis of the community in general &ndash / its origin, framework, goals and educational activity in various parts of the world. Then I examine the educational activity of the community in each of the Central Asian republics. And finally I explore various approaches regarding the community&rsquo / s goals in Central Asia with a focus on the role that Islam and Turkishness play in such activities.

<p>SAMMANFATTNING</p><p>Ida Carlgren & Josefine Ferm</p><p>Pedagogiskt förhållningssätt till religiös mångfald</p><p>En jämförande studie mellan två skolor</p><p>Antal sidor: 31</p><p>Syftet med vårt arbete är att utifrån en definition av begreppet mångreligiöst undervisningsperspektiv undersöka förutsättningarna för en undervisning i skolämnet religion, som främjar både lärandet och utvecklingen av ett tolerant förhållningssätt hos eleverna.</p><p>Vi har valt att utgå från en huvudfrågeställning som är: Vilka problem uppfattar skolorna vid integration och hur arbetar de med dem? För att ringa in problemen utgår vi från följande frågeställningar: Vilka styrdokument ligger till grund för undervisningen i religion? Hur främjar religionsundervisningen tolerans och förståelse över de etniska och religiösa grupperna? Utifrån dessa områden formulerade vi sedan de frågor som vi använde vid intervjuerna.</p><p>Metoden vi använde oss av var öppenriktad intervju. Sedan vi analyserat intervjusvaren kom vi fram till resultatet. I vår undersökning sökte vi efter problem kopplade till religion i skolan, till vår förvåning uppfattade ingen av respondenterna några sådana i sin religionsundervisning. Vi har därför lyft fram de problem som vi uppfattade att skolorna hade, men som de inte själva såg, i vår diskussionsdel. För att sammanfatta vårt huvudsakliga resultat kom vi fram till slutsatsen att bara för att en skola uppfattar sig som mångreligiös innebär inte det att det mångreligiösa tas tillvara i undervisningen.</p> / <p>ABSTRACT</p><p>Ida Carlgren & Josefine Ferm</p><p>A pedagogic perspective on attitudes towards religious diversity</p><p>A comparative study between two schools</p><p>Number of pages: 31</p><p>The purpose of our study is, from a definition of the term multi religious teaching perspective, to examine the conditions for an education in the school subject religion, which promotes both the learning as well as the development of a tolerant attitude among the students.</p><p>We have chosen to start from problems like for example: Which problems do the schools apprehend in integration issues and how do they handle them? To narrow down these problems we have chosen to work from following questions. What control documents, national or local, underlies the teaching in the subject religion? How does the education in religion promote tolerance and understanding over the ethnical and religious groups? Then we reformulated these question fields into questions that we later on used for the interviews.</p><p>The method we used was open directed interview. After we had analysed the answers from the interviews we reached the results. In our study we searched for problems connected with religious education in schools, to our surprise none of the respondents had apprehended any of those connected to their teaching in religious education. Therefore, we have enthroned the problems that we observed, but the teachers did not, in our discussion part. Just because a school is known as a multi religious school does that not necessary mean that the multicultural perspective is to be seen as a resource in the teaching.</p>

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Frankfurt, 1999. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 246-261).