Ora et labora – the use of prayer in schooling

Abstract

This study researches the role prayer plays in a class at a faith primary school in Slovakia in terms of reproducing the traditional elements of school organisation/schoolwork, such as accepting authority, conforming and competing. It looks at non-religious elements of school socialisation as a consequence of the practice of praying. At the same time, it establishes the state of research in the psychology of religion and its limits. It reconstructs the path Slovakia has taken in establishing faith education and religious elements within education in order to reveal the sociocultural background concerning the practice of prayer in Slovak schools. It then presents some of the research findings from the ethnographic study of prayer. Prayer is found to be a strong formal and symbolic element in school socialisation.

Keywords:

• prayer
• schoolwork
• school socialisation
• Slovak education
• ritual
• ethnography

Acknowledgements

This article is the output of the research projects VEGA 1/0224/11 ‘Archeology of neoliberal governmentality in contemporary education policy and in educational theory’ and VEGA 1/0091/12 ‘Performing culture and the culture of accountability in contemporary streams of educational reforms’.