Neo-liberal voices are still very strong in education broadly speaking and have a marginalizing impact on normative pedagogies like religious, worldview, moral and civic education. But there are clear and hopeful signs that pedagogy is coming back. After sketching the current situation and its antecedents, the author addresses the views and ideas…

This contribution is focusing on the question: "In what way is the issue of religious education in general and Islamic religious education in particular articulated in Europe and in Turkey, and what can be learned from the respective articulations for the interreligious dialogue?" In the first section, the historical context is presented…

In this article the authors outline a core concern regarding the importance of intertwining the three forms of education: citizenship education, worldview education, and human rights education. Secondly, they take a transformative view within a critical-pragmatic pedagogy with the aim of strengthening the potential for social engagement,…

In the secular age religious education and citizenship education could and should be fruitfully combined. That is the present authors' view on current developments in schools aiming at the strengthening and the flourishing of students' personal religious identity. Presupposition is that religious identity needs to be interpreted as an integral…

The question how (denominational) schools for secondary education influence the religious identity development of adolescents is central in this article. Quantitative empirical research focusing on the religious commitments and explorations (as indicators of religious identity development) of adolescents and on the relationship between these…

This article deals with the question what pedagogical and religious educational contributions have to offer to the debate on citizenship. Some historical background and theoretical conceptualisations of nowadays political focus on citizenship are described particularly focusing on the Dutch case. Explicit attention is given to the role of religion…

The last decade identity is often and very fruitfully conceptualized as "narrative identity." Neither for individuals nor for groups is identity a given beforehand anymore. On the contrary, identity has to be constructed in an inductive way continuously. Three qualitative research methods are applied to explore in an inductive way the…

The question, how religious affiliated schools for secondary education shape religious education and what effects this education has on the religious identity development of pupils, is relevant in a time when the position of religious affiliated schools is highly disputable. In earlier empirical research on religious identity development of…

This study examines religious identity development of pupils at Dutch schools for secondary education (mean age 16.4). With the help of a theoretical conceptualization of "religious identity development" empirical research is carried out. Main question is whether differences in terms of religious commitment and exploration between pupils…

Analysis of key Dutch, Anglo-American, and Germany literature on Christian schools identified different conceptions of their identity: one-dimensional (purely religious); multidimensional (education influenced by but not dependent on Christian worldview); abstract universal versus concrete/contextual; and static versus dynamic. Conceptions did not…

Focuses on religious education in the Netherlands discussing the dual education system that consists of denominational private schools and public state schools. Argues for multi-religious schools that will provide a stable primary- and secondary-school culture and address the plurality of students. Includes references. (CMK)