Balancing the Communitarian, Civic, and Liberal Aims of Religious Education: Islamic Reflections

Abstract

Balancing the communitarian, civic, and liberal aims of faith-based education presents a significant challenge to most religious education teachers. The communitarian approach to religious education is the most common, as it socializes children to become members of a given faith community. It recognizes students’ rights to collective identity and belonging. The civic approach to religious education asks, “what is the preferred meaning of respect in a religiously pluralist society, and how can it be promoted in the context of a deep belief in the primacy of one religion?” This approach also concerns itself with managing religious identities in a multifaith and democratic society. Liberal religious education involves asking the question, “how can one’s own religious doctrine be taught so as to allow the widest possible scope for critical reflection within [and about] a faith tradition?”. The current review essay addresses these questions by exploring the meanings, significance, and limitations of each approach and their possible implications for Islamic education in Israeli-Arab and Muslim-majority schools.