Thesis (M.A.)--Boston University / The problem which the thesis seeks to explore is Rudolf Otto's theory of religious knowledge. The exposition of the problem is divided into three main divisions, Otto's intellectual tradition, his methodology, and his phenomenological description of the non-rational in religion. The first section, which attempts to isolate Otto's intellectual heritage commences with a description of Otto's educational affiliations. Special emphasis is placed upon his duties in various German universities. Justification for this emphasis is the observation that the insights which come to fruition in his most famous work, The Idea of the Holy, may be studied in various stages of development in each particular university setting. Various other of Otto's writings are expounded and placed in the context of Otto's teaching career [TRUNCATED]

The Diploma thesis "Religious Literacy" aims to map and define a new concept of the religious literacy, to describe the desirable religious literacy depending on the age and to state a basic overview of the elements that it generates. The thesis involves the religious literacy in the field of Catholic Christianity. First, it deals with the concept of literacy in general; it is defined by the levels, types, key factors and aspects of the assessment. In addition, the thesis talks about the cultural literacy, about the education as its forming and the relationship between the culture and Christianity. Then, using the concepts of general and cultural literacy, the definition of religious literacy follows. Religious literacy is defined in the thesis of two angles, which are interconnected, ie in terms of knowledge and practice. The religious literacy is discussed in both areas in the different age periods - in childhood, youth and adulthood. For each age group the appropriate incentives of the development of literacy and the activities in parish life are characterized. Key words: literacy, child, young people, adults, spiritual life, religious knowledge.

In this paper I critically discuss the concept of religious knowledge. My aim, based on texts by the religious realists Anders Jeffner, Mikael Stenmark and John Polkinghorne, is to try and find answers to three questions: 1. What do they mean by religious knowledge? 2. What do they mean religious knowledge gives us knowledge of? 3. With which arguments and discursive and rhetorical strategies do they defend their answers to the above questions? I conclude that Jeffner, Stenmark and Polkinghorne have similar ontological and epistemo- logical perspectives. According to them, reality is not one, but consists of different layers or dimensions. Science is only suited to study the dimension of reality that we have access to through our senses. The study of divine or transcendent reality requires other forms of investigations, resulting in another form of knowledge, often called religious knowledge. The topics in religious knowledge are ethics, esthetics, values, meaning, purpose and spirituality. The relation between truth and religious knowledge is that religious knowledge is supposed to be epistemically true and, unlike scientific knowledge, true in the respect of guiding the believer successfully through life. Jeffner, Stenmark and Polkinghorne use different strategies and arguments to defend their positions. Some are philosophically grounded, and others are of a more rhetorical character. Some of the defense mechanisms are integral parts of their religious worldview, and others can be seen as various immunizing strategies. According to my interpretation I have labeled their different strategies:” reality stratified”,” the shortcomings of science”,” to choose worldview”, ”straw men”, ”the ignorant opponent”, “religious experiences”, ”different but still similar” and “the use of concepts”. As far as    I´m concerned, Jeffner, Stenmark and Polkinghorne haven´t, in view of their religious realism, successfully argued for the claim that there actually exists a form of knowledge that ought to be called religious knowledge. They have not, to my mind, more than as a logical possibility, shown examples of this kind of religious knowledge and successfully argued for its kinship to knowledge as true, justified belief. With a little help from Bourdieu, I have also tried to show that Jeffner, Stenmark and Polkinghorne are participants in a discursive apologetic battle, where the combatants are armed with different forms of symbolic capital.

