Religious Education for Public Schooling and Its ‘Science of Religion’ Curriculum

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study is to explore the essential nature of religious education for Korea’s public schooling in the 21century, and its curriculum approach to ‘the Science of Religion’, the religion subject-matter for high school. The nature of religious education is explored by analyzing the new status of spirituality in the post-modern paradigm, trans-personal psychological perspective of human self, socio-religious conditions of Korean society, and the problems of post-modern cultural phenomenon. The value of spirituality for humanity is rediscovered by post-modern paradigm, finding its important status for general education. Religious education for public schooling needs to be regarded as an essential part of education for humanity and citizenship, thereby confirming that the kind of religious education by non-partisanship is the area that only public education is able to provide. The importance of self-transcendence as an educational aim is supported by the researches of transpersonal psychology by integrating the clinical findings and religious approaches, enlarging the horizon of human understanding themselves. And the extreme multiplicity of religious affiliations of Korean people, and the anomie state of the today’s post-modern culture also lead to the recognition of special nature of educational needs for the religious education for public schooling. In alignment with the essential nature of religious education, ‘the Science of Religion’ as religious curriculum is discussed in three aspects: First, disciplinary basis of the religious curriculum and the present objectives of the curriculum are analyzed, in term of the essential nature of religious education. Second, the direction of the subject-matter should develop on the principle of spirituality, sense of the Ultimate reality, and self-transcendence, and the perspective of religious pluralism. Finally, methodological approaches to the classroom teaching are discussed in terms of educational principles such as the principles of connecting with the existential concerns and problems of the high school adolescence, and relating with religious curriculum contents of other subject-matters, and principle of approaches for religious pluralism, and principles of direct experiences, including contemplation, visiting different religious institutions, and utilizing religion-related mdia and works of art.