CHARACTERISTICS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN FORMAL EDUCATION IN REPUBLIC OF CROATIA AND SOME OTHER COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

Vaţnost religijskog obrazovanja prepoznata je u većini pluralistiĉkih i demokratskih obrazovnih sustava u Europi. U tom kontekstu, glavna namjera ovog rada bila je analizirati razliĉite pristupe i ciljeve religijskom obrazovanju u Republici Hrvatskoj, Irskoj, Austriji, Engleskoj, Sloveniji i Finskoj. Rezultati istraţivanja upućuju na povezanost društva i tradicije s implementacijom religijskog obrazovanja, te upućuju na razliĉite pristupe religijskom odgoju i obrazovanju koji seţu od konfesionalnog koji zagovara obvezu prema odreĊenoj religiji do nekonfesionalnog pristupa koji promiĉe uĉenje o svjetskim religijama bez izravne ţelje za sudjelovanjem u odreĊenim uvjerenjima.The importance of religious education has been recognized in most pluralistic and democratic educational systems in Europe. In this context, the main purpose of this paper was to analyze different interpretations and approaches to religious education in the Republic of Croatia, Ireland, Austria, Slovenia and Finland. The research results point to the association of religious education and on different approaches to religious education that can go from confessional approach that promotes obligation toward certain religion to nonconfessional that promotes learning about world religions without direct desire to participate in certain belief