”First I need to be a Good Person” : Perspectives on religious education from some students in language introductory classes in Sweden.

This paper is based on five interviews with students that are or have been in language introductory classes in Sweden. The students have different religious experiences from different parts of the world and have the possibility to compare religious education in Sweden with their first countries’ religious education. All interviewed students come from countries with confessional religious education and in Sweden the religious education is non-confessional. In language introductory classes religion is one of several subjects that students take part in before entering ordinary classes. This paper concludes that the Swedish religious education and values, like tolerance and secularity, which are often taught in the classrooms could be one of several factors that contribute to changing the interviewed students images of themselves and their surroundings