DW: Dalai Lama: 'Hope for the best - prepare for the worst'

http://www.dw.de/dalai-lama-hope-for-the-best-prepare-for-the-worst/a-17877704

Dalai Lama: 'Hope for the best - prepare for the worst'

On the sidelines of his visit to Hamburg, the Dalai Lama talked exclusively to DW about his optimism for Tibet, the situation in Iraq and Syria, and the growing number of Tibetan Buddhists in China.

EU: Intercultural Dialogue

http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/intercultural/Source/Pub_White_Paper/White%20Paper_final_revised_EN.pdf

Intercultural Dialogue

Leaving together as equals in dignity

Dialogue

– A Key to Europe's Future

Managing Europe’s increasing cultural diversity – rooted in the history of our

continent and enhanced by globalisation – in a democratic manner has

become a priority in recent years. How shall we respond to diversity? What is

our vision of the society of the future? Is it a society of segregated

communities, marked at best by the coexistence of majorities and minorities

with differentiated rights and responsibilities, loosely bound together by

mutual ignorance and stereotypes? Or is it a vibrant and open society without

discrimination, benefiting us all, marked by the inclusion of all residents in full

respect of their human rights? The Council of Europe believes that respect

for, and promotion of, cultural diversity on the basis of the values on which

the Organisation is built are essential conditions for the development of

societies based on solidarity.

The “White Paper on Intercultural Dialogue” presented here, emphatically

argues in the name of the governments of the 47 member states of the

Council of Europe that our common future depends on our ability to

safeguard and develop human rights, as enshrined in the European

Convention on Human Rights

, democracy and the rule of law and to promote

mutual understanding. It reasons that the intercultural approach offers a

forward-looking model for managing cultural diversity. It proposes a

conception based on individual human dignity (embracing our common

humanity and common destiny). If there is a European identity to be realised,

it will be based on shared fundamental values, respect for common heritage

and cultural diversity as well as respect for the equal dignity of every

individual.

Intercultural dialogue has an important role to play in this regard. It allows us

to prevent ethnic, religious, linguistic and cultural divides. It enables us to

move forward together, to deal with our different identities constructively and

democratically on the basis of shared universal values.

Intercultural dialogue can only thrive if certain preconditions are met. To

advance intercultural dialogue, the White Paper argues, the democratic

governance of cultural diversity should be adapted in many aspects;

democratic citizenship and participation should be strengthened; intercultural

competences should be taught and learned; spaces for intercultural dialogue

should be created and widened; and intercultural dialogue should be taken to

the international level.

EFTRE: The Toledo Principles for Teaching RE

http://www.mmiweb.org.uk/eftre/toledo.html

The Toledo Principles for Teaching RE

The Toledo Principles for Teaching RE
1.	Teaching about religions and beliefs must be provided in ways that are fair, accurate and based on sound scholarship. Students should learn about religions and beliefs in an environment respectful of human rights, fundamental freedoms and civic values.
2.	Those who teach about religions and beliefs should have a commitment to religious freedom that contributes to a school environment and practices that foster protection of the rights of others in a spirit of mutual respect and understanding among members of the school community.
3.	Teaching about religions and beliefs is a major responsibility of schools, but the manner in which this teaching takes place should not undermine or ignore the role of families and religious or belief organizations in transmitting values to successive generations.
4.	Efforts should be made to establish advisory bodies at different levels that take an inclusive approach to involving different stakeholders in the preparation and implementation of curricula and in the training of teachers.
5.	Where a compulsory programme involving teaching about religions and beliefs is not sufficiently objective, efforts should be made to revise it to make it more balanced and impartial, but where this is not possible, or cannot be accomplished immediately, recognizing opt-out rights may be a satisfactory solution for parents and pupils, provided that the opt-out arrangements are structured in a sensitive and non-discriminatory way.
6.	Those who teach about religions and beliefs should be adequately educated to do so. Such teachers need to have the knowledge, attitude and skills to teach about religions and beliefs in a fair and balanced way. Teachers need not only subject-matter competence but pedagogical skills so that they can interact with students and help students interact with each other in sensitive and respectful ways.
7.	Preparation of curricula, textbooks and educational materials for teaching about religions and beliefs should take into account religious and non-religious views in a way that is inclusive, fair, and respectful. Care should be taken to avoid inaccurate or prejudicial material, particularly when this reinforces negative stereotypes.
8.	Curricula should be developed in accordance with recognized professional standards in order to ensure a balanced approach to study about religions and beliefs. Development and implementation of curricula should also include open and fair procedures that give all interested parties appropriate opportunities to offer comments and advice.
9.	Quality curricula in the area of teaching about religions and beliefs can only contribute effectively to the educational aims of the Toledo Guiding Principles if teachers are professionally trained to use the curricula and receive ongoing training to further develop their knowledge and competences regarding this subject matter. Any basic teacher preparation should be framed and developed according to democratic and human rights principles and include insight into cultural and religious diversity in society.
10.	Curricula focusing on teaching about religions and beliefs should give attention to key historical and contemporary developments pertaining to religion and belief, and reflect global and local issues. They should be sensitive to different local manifestations of religious and secular plurality found in schools and the communities they serve. Such sensitivities will help address the concerns of students, parents and other stakeholders in education.

