Abstract
In several Western countries there is now a growing awareness that teaching RE may contribute to greater social cohesion in an increasingly diverse society. This chapter examines the relationship between the official aims and intentions of the Swedish state regarding RE and school students’ attitudes to this subject. It argues that we must consider the cultural context in which such education takes place; in this case, Sweden has developed over a short period of time from a mono-cultural society with a Lutheran state church into a religiously and culturally diverse society, while the country can furthermore be seen as highly secularized on the individual level. The aims of RE are analyzed through the study of official documents. Students’ attitudes regarding RE and religious and cultural diversity are monitored by a nationally representative classroom questionnaire, and with observations drawn from focus group interviews with students aged 18–19 in upper secondary schools. The investigation presented in this chapter leads to the conclusion that there is currently a gap between the lofty intentions of the state regarding the teaching of RE and students’ attitudes to it. This reflects how Swedish society constructs itself as secular by depicting being religious as the “other.” An urgent task for future studies is, therefore, to identify how the teaching of RE could be further developed so as to better realize the current high aims for the subject in a society as increasingly diverse as the Swedish one.
Access provided by Autonomous University of Puebla. Download to read the full chapter text
Chapter PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
Bibliography
Berglund, J. (2008). Teaching Islam: Approaching Secular Hegemony in Education: A reaction and part of modernity’s meta–narratives. In W. Pfandtner & D. Thurfjell (Eds.), Postcolonial Challenges to the Study of Religion (pp. 29–48). Uppsala: Swedish Science Press.
Berglund, J. (2013). Swedish religion education. Objective but Marinated in Lutheran Protestantism? Temenos, 49(2), 165–184.
Bexell, O. (2003). Folkvackelsens och kyrkofornyelsens tid. Sveriges kyrkohistoria. Stockholm: Verbum.
Backstrom, A. (1999). Nar tros– och varderingsbilder forandras. En analys av nattvards– och husforhorssedens utveckling i Sundsvallsregionen 1805–1890. Stockholm: Verbum.
Esmer, Y. R., & Pettersson, T. (2007). Measuring and Mapping cultures: 25 Years of Comparative Value Surveys, International Studies in Sociology and Social Anthropology. Leiden: Brill.
Grimmitt, M. (1973). What can I do in RE? Great Wakering: Mayhew–McGrimmon.
Gustafsson, G. (2000). Tro, samfund och samhalle: sociologiska perspektiv. Orebro: Libris.
Jackson, R. (1997). Religious education: an interpretive approach. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Jodicke, A. (Ed., 2013). Society, the State and Religious Education Politics. Wurzburg: Ergon Verlag.
Jozsa, D.–P., Knauth, T., Weisse, W. (2009). Religion in School—a Comparative Study of Hamburg and North Rhine–Westphalia. In P. Valk, G. Bertram–Troost, M. Friederici, C. Beraud (Eds.), Teenagers’ Perspectives on the Role of Religion in their Lives, Schools and Societies. A European Quantitative Study (pp. 173–212). Munster: Waxmann.
Lofstedt, M. (2011). Religionsdidaktik—mangfald, livsfragor och etik i skolan. Lund: Studentlitteratur.
Lowander, B., & Lange, A. (2011). The many faces of intolerance. A study of upper secondary school students’ attitudes in Sweden in the 2009/2010 school year. Stockholm: Living History Forum.
Lovheim, M., & Axner, M. (2011). Halal–tv: Negotiating the place of religion in Swedish public discourse. Nordic Journal of Religion and Society, 24(1), 57–74.
Olivestam, C. E. (2006). Religionsdidaktik: om teori, perspektiv och praktik i religionsundervisningen. Stockholm: Liber.
OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, 2007). Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religion and Beliefs in Public Schools. Toledo: Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Pettersson, T., & Esmer, Y. (2005). Vilka ar annorlunda? Om invandrares mote med svensk kultur. Norrkoping: Integrationsverket.
Pettersson, T., & Esmer, Y. R. (2008). Changing Values, Persisting Cultures: Case Studies in Value Change, European value studies. Leiden: Brill.
