Die stand van interreligieuse toleransie by ‘n groep Suid-Afrikaanse onderwysstudente

Abstract

Religious tolerance has become one of the most important issues of the current century in view of the many atrocities perpetrated in the name of religion by extremist groups. Of great concern to teacher educators is whether current final year students display the degree of religious tolerance that would be required from them when they have to deal with religious differences among their future students and in the communities in which they will practise their profession. A questionnaire, of which a copy is attached to this article and which may be used by interested parties after having acquired permission to do so, was constructed, based on a conceptual and theoretical framework in which the issue of religious tolerance is examined in detail. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 300 teacher education students (drawn from a population of around 3000). The results show that while there are certain points of concern, such as that the respondents tend to withdraw from others with different belief systems and tend not to trust them, there are no great concerns about the state of religious tolerance in this particular group of students. Key concepts: Religion, Faith, Belief, Tolerance, Religious tolerance, Teacher education Abstrak: Godsdienstige verdraagsaamheid het een van die belangrikste vraagstukke van die huidige eeu geword, juis vanweë die gewelddadige optredes en dade wat ekstremiste in die naam van godsdiens pleeg. Die vraag by baie onderwysersopleiers is of huidige finalejaar onderwysstudente die nodige godsdienstige verdraagsaamheid aan die dag lê om die godsdienstige verskille in die skole en in die gemeenskappe waarin hulle hulle beroep gaan beoefen, te kan hanteer. ’n Vraelys (waarvan ’n afskrif as bylaag tot die artikel verskyn, en wat ander belangstellendes mag gebruik na verkryging van toestemming daartoe) is opgestel en gefundeer in ’n konseptuele en teoretiese raamwerk waarin die vraagstuk van religieuse verdraagsaamheid in besonderhede ondersoek is. Die vraelys is deur ’n steekproef van 300 studente (uit ’n populasie van nagenoeg 3000) ingevul. Dit blyk uit die resultate dat hoewel daar enkele kommerenswaardige aspekte is soos dat die respondente geneig is om hulle afsydig te hou van diegene met ander godsdienstige oortuigings as hulleself, en ook neig om andersdenkendes te wantrou, daar nie groot kommer oor die mate van religieuse verdraagsaamheid by hierdie groep studente hoef te wees nie. Kernbegrippe: Godsdiens, Religie, Verdraagsaamheid, Toleransie, Religieuse toleransie, Onderwysstudente https://doi.org/10.19108/KOERS.80.2.2224