Religion gives food for thought

Religious pedagogical-theological study day

"Religion makes you think" - the title of Prof. Rudolf Englert's (University of Essen) "Religionsdidaktik in 19 Lehrstücken" (Religion Didactics in 19 Teaching Pieces) published in 2013 (the subtitle) was the motto and programme for the first study day organized by the Department of Religious Education under the direction and initiative of Prof. Annegret Reese-Schnitker at the Institute of Catholic Theology.

Around 90 future and current religious education teachers from the greater Kassel area attended the study day: students, trainee teachers, religious education teachers from all school levels, interested in the pressing questions about the shape of future-oriented religious education.

With his opening lecture, Prof. Englert ensured right from the start that "cognitive activation", the use and development of which is one of his central concerns, especially in the subject of religion, was not just a word phrase, but also became tangible in the faces of many listeners in the course of his presentation.

Rudolf Englert posed necessary questions about the current form of religious education: Are pupils no longer interested in theological questions? Does the work on theological questions have too little clarification value? Do religious education lessons too rarely provide experiences of progressive skills? Does religious education not offer enough cognitive challenges? After a critical analysis of current religious education, he proposes the introduction of theological didactics in the above-mentioned work and substantiates this using 19 didactic pieces on important questions of theology. In this composition, theological, philosophical and literary texts are intended to invite teachers and learners in religious education to think and challenge them to take a stand. The didactics of the didactic plays aims to build up networked knowledge, support pupils in independently pursuing paths of knowledge and argumentation and to develop and consolidate basic theological knowledge.

The participants were then able to take part in three subsequent workshops led by Gabriele Cramer (Münster), Birgit Menzel (Frankfurt) and Dr. Monika Rack (Kassel/Engelsburg), each of which dealt with different, original examples of application and in-depth further development of individual pieces of teaching.

Rudolf Englert's approach - which could perhaps be equated with "more theory in (teaching) practice" - has by no means proved to be reducible to an erudite act of information and instruction, especially in the commitment of practitioners to theory: Rather, his collection of (text) building blocks proves to be a stimulating toolbox, by means of which the abundance of existing occasions, which continue to challenge reflection and thinking in the field of religion, can be used in a well thought-out way and thus have a catching effect in open appropriation processes that are worthy of lasting consideration.

In conclusion, we would like to thank everyone who made this day a success:

To the students of the basic religious education courses I and II who, thanks to waffle dough and bread smearing skills, prepared the physical basis for intellectual exchange during the breaks, to the Diocese of Fulda for the financial contribution and the staff presence, to the leaders of the three workshops and finally to all those who accepted the invitation on a Friday afternoon despite full timetables: Through the interaction of students and teacher trainees in the 2nd study phase as well as experienced practicing teachers, this afternoon became, as hoped, a place of encounter and exchange between the different phases of teacher training. By bringing together students and trainee teachers in the second phase of their studies as well as experienced practising teachers, this afternoon also became, as hoped, a place of encounter and exchange between the different phases of teacher training.