Religious Diversity

Introduction

This forum on Understanding Barriers to Learning has given me an infinite view of how my students of diverse background can differ from one another in a classroom. I have learned to examine the implications and characteristics of physical and sensory disabilities in the classroom; as well as cognitive and emotional differences; and racial/ethnic, gender, cultural, socio-economic, and linguistic variabilities (NEA, n.d.). In this final reflection, I will examine the study of religions and worldviews in schools as part of diversity. Although I have not taught religious education, I am a keen advocate of religious study as part of the holistic development on education for life. This is a subject which has controversial ideological issues in some countries. However, it can be seen in some European countries to create peace and harmony against extremism amongst students (Jackson, Policy, research, and practice for ‘inclusive’ religious education. Presentation of a Council of Europe Project, 2017).

The Delors Report states that adding the dimension of religion requires revisiting and updating the concept of intercultural and interreligious dialogue ensuring that education contributes harmoniously to the four pillars of education outlined (K?rs, Weisse, & Willaime, 2020, p. 215). The four pillars are learning to know; learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be (UNESCO, 2015, p. 15).

Impact of Classroom Diversity in my practice

A strong call has awakened my practice for diversity in the classroom. I am fully inspired by a humanistic vision of education and development based on principles of respect for life and dignity, equal rights, social justice, respect for cultural diversity, and shared responsibility (UNESCO, 2015, p. 14).

One of the topics that I am still learning besides having students with disabilities is the issue of LGBTQ or sexual and gender identity that are now more prevalent in a diverse classroom. I always believe that diversity in education offers an immense opportunity for creating a pedagogy that highlights these vulnerabilities so that we can teach students what is respect, empathy, compassion, and social justice on issues of gender identity, cultural, racial, religious, and linguistic differences. This will enable me as an educator to be adaptable to my learner’s environment and offer my students the best approaches in teaching and learning (Heng & Lim, 2021, p. 3).

Religious Education in Asia

Kennedy and Lee (2021) have asserted that what distinguishes Asia is religious pluralism rather than a single confessional religion such as Christianity in Europe. We noted from the 16th Century onwards the discourse about religion in Europe is about a single religion namely European Christianity of two denominations Catholicism and Protestantism. There are sub denominations in Protestantism namely Anglicanism, Calvinism, and Lutheranism and others. The conversation is now shifted to secularism an attempt to cushion the strong impact of European Christianity in the last two centuries. In Asia, Kennedy, and Lee (2021) shown the example in China where Buddhism, Daoism and Confucianism and in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Indonesia where Hinduism and Islam have grown, developed, and interacted with Asia’s culture. Christianity did not subdue the local religions in Asia but add to the pluralism of Asian religion. In Japan, Shintoism is the state religion (Kennedy & Lee, 2021, p. 4).

Religious Education in my views

Singapore encourages religious freedom amongst its multi-ethnic population, but the working of the state is rigidly in the secularist manner. Religious education may take the form of monoreligious, multireligious or interreligious approaches. The first introduces student to a single faith, the second to multiple religious traditions and the third identify how religious traditions might interact in interreligious dialogue (Kennedy & Lee, 2021, pp. 6-7) In Singapore if I am teaching religious education, my practice would be interreligious approach where I will facilitate dialogues of various faith held by students in a diverse classroom.

Reflecting on my belief in Christianity since my teenager, I am drawn to embrace several philosophical traditions to support worldviews by probing into the human consciousness, language, culture, values, and the way of life. I believe that religious education will enhance the search for spirituality where students can explore not just pluralism but spiritualism (Elias, 2009, p. 11).

My belief in offering religious education in a diverse setting is to build a community of interreligious faith, coming together working peacefully and in harmony with one another. In teaching religious education, we open the student mindset to know how humans are vulnerable to views of differences in lifestyle, outlooks on life and the opportunity to prepare students to embrace diversity in a rich, meaningful, and insightful understanding in their search for transcendency (Flensner, 2017, p. 2).

Conclusion

The challenge of having religious literacy is to understand the language of religions. Students who come from various ethnicities might have acculturate a religion they know very little of or so much more. A culmination of inter-religious dialogues in a multicultural and diverse classroom provides an avenue for ethnographic understanding of how different beliefs can have a common language of literacy for peace making and conflict resolution in a pluralistic rather than a secularistic society. This might eventually forge a global citizenship of diversity in action – learning to live together and learning to be (Jackson, Rethinking religious education and plurality: issues in diversity and pedagogy, 2004, p. 139)

References

Elias, J. L. (2009). Ancient Philosophy and Religious Education: Education as initiation into a way of life . In International Handbook of the Religious, Moral and Spiritual Dimensions (pp. 9-21). The Netherlands: Springer.

Flensner, K. K. (2017). Discourses of Religion and Secularism in Religious Education Classrooms. Trollh?ttan, Sweden: Springer International Publishing AG.

Heng, T. T., & Lim, L. (4 May, 2021). Diversity, difference, equity: how student differences are socially constructed in Singapore. CAMBRIDGE JOURNAL OF EDUCATION, 1-20.

Jackson, R. (2004). Rethinking religious education and plurality: issues in diversity and pedagogy. London: RoutledgeFalmer.

Jackson, R. (2017). Policy, research, and practice for ‘inclusive’ religious education. Presentation of a Council of Europe Project. Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, 3, 111-115. Retrieved 9 August, 2021, from .https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1145344/FULLTEXT01.pdf

Kennedy, K. J., & Lee, J. C.-K. (2021). Religious Education in Asia, Spiritual Diversity in Globalized Times. New York, NY: Routledge.

K?rs, A., Weisse, W., & Willaime, J.-P. (2020). Religious Diversity and Interreligious Dialogue. Switzerland: Springer.

Matthiessen, C. (2015). Why diversity in classrooms matters. Retrieved from Great school.org : https://www.greatschools.org/gk/author/conniematthiessen/

NEA. (n.d.). JUST & EQUITABLE SCHOOLS. Retrieved from NEA.org : https://www.nea.org/tools/diversity-toolkit-introduction.html

UNESCO. (2015). Towards a global common good? Rethinking Education, 1-84.