Present Situation & Task in Developing Textbooks of ‘Religion’:Focusing on Effect of Educational Process

ABSTRACT

Concern for the importance of religious education is getting heightening in Korean society these days. Religious education as public education aims at religious-cultural education as a part of healthy civic education. However, religious education of secondary school of Korea is still strongly tinged with faith education as apologetics. The purpose of this essay is to search for desirable path of religious education on the basis of already arranged content, while analyzing and considering this current condition of religious education at Korean secondary schools. I suggest some concrete cases for this analysis. First, I analyzed the current situation of textbooks of ‘religion’ applying <the amendment of 7th Educational Curriculum>. Second, I examined the content of <the amendment of 7th educational Curriculum> and tried to find a future direction of the textbooks on the basis of the content above. The character as ‘religious-cultural education’ of religious education is emphasized in <the amendment of 7th Educational Curriculum>. In addition, <the amendment of 7th Educational Curriculum> tried to take concrete shape of “religion in one’s daily routine”, “finding meaning of life through religion”. Despite, the aspect of faith education is also focused in <the 7th Educational Curriculum> and <the amendment of 7th Educational Curriculum>. This twofold situation is a practical cause not to guarantee completely the identity of religious education as public education. I submitted some proposals on the basis of this discussion in this essay. First, we’d rather make texts of ‘religion’ as combined project to encourage specialty of all concerned than put together ‘religious-cultural education’ as public education and ‘denominational education’ without consistency. Second, I ask all subjects concerned with this issue to cooperate for making textbooks of ‘religion’ to satisfy the intent of religious education. I think Korean Association for Religious Education will be an adequate main force for this project.