Religious Education in Finland: Promoting Intelligent Belief?

This article discusses current dilemmas in religious education in Finland. Different interpretations of confessional religious education are presented in the context of the Lutheran tradition. Pedagogical applications of religious education advocated by Michael Grimmitt are explored as plausible approaches in promoting the religious understanding of students. The article presents some suggestions to enrich Grimmitt's pedagogy with a more argumentative approach, which unites both reason and feeling. Such an intelligent approach is arguably in accord with the pedagogical interpretation of confessional religious education.

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Notes on contributors

Tapio Puolimatka

Dr Tapio Puolimatka is a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy of Education at the University of Helsinki, Finland. His research has focused on the concept of critical thinking as well as the controversy between teaching and indoctrination. His recent publications include Democracy and Education: The Critical Citizen as an Educational Aim (Academia Scientiarum Fennica 1995) and Teaching or Indoctrination (in Finnish) (Kirjayhtymä 1997) as well as articles in various international journals.

Kirsi Tirri

Dr Kirsi Tirri is a Professor in Education at the Department of Education, University of Helsinki. She has worked for several years as a religious education teacher at a public school and as an educator of student teachers in religious education. Dr Tirri has published books and articles related to these fields.