The aim of this study is to investigate teachers’ views of ethics in religion classes in grade school. What do they teach in ethics? What is it that the teachers are assessing? Do they experience any problems with the assessment of ethics? I chose to write about this subject for many reasons, including my interest in the subject, the lack of earlier research, and the fact that ethics was not included in my education at the university. I have written an empirical study, based on qualitative scientific interviews. I have interviewed six teachers, who all teach at compulsory school ages 12-15. The results show that the pupils mostly discuss different ethical dilemmas during ethics sessions, and as an exam the teachers evaluate their knowledge in these three methods by letting the pupils write about them. I come to the conclusion that the teachers don’t find it hard to assess ethics, but at the same time, they mostly value the different methods in ethics that are found in Lgr 11. One of six teachers said that a student shouldn’t be able to get a higher grade if their ethics doesn’t correspond to the values listed in Lgr 11. The other five are in the opinion that teachers shouldn’t assess opinions, only knowledge. The question is, are the teachers able to set their own ethical beliefs aside?

Forskning gällande begreppen religion och sekularisering, samt hur dessa begrepp uttrycks i läroplanen är ett viktigt område att belysa eftersom jag anser att den är i behov av en utveckling, specifikt för lärare och skolans utveckling till ett öppensinnat och jämställt samhälle. Därför är syftet med den här texten att utforska den historiska utvecklingen av sekularisering i Sverige och hur sekularisering har påverkat hur religion kommer till uttryck i läroplanen för religionskunskap på gymnasiet genom att svara på frågan: Hur har sekularisering påverkat läroplanen för religionskunskap genom historien? Studiens mål är att belysa hur sekulariseringens utveckling har bidragit till formuleringen kring hur religion och olika livsåskådningar förmedlas i läroplanen mellan 1970 och 2011. Den här studien använder sig av ett socialkonstruktionistiskt perspektiv för att studera hur historiska händelser har påverkat omfattningen och definitioner av sekularisering och religion. Studien är en diskursanalys, som utförs genom att använda en kvalitativ metod. Metoden har bestått av att samla tidigare forskning i form av text som både är fysisk och elektronisk. Resultatet visade på att många historiska händelser och teorier har bidragit till sekulariseringens utveckling i det svenska samhället, som sedan har påverkat formuleringen och närvaron av religionskunskap i läroplanen. Slutsatsen är därmed att skolan har varit tvungen att anpassa sig efter samhällsförändring. Dock, i takt med samhällets utveckling har religionen aldrig försvunnit. Alternativt har religiös mångfald berikat religionsämnet med att andra religioner har fått en större plats i undervisningen samt gett möjligheten till att låta eleverna skapa egna förutsättningar. Där är mycket som har påverkat religionsämnet och hur det förmedlas i undervisningen ute bland gymnasieskolorna i Sverige. Läroplanen som är konstruerad utifrån samhällssituationen bestämmer vad som ska inkluderas.

The Swedish school and the teaching aids have been reworked multiple times during the 1900s. Textbooks had a central place and the material that was supposed to be included in the books was changed for every new curriculum. The subject “religion” has had one of the biggest changes during these years. It went from “Christian knowledge“ to “religious knowledge“ in 1969. The changes in the curriculum made it impossible for the old books to be used in the education, because they did not include the variation of information of different religions apart from Christianity. This essay investigates the differences between textbooks in Christian knowledge and religious knowledge from 1949–1990. The methods used are image analysis alongside comparative content analysis in order to decode the intention behind the images in the books and the thought behind the choices of legends, myths and daily life of Hindus and Buddhists represented in the books. The differences in the description of Hindus and Buddhists show a clear change from 1949 to 1990. Moreover, the essay shows how the language changed from an exotifying depiction to a more neutral tone in the description of the different religions. The conclusion is that the textbooks until 1972 had a very negative and deeming way of describing non-Abrahamitic religions.

