Facilitating Religion in Life Orientation Programmes: Challenges for a Multicultural Society

The relevance of Religious Education (RE) as a subject within the school environment is once again being challenged. Many studies during the 1990's indicated that RE has to adopt a new approach in order to stay relevant in the process of globalisation. The democratic change in South Africa has also influenced scholars in RE to re-evaluate the subject at both tertiary and school level. New emphasis on communal values in order to establish an understanding and knowledge of different cultures, religions and behaviours, is becoming a worldwide trend. The call for relevance thus becomes a moral issue. The Outcomes Based Education (OBE) model in the South African education system also implies the incorporation of skills to live meaningful lives (Curriculum 2005, 1997). This article will argue that religion in education needs to change in order to fulfil the requirements of world trends in education, OBE in general, and the needs of learners in particular. A perspective on the integration of religion in Life Orientation or Life Skills programmes, especially in a developing multicultural society, will be presented