Pupils' Perceptions of Worldview Diversity and Religious Education in the Finnish Comprehensive School

Abstract

The focus of this article is on Finnish ninth grade pupils’ perceptions on worldview diversity and Religious Education (RE). The data were gathered by using a mixed methods approach combining quantitative and qualitative methods. Worldview diversity has a long history in Finnish society. Yet this has only really been acknowledged in recent years, when increased immigration introduced issues related to the diversity of cultures and religions into the public debate. The most heated discussion has concerned the position of religions and other worldviews in the public sphere. Further, RE and Ethics instruction, in particular their contents and teaching arrangements, have aroused strong emotions. This article examines how pupils in Finnish comprehensive schools perceive worldview diversity and worldview education and discusses the Finnish model of worldview education in general.

Keywords:

• Worldview Education
• Religious Education
• Intercultural Education
• Finland
• Multi-faith Society
• Ethics Education

Notes

[1] Orthodox RE in Finland is a common subject for members of both the Greek and the Russian Orthodox Churches. Lutheran and Orthodox Churches have a special status in the Finnish society, although the Finnish state is neutral with regard to religions and churches. However, for historical reasons, there are close institutional and legislative links between the State and these Churches. Both have, for example, the right to collect taxes from their members. In this article, ‘Orthodox’ refers to both Greek and Russian Orthodox, since in RE pupils attend the same classes.

[2] Riitaoja et al. (2010: 88) call the mixture of Lutheranism and secular humanism ‘Secular Lutheranism’. By secular humanism they mean ‘humanism based on the idea that “man is the measure of all things”; self-sufficient or exclusive humanism which is at the heart of modern secularism’. By defining Finns and Finnish society as ‘secular Lutheran’, Riitaoja et al. mean that Finns and their society are Lutheran, but that they otherwise subscribe to many tenets of secular humanism, for example ethics and morality. Riitaoja et al. state that in Finland, Lutheranism and secular humanism are intertwined, supporting the separation of life issues into public and private. The majority of Finns are members of the Protestant Lutheran Church, yet only a few percent of Finns believe in the God of Christianity or attend religious activities weekly, according to the statistics. Membership in the Lutheran Church has been a customary way of doing things for the majority of Finns and for many religion is still very important for providing rituals at certain turning points in life. This cultural and religious societal context is also reflected in schooling.

[3] The REDCo2 project is a continuation of the original REDCo project which was conducted in eight European countries in 2006–2009. REDCo is the abbreviation for ‘Religion in Education: A contribution to Dialogue or a Factor in Conflict in Transforming Societies of European Countries’. The project was funded by the research department of the European Commission. The main aim of the project was to compare and establish the potential and limitations of religions in schools in the educational systems of European countries selected to participate in the study (Weisse 2009: 10). For more information, see www.redco.uni-hamburg.de.