Dans cette thèse, j'ai cherché à comprendre comment, à l'échelle d'une agglomération de province, la structuration d'une aspiration collective à transmettre l'islam en vient-elle à générer des offres et expériences différenciées du "'ilm"entendu comme l'ensemble des pratiques et discours en lien avec la transmission des savoirs islamiques. Ce travail vise à contribuer à la question de la transmission de l'islam en France par le biais d'une observation empirique des structures et pratiques d'enseignement confessionnel de l'islam dispensé aux adultes au sein de l'agglomération rouennaise. L'enquête, de type ethnographique, a été menée de 2013 à 2018 de façon participative, ce qui permet de mieux rendre compte des expériences et trajectoires des acteurs de la transmission. Pour cela j'ai circonscrit le terrain à l'agglomération rouennaise située en Normandie. Ce choix vient à contre-pied de la prévalence souvent accordée aux structures les plus visibles ayant une portée nationale. J'ai réalisé des entretiens par récit de vie auprès de plus d'une vingtaine d'enseignant-e-s et d'apprenant-e-s, ainsi que des entretiens semi-directifs auprès de responsables d'associations et de lieux de culte. Toutefois la majeure partie des données est avant tout constituée d'observations d'enseignements et de situations informelles au quotidien. / In this dissertation, I tried to understand how, in a medium-sized city such as Rouen, the collective aspiration to transmit islam, as it is given a structure, generates in turn different offers and experiences of the "'ilm". In this work "'ilm" refers to the whole of the discursive practices related to the transmission of islamic knowledge. The goal of this dissertation is to contribute to the question of the transmission of Islam in France by observing the range of structures and practices of Islamic teaching to adults in the Rouen area. This ethnographic study, which is a participatory assessment, was led between 2013 and 2018, allowing the experiences and lifepaths of the actors of transmission to be accounted for in a more thorough way. In order to do so, I have restricted the scope of the survey to the Rouen area in Normandy. My choice offsets the dominant trend that extends more attention to structures with nationwide visibility and reach. I have interviewed over twenty teachers and learners in life-story interviews and I conducted semi-structured interviews of leaders of religious associations and places of worship. Nonetheless, most of my data consists of participant observation in teaching contexts and in informal day-to-day situations.

AbstractThe purpose of this essay is to investigate the views Swedish elementary school teachers produce on the subject of ethics. The teachers’ thoughts on selection among ethical notions is described and also how these notions are assessed. The essay proceeds from the central content and the knowledge requirement in the syllabus of religious knowledge. The empirical survey is based on qualitative scientific interviews with four teachers employed in grades 4-6 at different schools.The teachers find ethics in its current state of the syllabus hard to define and they find encounters with parents and pupils difficult in their tasks. The selection of ethics is decided by previously planned basic values education or from conflicts erupting during schools hours. Difficulties with selection of ethics leads to the education only providing the essentials. Assessment of ethics is best performed in small groups where pupils may discuss and thereby present their level of knowledge to their teacher. Teachers believe assessment of ethics is problematic since they have to evaluate the pupils performed knowledge without letting their own personal ethic beliefs interfere in the process. / SammandragSyftet med det här examensarbetet var att ta reda på hur svenska grundskolelärare ser på ämnet etik. Lärarnas tankar kring urvalet som görs av etiska begrepp beskrivs och även hur dessa begrepp senare bedöms. Examensarbetet utgår från kursplanen i religionskunskaps centrala innehåll och kunskapskrav.Den empiriska undersökningen bygger på kvalitativa forskningsintervjuer som genomförts med fyra lärare verksamma i skolåren 4-6 vid olika skolor.Lärarna anser att etiken i sin nuvarande form i kursplanen är svårdefinierad och de möter svårigheter i mötet med såväl föräldrar som elever i genomförandet av sitt arbetsuppdrag. Urvalet av etik till undervisningen styrs av på förhand planerad värdegrundsarbete eller utifrån konfliktsituationer som uppstår under skoldagen. Svårigheterna med urvalet av etik leder till att undervisningen oftast blir av en väldigt grundläggande karaktär. Vid bedömningen av etiken bör eleverna diskutera i mindre grupper för att visa upp sina kunskaper menar lärarna. Lärarna anser att bedömning av etik är svårt då de måste betrakta elevens förmågor utan att väga in sina egna värderingar i förhållande till elevsvaren.

