Religion at School in Secular Europe

Abstract

It is widely accepted that Europe is characterised by a secularised society and states marked by laicism (laïcité). The article analyses how this European secularity observes religious education, highlighting the fact that it does not have a single model. The diversity of interpretations of the term “secularity” is not unrelated to the fact that there is a plurality of approaches to the teaching (or non-teaching) of religion within European education systems. The authors of the article opt for Taylor’s approach of defining secularity not by its relation to religion, but by the ends it desires to achieve. Within this framework, the article describes the plurality of models of teaching religion in education systems and how these models articulate the values that secularity seeks to achieve. The analysis takes into account both the guidelines and recommendations of European institutions and the policies implemented by states.

Keywords

• religious phenomenon
• education system
• secularism
• laicism
• teaching of religion
• religious education