Values and Attitudes in Religious Education: A Personal Perspective

This essay delves into the values and attitudes inherent in religious education, examining their impact on personal motivation and understanding of the subject. The paper begins by defining religious education and its secular nature, emphasizing the dissemination of information about various religious faiths. It then explores key values such as peace, tolerance, and rational thinking, highlighting their role in promoting a comprehensive understanding of different religions. The essay further analyzes the impact of these values on the author's perspective, discussing how the emphasis on peace, harmony, and rational thought has influenced their approach to religious education. The conclusion underscores the significance of religious education in fostering spiritual values, promoting tolerance, and cultivating a holistic understanding of the world. The essay emphasizes the importance of religious education in promoting peace and harmony in society.

Running head: VALUES OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Values of religious education
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Meaning of religious education.......................................................................................................2
Attitudes and values present in religious education........................................................................3
Impact of these values and attitudes on my motivation towards religious education.....................4
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................5
References:......................................................................................................................................7

2VALUES OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION
Introduction
The field of education has always been in the lime light because of its purpose of
disseminating information and knowledge among the individuals of the society. Education is
supposed to provide the needed information to the individuals which would help them to
critically analyze a particular situation in the society and take the effective measures necessary to
resolve any problems (Wekke, Mokodenseho & Firdaus, 2017). Thus, transforming them in to
law abiding citizens of the world and raising an individual with rational thought process are the
two primary objectives of education. The field of education has been sought to be kept secular in
nature. This is due to the reason that religion emphasizes on the miracle of life while education
tries to use knowledge to engage in rationalization of the subject matter (Holley, 2016). The
purpose of this paper is to examine the values and attitudes which are involved in the field of
religious education. In this respect, the extent of influence of such values and attitudes on my
level of motivation towards religious education has also been discussed.
Meaning of religious education
Religious education refers to the dissemination of information about the various religious
faiths of the world. The students are made aware of the doctrines of the religious, their main
objectives and the way of life which is advocated by them and also about the followers of the
religious practices (Farrell, 2016). In this regard, it is important to note that the contemporary
world order harps on the element of secularism and liberty. No religious practice is forced upon
an individual without their consent. Thus, in order to maintain the secular nature of religious
education, the educational institutions have sought to keep it separated from the general
academia. Religious education considers the religious belief to be the central tenet and the

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necessitated operating modality (Amiruddin, Askar & Yusra, 2019). In this context, the religious
education is kept entirely secular with the purpose of making the students aware of the various
customs and rituals which are present in the different religions of the world and the manner in
which they are adhered to.
Attitudes and values present in religious education
The present world order is found to be challenged by the threats to peace and security.
Such threats are mainly arising from the ascriptions made by the individuals of the society
towards their religious practices (Jackson, 2018). In such a concerning time, there is a need to
ensure that the individuals re properly guided on the doctrines of the religions they ascribe to and
the various rituals and customs which are connected to such religion.
In this context, the aspect of religious teaching assumes importance. Religious teaching
aims to make the people aware about the objectives of religions, the rituals which are followed
by them, their historical under pinning and the general over view about the religious practice as
such (Cohen-Zada & Elder, 2018).
While doing this, certain values and attitudes are imparted in the field of religious
teaching. One of the most important value which is identified in the field of religious teaching is
that the individuals are taught about the notion of peace and tolerance. The knowledge provided
in the context of the various religions provide a comparative over view to the individuals (Black,
2017). They have engage in rational thinking which then points out to them that all the religions
of the world seek to establish a particular way of life which is filled with peace and tolerance.
Such religions want their followers to be loving in nature and cultivate within themselves an

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aspect of tolerance towards the others in the society who do not possess the same outlook
towards the particular religion (Poulter, 2019).
Another important attitude which is identified in the field of religious teaching is that the
individuals learning it are encouraged to access the religions on a practical field. They use
rational thought process and objectively analyze each religious doctrine, thereby separating it
from the actions of their adherents (Renkema, Mulder & Barnard, 2019). This enables the
earners to understand that each and every religion of the world attempt to establish a society
filled with gratitude and love. It is the actions of their followers which cast a heavy shadow over
their doctrines, thereby creating a negative image of the religion in front of the other individuals
of the society.
Impact of these values and attitudes on my motivation towards religious
education
My approach towards the field of religious teaching has been influenced to a significant
manner by the perceived values and attitudes which are identified in the same field. The nature
of religious teaching is such that it is difficult to give it a completely secular outlook. The
discussion of religious doctrines, their customs and rituals, the traditional norms they ascribe to,
all of it had made me reluctant to read about religious education. Furthermore, the preconceived
notion that ascribing to religious education would inadvertently compel me to follow a particular
religion or the other, greatly hampered me from engaging with the particular field of study
(Shields, 2018). I did not want to lose my secular nature and gave great importance to the aspect
of rational thought process.

