Textbook Religion and Lived Religion: A Comparison of the Christian Faith as Expressed in Textbooks and by Young Church Members

Abstract

Drawing on perspectives from sociocultural theory, this article investigates how Christian denominations are represented in Norwegian textbooks of religious education and by young believers. The main finding is that textbooks and young adherents present religion in substantially different ways. While textbooks relate religion to global and national space using rational and general descriptions, young informants relate religion to local and personal space through emotional and relational descriptions. Based on these findings, this article discusses how textbooks and religious education can present religion in a way that includes both etic and emic perspectives.

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Notes on contributors

Jon Magne Vestøl

Jon Magne Vestøl is Associate Professor of Religious and Moral Education at the Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo, Norway. E-mail: [email protected]