Facing the Challenge of Religious Illiteracy

The ReIReS workshop at the office of CNR was dedicated to the presence and the quality of the religious history in school texts and on the relevance that education has in the construction of  a common European cultural space.

Presenters from various ReIReS partners gave an overview of the situation in Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Bulgaria. Besides, topics like religious illiteracy, tools for teachers, the role of historians, and the situation at national history museums were addressed.

The necessity to deal with a growing religious illiteracy in Europe was a general concern of the participants, which made clear that there is an urgent need to confront this, e.g. by discussing methodologies, by inventing common frameworks, by creating conditions for research, and by shaping  the public opinion.

The concluding round table was attended by Silvia Costa of the European Parliament. She appreciates ReIReS as an opportunity to reconsider the role of religion in the public space and to reflect on a new approach, not only from a historical or political point of view, but also considering cultural elements.

At a later stage, the papers given at the workshop will be made available via the ReIReS website.