Pfandtner, W., & Thurfjell, D. (Eds., 2008). Postcolonial Challenges to the Study of Religion. Uppsala: Swedish Science Press.
Rosvall, K. (2013). "Tradition och religion kanske kanns gammalmodigt": En kvalitativ studie om gymnasieungdomars konstruktion av religion. Uppsala: Teologiska institutionen, Uppsala universitet.
Sjoborg, A. (2013a). Aiming for the stars? State intentions for Religious Education in Sweden and pupils’s attitudes. In A. Jodicke (Ed.), Society, the State and Religious Education Politics (pp. 69–84). Wurzburg: Ergon Verlag.
Sjoborg, A. (2013b). Religious Education and Intercultural Understanding. Exploring the role of religiosity for upper secondary school students’ attitudes towards RE. British Journal of Religious Education, 35(1), 36–54. (2013b). doi: 10.1080/01416200.2012.717015.
Sjoborg, A. (2014). Negative and positive freedom of religion: the ambiguous relation of religion and human rights in Sweden. In H.–G. Ziebertz & G. Crpic (Eds.), Human Rights, Religion and Youth. Studies from 17 Countries (Preliminary title). Berlin: Springer.
Skeie, G., & von der Lippe, M. (2009). Does Religion Matter to Young People in Norwegian Schools? In P. Valk, G. Bertram–Troost, M. Friederici, C. Beraud (Eds.), Teenagers’ Perspectives on the Role of Religion in their Lives, Schools and Societies. A European Quantitative Stud. (pp. 269–302). Munster: Waxmann.
Skolverket (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2004). Nationella utvarderingen av grundskolan 2003. Huvudrapport—naturorienterande amnen, samhallsorienterande amnen och problemlosning i arskurs. 9. Rapport. Stockholm: Skolverket.
Skolverket (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2011a). Barn, elever och personal—Riksniva 2011. Sveriges officiella statistik om forskoleverksamhet, skolbarnsomsorg, skola och vuxenutbildning- riksniva. Stockholm: Skolverket.
Skolverket (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2011b). Litteraturoversikt for Religionskunskap A/Religionskunskap 1 i gymnasieskolan. Stockholm: Skolverket.
Skolverket (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2011c). The Swedish National School Agency. Official website. Steering documents. Available at: http://www.skolverket.se/sb/d/493.
Skolverket (Swedish National Agency for Education, 2011d). Amnesplan for Religionskunskap. Available at: http://www.skolverket.se/forskola_och_skola/gymnasieutbildning/22954/amnesplaner_och_kurser_for_gymnasieskolan_2011/subject.htm?subjectCode=REL. Skolinspektionen (Swedish Schools Inspectorate, 2012). Mer an vad du kan tro. Kvalitetsgranskning. Rapport. Stockholm: Skolinspektionen.
Sveriges riksdag (2010). Skollagen. Svensk forfattningssamling 2010: 800. Stockholm: Sveriges riksdag.
Valk, P., Bertram–Troost, G., Friederici, M., Beraud, C. (Eds., 2009). Teenagers’ Perspectives on the Role of Religion in their Lives, Schools and Societies. A European Quantitative Study. Munster: Waxmann.
Weisse, W. (2010). REDCo: A European Research Project on Religion in Education. Religion & Education, 37(3), 187–202.
Witkowsky, M. (2010). ”Man vill va’ lite fri!” En kvalitativ studie av gymnasieelevers tal om sig sjalva och andra i ett samtal om religion och religionskunskap. C–uppsats i sociologi. Uppsala: Sociologiska institutionen, Uppsala universitet.
Ziebertz, H.–G., & Crpic, G. (Eds., 2014). Human Rights, Religion and Youth. Studies from 17 Countries (Preliminary title). Berlin: Springer.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sjöborg, A. (2015). Dealing with Religious Diversity: The Aims and Realities of Religious Education in Sweden. In: Martino, M. (eds) The State as an Actor in Religion Policy. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-06945-2_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-06945-2_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-06944-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-658-06945-2
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawPolitical Science and International Studies (R0)