Won-Buddhist Religious Education in the Multi-cultural Society

ABSTRACT

This study aims at providing suggestions for improving the effectiveness of religious education based on the Won-Buddhist perspective for a multi-cultural society. WonBuddhism offers a number of relevant doctrinal grounds for religious education in the multi-cultural society: there are the way of Il-Won of Sotaesan, the Ethics of Triple Identity of Chungsan, and the United Religions movement of Daesan. In addition, ‘Everywhere a Buddha Image, Every Act a Buddha Offering’, ‘Gratitude to Fellow Beings’, and ‘The Essential Dharmas Regarding How the Strong and the Weak May Evolve’ present the necessary mental attitude and preparation for understanding and dealing with the subjects of the multi-cultural society, such as foreign labor, immigrant women, saeteomin, who are defectors from North Korea, and so on. In particular, I examined the programs of Hangyeore Middle & High School as examples of the religious education of Won-Buddhism in relation to the multi-cultural society. As a consequence, the religious education of the school can be evaluated as a proper educational program in the multi-cultural and multi-religious society. It is then possible to assess its role in helping the young generations of Saeteomin to understand the cultural differences between South and North Korea so that they can find an unbiased acceptance and open-hearted attitude, and prepare for their future. Based on my examination of these programs, I make certain suggestions related to religious education for the young generations of saeteomin, as follows: First, religious educators should clearly institute an educational direction and tasks, and suggest an appropriate educational purpose, curriculums, contents, and training programs for teachers including teaching guidelines. Second, religious educators should help students understand the curriculums, and the subjects and contents and structures of the textbooks for religious education, by themselves. Third, religious educators need to renew the selection and configuration of programs toward elevating the interrelationship between those valuable virtues that are emphasized in the religious education and citizenship, for example, social responsibility and mutual communication, required by a multi-cultural society. Fourth, religious educators should cultivate teachers who are skillful in providing religious education in the multi-cultural and multi-religious context.