Citizenship education religion and religious identity in public schooling in South Africa

Abstract

Religion education grounded in universal human rights and civil toleration raises tensions between liberal assumptions of citizenship and religious perspectives. In the public school environment, nurturing learners to become responsible, effective citizens grounded in their worldview and identity may conflict with their developing religious identity and can pose a problem in realizing the vision of a democratic South Africa. This article unveils how the new focus of citizenship education within the Policy on Religion and Education in South Africa interacts with the competing, conflicting claims of religious identity and considers the complex interrelationship of the above concepts and the implication for learners in public schools.