Geir Skeie Knihy

The relevance of contextual perspectives in religious education has been growing for the last decade. It has been central to the European Network for Religious Education through Contextual Approaches (ENRECA) – the research network that has produced the present book. Several members of the network have contributed to the theoretical and empirical development of contextual approaches in different publications, but for the first time this has been the focus of an entire collectively produced volume. The history of the book dates back to research seminars in 2009 and 2010 and is based on the discussions in the seminar. The chapters have been developed through a process of critical examination. Through this process we believe to have produced a coherent and also comprehensively rich book, dealing with the issue of context as a challenge, and also a stimulus to religious education research and practice. The chapters present both empirical research and scholarly investigation into methodological and theoretical dimensions. Taken together we hope that this book will contribute to the further development of contextual thinking in religious education research. Our aim has not been to answer all questions, but rather to pose questions and to complicate things in order to enrich the academic field of religion in education.

In the last ten years or so, religious plurality has become higher on the agenda for religious education research in the Nordic countries. This attention to religious plurality partly reflects processes of globalisation that include both physical migration and communication of ideas and issues across the world, making it ‘smaller’. It also reflects the preoccupation of governments with social cohesion and, as part of this, intercultural education. In the curricula of the Nordic countries this is manifested in different ways, setting also the agenda for parts of educational research. This book addresses issues related to the increasing religious plurality in the Nordic countries. These issues are a challenge to many religious groups including historically dominant Lutheran national churches, both nationally and locally. They have also led to a reorientation in religious education research in the last decade. A rich variety of research perspectives are presented under three headings: Theoretical and methodical perspectives; The world of the students; teachers and textbooks. Nordic religious education research here proves to be internationally oriented in terms of theoretical perspectives, whilst also contributing to the debate through important empirical studies. Examples of issues covered in the book are unintended learning, dialogue, gender, life-interpretation, spirituality, identity and values. In different ways all the contributions in this book shed light on the common theme of diversity, and are based on a will to include diverse perspectives both on the actors and the material of the classroom as well as on the life world of young people. The researchers represent different generations and different theoretical and methodological perspectives.