All contributions to the volume were developed in the context of the European Network for Religious Education through Contextual Approaches (ENRECA). In the 20 year history of the research community of ENRECA several times books are published on contextual factors of Religious Education. This volume has a special focus on different perspectives of ‘time’ in relation to the tradition, present and future perspectives of Religious Education in Europe.

People form attachments to their home, their neighbourhood and environment, to the region and nation to which they belong. They express feelings about space and place, especially so in ‘globalized times’. In religious studies, in theology, and in education, there is a growing interest in spatial theories either as constructed within national borders, or within international and transnational spaces. The “spatial turn” has become an acknowledged term in interdisciplinary discourses. Although every practice of religious education is situated and contextually dependent, religious education (RE) research until now has not systematically paid attention to this fundamental insight. This volume is devoted specifically to clarifying the close relationship between RE practice and spatial and situational conditions.

Religious Education is on trial in Germany and other European countries. The focal questions are whether teachers should communicate essential issues about religion and religions to their pupils in a neutral way or whether they should convey personal and individual convictions as well. How should public schools in civil societies deal with positions of truth in the context of cultural and lifeworld conditions? Are there pedagogical concerns about professional teachers expressing an individual commitment in class? What is the significance of denomination in RE? The articles of this volume offer new perspectives by means of empirical studies and theoretical consideration.

Religious education at schools in Western Europe

Ein umfassender Überblick über die Arbeitsfelder islamischer Religionspädagogik