Student Attitudes Towards Religious Diversity in Catholic schools in South Africa
Naidoo, Marilyn
South Africa’s Policy for Religion and Education is linked to
a broad range of initiatives celebrating linguistic, cultural
and religious diversity. Public and independent schools
are expected to implement the Policy and ensure that that
they act in a religiously neutral way. This article highlights
how students in Catholic schools understand religion in
school and the impact of religions, via results obtained from
the REDCo II (Religion in Education: A Contribution to
Dialogue or a Factor of Conflict in Transforming Societies of
European Countries) Questionnaire on Religion and School.
It was especially important to understand how students
experience religious diversity within a new approach to
religious education in South Africa. The research findings
show that students are very positive towards religious
diversity which could be understood within the dramatic
socio- political changes of the country as a backdrop. This
study also underscores the inclusive nature of Catholic
religious education.
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