Anders Aschim

The chapter presents and discusses findings from interviews with Religious Education (RE) teachers in Norwegian public schools. The teachers reflect on the role of RE in a diverse society and how students’ religious experiences from faith-based education can be integrated into the curriculum. Drawing on Biesta’s theoretical framework on the purpose of schooling, the study shows that RE teachers see their subject as key to fostering intercultural understanding. Additionally, the teachers view cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity as valuable resources in education, positioning RE instruction as particularly conducive to qualification, socialization, and subjectification. However, despite their resource-oriented approach, the teachers suggest that RE education in school should be cautious about incorporating experiences from faith-based education unless initiated by the students themselves. Thus, the socializing and qualifying functions of the school take priority over students’ subjectification when it comes to linking school activities with religious extracurricular engagements. The chapter concludes by outlining some challenges teachers face in implementing a resource-oriented pedagogy in RE.

This chapter examines what Catholic catechesis for children and youth looks like in Norway today. It explores the role of faith-based practices as a pedagogical approach in the catechesis. We draw on data collected in four different parishes through interviews and observation, both in urban and rural settings. The research discusses how catechesis transcends mere knowledge transmission, using rituals and shared experiences to engage children and youth. Our study highlights the significance of lived religious experiences, both in the lives of the youths, but also as pedagogical tools. The chapter reflects on the pedagogical potential of these practices to inform broader educational settings, particularly in accommodating religious diversity in Norwegian schools.

Who needs knowledge about religious diversity, and how might it be useful? This chapter reflects on how people’s visible and invisible migration histories matter, to themselves, but also societally. In Norway, a migration background is often connected with also belonging to a religious minority, as is the case for most Catholics and Muslims. Considering recognition and belonging, ancestry and togetherness are key to understanding superdiverse European societies, such as the Norwegian. The superdiversity and simultaneous linguistic lines of division, among both Catholics and Muslims in Norway, as some immigrant communities mature while new migrants arrive, are also discussed. The chapter concludes with a reflection on shared responsibilities, in a plural nation still coming to terms with its diversity.

The facilities for religious education in the four Catholic churches and four mosques we have studied in Norway are limited and under increasing pressure to meet the needs of these growing religious minorities. We discuss how the design and use of available spaces can impact non-formal Sunni Muslim and Roman Catholic religious education. We have conducted observations in mosques and churches, in addition to interviewing students, teachers, and leaders at these locations. Our findings indicate that the facilities create both obstacles and opportunities in the different educational settings and situations. The given localities necessitate creative flexibility to create the necessary rooms required to achieve the desired outcome of religious education. We find that limited space often leads to disturbances that can disrupt teaching. However, the cramped conditions also foster closer relationships and social interactions, even in places where the materiality of the rooms does not inherently support such interactions.

Skole i helga? Ja, rundt omkring i Norge arrangerer ulike trossamfunn religionsundervisning for barn og unge i helger og på ettermiddagstid. Denne boka er en døråpner inn til flere av disse stedene gjennom kapitler som beskriver undervisningen i moskéer og katolske kirker i Norge. Boka gir innsikt i hvordan slik undervisning oppleves av barn, ungdommer, foreldre, undervisere og ledere. I tillegg belyses forholdet mellom religionsundervisningen i trossamfunnene og KRLE-undervisningen i grunnskolen, samt hvordan religions- og livssynsmangfold kommer til uttrykk i grunnskolen. Elevene, men også KRLE-lærere og skoleledere kommer til orde når disse sammenhengene diskuteres. Boka formidler kunnskap fra forskningsprosjektet «Ikke-formell trosopplæring, offentlig skole og religiøse minoriteter i Norge» (FAITHED). I dette prosjektet, som er finansiert av Forskningsrådet, har et team av utdanningsforskere, samfunnsforskere og religionsforskere gått sammen for å synliggjøre og forstå mangfold i skolen og i samfunnet med særlig blikk for religiøst mangfold. Denne kunnskapen er relevant for lærere og skoleledere, utdanningsforskere og studenter i lærerutdanningene. Ledere, lærere og medlemmer i trossamfunnene vil også ha nytte av å kjenne til hvordan barn og unge selv opplever rollen trossamfunnene og skolen spiller i livet deres. Håpet er at boka kan bidra til refleksjon og diskusjon i utdanningsfeltet, i trossamfunnene, men også i den offentlige samtalen om det mangfoldige norske samfunnet.