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No. of bitstreams: 2 Dissertação - Simone Gomes Firmino - 2014.pdf: 841805 bytes, checksum: fcfeaec63e1082782293d78f911bd46f (MD5) license_rdf: 23148 bytes, checksum: 9da0b6dfac957114c6a7714714b86306 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-09-24 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - CAPES / The fundamental aim of this work was to investigate the epistemological obstacles in the initial formation of a Biology teacher, originated in components of the religious thought such as Teleology, Dualism and the acceptance of supernatural forces. Furthermore, it aimed to identify the conceptions of teachers in formation about Science and the Theory of Evolution as well as to characterize the scientific/specific knowledge of Evolution as one of the guidelines in the process of formation of a Biology teacher. Thus, the investigation took place where Biology teachers receive their initial formation, the University. The research is justified by the necessity of having, in fact: a consistent scientific formation in which the scientific knowledge can be the fundamental object of this formation; the epistemological formation can be established on the teacher practice and the possible obstacles in the learning process can be overcome. Methodologically, we are based on a qualitative approach concerning the descriptions and critical reflections derived from the collected data and analysis. Three classes were researched from the subject Evolutionary Biology which is offered on the fifth period (daytime) in the Biological Sciences (Licenciate) course from the Federal University of Goiás. The analyzed data were taken from the transcriptions of the audiovisual records and the researcher’s observations, who monitored all classes and record them in a field diary. The research showed the necessity of creating an specific subject about Science Epistemology as well as the importance of epistemological discussions for the initial scientific formation. Furthermore, the teacher posture was highlighted concerning the teacher trainer as an important mediator in the process of initial formation. The investigation also presented some components of the religious thought as epistemological obstacles in the teaching-learning process of the Theory of Evolution scientific contents. This work pointed out important questions in the process of initial formation of a Biology teacher such as: the inclusion of epistemological discussions in the scientific formation, the overcoming of epistemological obstacles in learning the scientific knowledge, among others. These questions may contribute to future pedagogical actions and correlated studies with the thematic approached. / O presente trabalho teve como objetivo central investigar, no processo de formação inicial do professor de Biologia, os obstáculos epistemológicos, originados em alguns componentes do conhecimento religioso, como: a Teleologia, o Dualismo e a Aceitação de forças sobrenaturais. Objetiva também identificar as concepções dos professores de Biologia em formação sobre a Ciência e a Teoria da Evolução, além de caracterizar o conhecimento científico/específico da Evolução como um dos eixos norteadores desse processo. Assim, a investigação situou-se no processo de formação científica, no qual o futuro professor de Biologia recebe sua formação inicial, a Academia. A pesquisa justifica-se pela necessidade de ter, de fato: uma formação científica consistente, em que o conhecimento cientifico seja objeto fundamental dessa formação; que a formação epistemológica se estabeleça na prática docente e que os possíveis obstáculos no processo de aprendizagem sejam superados. Metodologicamente, fundamentamo-nos em uma abordagem qualitativa referente às descrições e reflexões críticas provenientes dos dados obtidos e das análises. Pesquisou-se três aulas da disciplina de Biologia Evolutiva ministrada no quinto período (diurno) do curso de Ciências Biológicas-Licenciatura da Universidade Federal de Goiás. Os dados analisados foram extraídos das transcrições dos registros áudio-visuais, e das observações da pesquisadora, que acompanhou todas as aulas e as registrou em diário de campo. A pesquisa mostrou a necessidade da criação de uma disciplina específica sobre Epistemologia da Ciência, além de salientar a importância de discussões epistemológicas para a formação científica inicial. Destacou-se também a postura docente, no que aponta o professor formador como importante mediador no processo de formação inicial. A investigação apresentou também alguns componentes do pensamento religioso como obstáculos epistemológicos no processo de ensino-aprendizagem dos conteúdos científicos da Teoria da Evolução. Este trabalho apontou questões importantes no processo de formação inicial do professor de Biologia, como: a inclusão de discussões epistemológicas na formação científica, a superação de obstáculos epistemológicos na aprendizagem de conhecimentos científicos, entre outras. Questões estas que poderão contribuir para futuras ações pedagógicas e estudos correlacionados com a temática abordada.