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Religion, Migration and Educational Practice: Empirical, Postcolonial and Theological Perspectives

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The Church, Migration, and Global (In)Difference

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Abstract

Educational institutions serving Germany’s immigrant communities struggle with many challenges. About one-third of the refugees are school-aged children and youth, so that every third child has a migration biography, with many of them coming from Arabic countries. They bring their various religious affiliations and cultures into a secular society formerly moulded by Christianity. This situation requires special accommodations for educational institutions (like schools, kindergarten and religious communities). Apart from language barriers and being mindful of their traumatic experiences, educational actors need to be sensitive, in particular, to intercultural and interreligious conflict situations, anti-Semitic or Islamophobic positions and radicalisation tendencies of cultural and/or religious identity. This essay considers the following questions: How does the theology of migration change social context, religious identity and theological thought and action in the host country? From the Christian perspective, what are the new responsibilities that arise as a result of migration? And, not least, what are the resulting challenges for inter-religious education in both formal and informal settings?

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Notes

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    Cf. Point 4: Perspectives for Religious Education and Pastoral Practice.

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  29. 29.

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  71. 71.

    Bildung refers to the German tradition of self-cultivation, wherein philosophy and education are tantamount to the process of both personal and cultural maturation. This maturation is described as the harmony of the individual’s mind and heart, and in a unification of selfhood and identity within the challenges of a broader society. Bildung does not simply accept the socio-political status quo, but rather it includes the ability to engage in a critique of one’s society, and to ultimately challenge the society to actualise its own highest ideals.

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Winkler, K. (2021). Religion, Migration and Educational Practice: Empirical, Postcolonial and Theological Perspectives. In: Dias, D.J., Skira, J.Z., Attridge, M.S., Mannion, G. (eds) The Church, Migration, and Global (In)Difference. Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54226-9_9

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