RELIGIONS, EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY

http://www.politicsandreligionjournal.com/images/pdf_files/srpski/godina3_broj1/polikarpos%20karamouzis.pdf

RELIGIONS, EDUCATION AND DEMOCRACY :

THE NECESSITY OF INTER-RELIGIOUS EDUCATION IN THE MODERN PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

by Polikarpos Karamouzis

During the twentieth century, European societies have passed through a process of secularization. That means that the institutional organization of states was separated from the religious ideas and churches have declined considerably. This approach was the result first of all of confessional diversification,3 and secondly of the Enlightenment’s critique against the religion that had three clearly distinguishable dimensions: a cognitive one, directed against metaphysical and supernatural
religious worldviews, a practical – political that was against ecclesiastical institutions and a subjective expressive – aesthetic – moral directed against the idea of God. However with the emergence of the modern world, religious organizations had to adapt to two new circumstances.

Full Article

ESRI: Religiosity and Education in Europe

https://www.esri.ie/research/research_areas/education/Remc/working_papers/REMC_Religiosity_Education.pdf

ESRI: Religiosity and Education in Europe

by Silvia Avram, Jaap Dronkers, European University Institute

Table of contents:

1 Introduction........3
2 Religiosity in Europe........3
2.1 Indicators of religiosity.....4
2.2 Religiosity and demographics....7
2.3 Religiosity and tolerance.......8
2.4 Religiosity and gender attitudes.....9
2.5 Final remarks.....10
3 Educational Systems in Europe......11
4 School Choice Processes in Europe....16
5 Linking religiosity, educational system design and school selection processes..20
Appendix 1: Religious belonging in various demographic groups-by country..22
Appendix 2: Religious believing in various demographic groups-by country..30
Appendix 3: Educational systems in the European Union...38
Appendix 4: Variables used to predict school choice.......63
Appendix 5: The coefficients of the logistic regression predicting the choice of a private-dependent school relative to a public school per country, including tuition......69

NEF: Teaching About Religions in European School Systems

http://www.nef-europe.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Teaching-about-religion_NEF-RelDem-RELIGION-EDUCATION-Final.pdf

Teaching About Religions in European School Systems

by Luce Pepin

Contents
Preface: The ‘Religion and Democracy in Europe’ initiative 5
About the author and advisory group 6
Introduction 9
Context 9
Objectives of the study 11
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
1 Europe and diversity 13
1.1 The context of teaching about religions 13
1.1.1 Separation of church and state and secularization 13
1.1.2 Religious freedom and freedom of education 16
1.1.3 Cultural and ethnic diversity 17
1.2 The place of teaching about religions in education systems and the
different approaches adopted 18
1.2.1 Character and status 19
1.2.2 Place in the curriculum 25
1.2.3 Teachers 28
1.2.4 Taking account of religious diversity 29
1.2.5 Religious symbols in school 32
1.2.6 Research and pedagogy 33
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
2 Common trends and challenges for the 21st century 36
2.1 Developments and trends 36
2.1.1 Adapting to new realities 36
2.1.2 Some disquieting trends 39
2.2 Common challenges 42
2.2.1 High‑quality teaching for all students 43
2.2.2 A basis in intercultural and citizenship education 45
2.2.3 Taking religious diversity effectively into account 48
Conclusion 52
Towards a European Reference Framework on the conditions for
high‑quality intercultural teaching about religions and other convictions
in state education 54
Appendix A Main bibliographical sources 56
Appendix B Main networks and organizations 58
Appendix C National profiles 60
Czech Republic 60
England 63
France 68
Romania 74
Spain 78
Sweden 82
The Netherlands 87