This chapter aims to explore how policymakers shaping religious education in Brazilian public schools have attempted to develop a curriculum that aligns both with the secularization of the state and the plurality of lifestances and worldviews. To that end, we begin by tracing the trajectory of religious education in Brazil since the late 1980s, when the Brazilian Constitution reaffirmed the separation of church and state and established pluralism as a guiding principle for public policy. This historical reconstruction provides essential context for the subsequent analysis, which focuses on the current guidelines for educators on how to deliver the subject in the classroom. Based on observations made at a series of teacher training sessions, the analysis examines how educators are encouraged to move away from traditional catechetical approaches in order to respect religious diversity and the secular framework of the Brazilian state. Rather than promoting any particular belief system, teachers are instructed to adopt a non-proselytizing, cultural, and scientific approach to religious education. Investigating these guidelines sheds light on the challenges posed by pluralism and secularism, and how these challenges are addressed within the public education system of South America’s largest country.

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Religious Education in Brazilian Public Schools: Between Pluralism and Secularism

  • Guilherme Borges

摘要

This chapter aims to explore how policymakers shaping religious education in Brazilian public schools have attempted to develop a curriculum that aligns both with the secularization of the state and the plurality of lifestances and worldviews. To that end, we begin by tracing the trajectory of religious education in Brazil since the late 1980s, when the Brazilian Constitution reaffirmed the separation of church and state and established pluralism as a guiding principle for public policy. This historical reconstruction provides essential context for the subsequent analysis, which focuses on the current guidelines for educators on how to deliver the subject in the classroom. Based on observations made at a series of teacher training sessions, the analysis examines how educators are encouraged to move away from traditional catechetical approaches in order to respect religious diversity and the secular framework of the Brazilian state. Rather than promoting any particular belief system, teachers are instructed to adopt a non-proselytizing, cultural, and scientific approach to religious education. Investigating these guidelines sheds light on the challenges posed by pluralism and secularism, and how these challenges are addressed within the public education system of South America’s largest country.