Education and Religion and Worldviews Education: A small subject in the educational context, or a core issue for understanding what Education is? A presentation at the symposium: Education in Religion/ Worldviews: formative, informative or transformative?

“Danning” is originally a German concept that has taking on nation specific traits in the Nordic countries, while debates must also be seen in a broader international context. In English “Danning” has not traditionally been used, but “formation” referring to a dimension beyond learning which is more transformative, could be a suggested translation. “Danning” could also be seen as integrated into the English concept of Education, but this is a matter of debate which, for instance Biesta is pushing with his suggestion of seeing Education as having three dimensions, qualification, socialization, and subjectification. This refers to the German origin of the concept of “Danning”, as one of three aspects of education, in addition to “Ausbuildiung” and “Erzieung”. Debates about Danning are not limited to singular school subjects but relates to issues of the overall purpose of education, but it triggers debates about the aims and purpose of single school subject in a broader educational context. One school subject where aims and purpose particularly have come under debate, is Religions- and Worldviews education. In England a commission of Religious Education has investigated an alleged crisis due to heavy debates on aims and purpose and suggest a way forwards (CoRE 2018). This crisis is however also on the agenda in Biesta & Hannams (ed) book from 2021: The Forgotten Dimension of Religious Education. A main point is how the dimension of religion is lacking in theories of education, while at the same time theories of education is lacking in theories of RE. If there is little agreement over its nature or purpose justifications for having RE as a subject in schools may be vanishing. Miller (2021, chapter 10) reports that the problem is a lack of coherence to educational structures that supported good quality RE teaching. This could be seen as part of the same tendency that I identified internationally, in “New Social Patterns: old structures” (Bråten 2014b), of a growing gap between provision of RE and students’ experiences of religion and worldviews (see also Franken 2021). In a National Curriculum in Norway from 2020, a general point is that subject learning should be meaningful in relation to overarching aims for education. Some overarching aims is specified in three interdisciplinary topics towards which all school subjects should contribute: public health and mastery of life, democracy and citizenship, and sustainable development. A more open approach to knowledge, in all school subjects, is encouraged, where students explore issues, and not just learn prefabricated facts. Further, students should understand and be able to use what is learned in new situations (Bråten & Skeie 2020). Bråten and Skeie (2020) argue that because studies of religion and worldviews in school has a lot to contribute to the three interdisciplinary topics, RE in Norway could be seen as strengthened. In the current reform it is particularly obvious how general educational ideas affect developments in RE as a school subject. It has acquired new specific purposes to contribute to overarching aims within the larger framework for general education.