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However, this thought process changed when I was made aware of the values imparted
by religious education. The values of promotion of peace and harmony greatly motivated me to
approach the sphere of religious education in a more amicable manner. Peace is the fore most
requirement of the modern society since most of the groups of the society are found to be
radicalized in their attempt to reform the society (Kholidah & Rahman, 2019). They no longer
believe in the aspects of peace negotiations and deliberations. In this context, the value of peace
which is underlined in religious education, inspired me to indulge in the particular field of study.
Another important value which was seen to be existing in the field of religious education
is that it promoted rational thinking. The primary pre-conceived notion that I had with regard to
religious education is that it would compel me to follow a particular religion while distrusting the
doctrine of another one. However, the rational thinking and critical analyzing of the field of
study motivated me to approach religious education with a broad mind. It gave me the power to
form judgments by myself while critically evaluating the doctrine of a particular religion, the
rituals followed by them, the customs and their traditional norms (Barnes, 2019). This showed
me that almost all the religious strands around the world believed in the element of promoting
peace and harmony. They inspire people to become the best version of themselves while being
present for the cause of humanity. Thus, service to the society is the main teaching of such
religious strands.
A third important value which motivated me to approach the field of religious education
is that of spirituality and way of life. The main objective of religions around the world is to instill
in the people a particular way of life. They motivate people to be respectful towards their elders,
follow the norms of the society, eat or drink a particular kind of cuisine which would help them
to maintain a healthy life and approach the other members of the society with respect and

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gratitude. In this context, it can be seen that religions tend to provide for a way of life through
their teachings a doctrines. However, this aspect of religion has sought to be fundamentalized by
certain adherents. Their activities have led to the degeneration of the primary nature of religion
itself.
All of these factors have contributed in increasing my motivation to approach the field of
religious education with a broad mind. The more I am learning about religions around the world,.
The more I believe that if followed correctly, every religion would be able to transform their
followers in to better citizens of their countries filled with love, compassion and gratitude.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it can be observed that the field of religious education is quite significant
for the generation and inculcation of spiritual values among the individuals of the society.
Rational thought process is paramount for an individual to survive within the community.
However, the knowledge on ethics, values, customs, norms and traditions is also important. It is
such knowledge which transforms a person in to a holistic individual who is able to respect their
elders and be tolerant towards the other individuals of the society. Peace and security is provided
as a result of spiritual education. In the contemporary field of religious education, the religious
teachings are taught in a manner which is conducive to the growth of the individuals. The earlier
restriction of practical thinking has been done away with and now it focuses more on the
development of the spirituality among the individuals of the society. Thus, the values and the
attitudes developed as a result of religious education has motivated me to look favorably upon
religious education.

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References:
Amiruddin, A., Askar, A., & Yusra, Y. (2019). Development of Islamic Religious Education
Learning Model based on Multicultural Values. International Journal Of Contemporary
Islamic Education, 1(1), 1-19.
Barnes, L. P. (2019). Crisis, Controversy and the Future of Religious Education. Routledge.
Black, P. (2017). Christian beliefs and values in science and religious education: an essay to
assist the work of teachers of both subjects. International Studies in Catholic
Education, 9(2), 206-222.
Cohen-Zada, D., & Elder, T. (2018). Religious pluralism and the transmission of religious values
through education. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 150, 325-349.
Farrell, F. (2016). ‘Why all of a sudden do we need to teach fundamental British values?’A
critical investigation of religious education student teacher positioning within a policy
discourse of discipline and control. Journal of Education for teaching, 42(3), 280-297.
Holley, R. (2016). Religious education and religious understanding: An introduction to the
philosophy of religious education. Routledge.
Jackson, R. (2018). Religious education’s contribution to intercultural education, citizenship
education and values education. In Religious Education for Plural Societies (pp. 192-
210). Routledge.
Kholidah, L. N., & Rahman, S. A. (2019, April). Analysis of Lecturer’s Perception about
Integration of the Character Values of Social Care in the Learning of Islamic Religious
Education. In 3rd Asian Education Symposium (AES 2018). Atlantis Press.

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Poulter, S. (2019). Religious education as a means of citizenship education in
Finland. Contextualising dialogue, secularisation and pluralism: Religion in Finnish
public education, 39.
Renkema, E., Mulder, A., & Barnard, M. (2019). Dialog in Religious Education at a Dutch
Cooperation School. A Pilot Study. Religion & Education, 46(4), 434-457.
Shields, R. (2018). Gospel Values and Catholic Education: Revitalizing the Faith Community in
a Culture of “Whatever”. Religious Education, 113(1), 84-95.
Wekke, I. S., Mokodenseho, S., & Firdaus, F. (2017). Religious education and tolerance:
learning process in high school of minority muslim Indonesia.