Page 156 - TWO OF A KIND • Erik Renkema

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of the moments of contemplation and of celebrations. The teachers and principals recognize school values in practices of religious education where students from non-affiliated and Christian backgrounds come together.
Moreover, the respondents from schools where religious education classes divide students in groups along the lines of denomination also identify the social perspective in this practice. In our research we investigated whether and where we recognize the connection between school values and religious education.
These findings made us curious about the implementation of the school values in religious education.
2.2. Religious education
We formulate three findings regarding religious education at cooperation schools. In our empirical instruments as well as in our analysis we interpret religious education as that type of education that deals with student’s identity development by engaging with, reflecting on and communicating about religious and secular traditions and sources that provide a view on life, living together and the world to which the student can relate and respond to. In religious education the sources and traditions foster every student’s personal answers and questions concerning life, living together and the world. In our interpretation of religious education we identify the context of diversity in the Netherlands as a challenge as well as an opportunity for religious education (Ipgrave 2004). Religious education aims at creating an attitude of receptivity in the development of students’ identity. We see this as the substantive core of religious education, which enables students to explore a variety of sources of meaning, and to encounter these differences (Wright 2004).
Our first finding concerns the element of dialogue in religious education. As stated, respondents view the social perspective as a very important characteristic: the school as a community. However, this perspective and especially the value of encounter are hardly expressed by practicing dialogue in moments of contemplation and celebrations. Dialogue is limited because of the segregated moments of contemplation at many cooperation schools, following the distinction between public education and confessional denominations. We also see this distinction in collective celebrations of schools where religious education is segregated: students from secular worldview education present to all other students, as do students
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