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31 - Religion and Democratic Education

from Part Four - Challenges

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 April 2023

By
Brett Bertucio
Edited by
Julian Culp ,
Johannes Drerup  and
Douglas Yacek
Julian Culp
Affiliation:
The American University of Paris, France
Johannes Drerup
Affiliation:
Universität Dortmund
Douglas Yacek
Affiliation:
Universität Dortmund
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Summary

The fact of religious pluralism is one of the most challenging questions for contemporary liberal democracies. Political theorists variously argue that religious belief and practice can be a support for prosocial morality, can cause social division, may prevent citizens from adopting important civic norms, or should simply be an area of civic competence. All of these positions carry significant consequences for democratic education. This chapter surveys a range of positions present in political theory and democratic education literature, drawing on historical and contemporary examples from Western democracies, particularly the American context. The chapter concludes by exploring the possibility that modern liberal democratic regimes are properly considered religious themselves, and by considering the implications of this notion for debates regarding democratic education.

Keywords

religiondemocratic educationJohn Rawlspolitical theorypolitical theologypublic reasonreligious educationreligious literacy
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Democratic Education , pp. 531 - 549
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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