Worldview Confusion in Finnish Public Education: The Case for Religion and Worldviews in Religious Education
摘要
In this chapter I focus on the question of the use and role of ‘worldview’ and ‘religion’ in Finnish public education by drawing on international literature to frame the conceptual changes ongoing in Finland and also to address the major influence of international research and debate on Finnish scholarship. Similarly to several countries, the use of the term ‘worldview (s)’ has in many instances overlapped with the use of ‘religion’ in educational policy, curricula, and research. This has coincided with the change to post-confessional religious education. As a result, the development of worldview education (or education concerning worldviews in public education) and religious literacy are both suffering from a lack of clear focus and a sound theoretical framework. I begin by discussing the topic in light of the international literature on RE. I focus on the different ways the two concepts are related as presented in the literature and then on the distinction between personal and organized worldviews. After that, I discuss how ‘worldview’ was introduced in Finland and how it has been used in Finnish educational discourse and the curriculum for basic education. I conclude with some implications and key considerations.