Essentialism i religionsundervisningen, ett religionsdidaktiskt problem

dc.creator	Torsten Hylén
dc.date	2012-12-01T00:00:00Z
dc.date.accessioned	2015-07-20T22:11:09Z
dc.date.available	2015-07-20T22:11:09Z
dc.identifier	2000-9879
dc.identifier	https://doaj.org/article/e14e6063b268495f9d6967d52d0dcd60
dc.identifier.uri	http://evidence.thinkportal.org/handle/123456789/14197
dc.description	Essentialist concepts of religion are common in the teaching of religion in schools and to a certain extent also in the academic discipline of religious studies. In this article, a num¬ber of problems with essentialist perceptions of religion are discussed. In the first part of the article a thesis is maintained, according to which essentialist conceptions of religion or spe-cific religions are too limited to be of value in the teaching of religion. This is done through exam¬ples of essentialist expressions on religion. The examples are grouped according to a typol¬ogy of different kinds of essentialism. Two main categories, each with two sub-categories are identified. Thus, the category of essentialism regarding the substance of religion is divided into transcendental or theological essentialism (which presupposes the existence of a sacred power of some kind, the experience of which is the basis for religion), and core essentialism (where it is presupposed that certain ideas or concepts constitute religion as a general category or specific religions). Likewise, the category of essentialism regarding the function of religion has two sub-categories: positive and negative essentialism. These kinds of essentialism presup¬pose that religion or specific religions are inherently good or harmful respectively to human be¬ings. Examples from each of these categories are given and discussed. In the second part of the arti¬cle, Benson Saler’s open concept of religion is presented as an alternative to essentialist or bounded perceptions. It is based on Ludwig Wittgenstein’s idea of family resemblances and on proto-type theory. In connection with this, it is argued that a certain kind of conscious ethnocen¬trism is needed as a point of departure in the study and teaching of religion. The metaphor of educa¬tion as a journey from the familiar out into the unfamiliar and back again is suggested as a possible pattern for such teaching. Finally, some examples of non-essentialist ways to intro¬duce religions are offered.
dc.language	Swedish
dc.language	Danish
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	Karlstads Universitet
dc.relation	http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kau:diva-26211
dc.relation	https://doaj.org/toc/2000-9879
dc.source	Nordidactica : Journal of Humanities and Social Science Education, Vol 2012, Iss 2012:2, Pp 106-137 (2012)
dc.subject	Essentialism
dc.subject	Religous education
dc.subject	Religious studies
dc.subject	Family resemblances
dc.subject	Prototype theory
dc.subject	Benson Saler
dc.subject	Religionsdidaktik
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	DOAJ:Education
dc.subject	DOAJ:Social Sciences
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.subject	Education (General)
dc.subject	L7-991
dc.subject	Education
dc.subject	L
dc.title	Essentialism i religionsundervisningen, ett religionsdidaktiskt problem
dc.type	article