Att skapa förståelse: religionslärare och den religiösa mångfalden : En religionsdidaktisk kvalitativ studie om religionskunskapslärares undervisning i en mångreligiös samhällskontext

Sweden has an integrative approach to religious education and the classroom is a platform for religious plurality. At the same time, school is one of the sources for youth to get their information about religions. The aim of this thesis was to describe how teachers of religious education in Sweden perceive their own teaching in relation to a religiously diverse context. The research questions were as follows: How do upper secondary school teachers of religious education describe their teaching, as taken place in a religiously diverse classroom, as well as a religiously diverse society? and How can we understand the image of religious diversity which is being conveyed by the teachers', in relation to James A. Beckford's clarification of the concept religious pluralism. By using an inductive qualitative content analysis, four semi-structured interviews with upper secondary school teachers of religious education were analysed. Through the results three themes emerged, which were: motivations, selection strategies and teaching strategies. To understand how these were related to religious diversity in society as well as in the classroom the results were analysed from a didactics perspective. To understand the image of religious pluralism that was constructed in the teacher’s descriptions James A. Beckford’s concept of religious pluralism was applied To conclude, the results answer to the questions of didactics. The religious diversity within the classroom emphasizes the question of how the teaching is conducted, while the religious diversity in society emphasizes the question of what is being taught. The question of “why” relates to both the diversity in the classroom as well as society. The description mirrors different forms of religious diversity. The teachers’ aim is to generate recognition and acceptance towards religious diversity which is in line with the curriculum. The teachers’ description of the content constructs an image of the level of religious diversity which relates to what is current in society. The religious diversity in the classroom is also described to have a certain positive value for the teachers as it allows different teaching strategies to be used