This chapter explores how young Muslims participating in mosque education in Norway today experience the spaces for dialogue, discussion, and disagreement within this educational setting. Methodologically, the chapter is based on qualitative interviews with eight Muslim youths and observations from mosque education in three Norwegian mosques. Drawing on the concepts of safe space and communities of disagreement, the study examines how young Muslims perceive the mosque’s spaces of expression. Their experiences vary across different types of mosques: those with little or no interaction or personal relations with the teacher, those providing safe spaces but limited room for critical questions, those where value negotiations can take place under certain conditions, and those where there is open disagreement on questions of values. The chapter explores the importance of the mosque as a safe space, both as a precondition for making room for negotiating values and for being a space for disagreement, but also as an important arena for exploring religious identity. This is particularly important for young pupils who find little space for this within public schools.

This chapter explores the teaching approaches and materials in mosque schools in Norway, highlighting how Islamic supplementary education is organized and adjusted to the specific context where it is arranged. Drawing on observations and interviews from four mosques, the study shows how diverse teaching approaches are taking place in mosque schools: from Quranic recitation and memorization to interactive and context-sensitive methods influenced by Norwegian educational practices. Teachers adapt transnational pedagogical traditions while addressing local challenges, such as limited resources, mixed prior knowledge among students, and the need for culturally relevant, yet legitimate teaching materials. The findings reveal mosque schools as dynamic spaces where Islamic traditions are negotiated within a Norwegian context, fostering religious competence, ethical understanding, and a sense of belonging among Muslim youth. Mosque schools act as hubs of cultural transmission, where teachers help students navigate both Islamic tradition and Norwegian context.

This chapter explores linguistic practices and strategies in Catholic and Muslim non-formal faith education in Norway. These are faith communities characterized by migration-related diversity. While Norwegian is the dominant language of instruction and communication in most cases, heritage language instruction does exist. However, a flexible use of different languages is observed in both settings, as teachers utilize the full linguistic repertoire available to facilitate the transmission of religious faith and practice in multilingual classrooms.

This chapter explores lower secondary school students and their experiences and encounters with religious diversity and ‘the religious Other’. Two online surveys with open-ended questions were answered by 127 students from various parts of Norway. Using the concept of respect as attitude, knowledge, and action as a theoretical lens, the study shows that the teenagers express openness, tolerance, and respect towards religious diversity and ‘the religious Other’. They also show an interest in religion and find it important to know something about religion in a multicultural society. Additionally, being religious is perceived as normal, including having friends across religious boundaries. Compared to previous youth studies and recent studies on school leaders’ and RE teachers’ experiences with religious diversity, the teenagers seem to have developed a more normalized and empathetic relationship with ‘the religious Other’.

Skole i helga? Ja, rundt omkring i Norge arrangerer ulike trossamfunn religionsundervisning for barn og unge i helger og på ettermiddagstid. Denne boka er en døråpner inn til flere av disse stedene gjennom kapitler som beskriver undervisningen i moskéer og katolske kirker i Norge. Boka gir innsikt i hvordan slik undervisning oppleves av barn, ungdommer, foreldre, undervisere og ledere. I tillegg belyses forholdet mellom religionsundervisningen i trossamfunnene og KRLE-undervisningen i grunnskolen, samt hvordan religions- og livssynsmangfold kommer til uttrykk i grunnskolen. Elevene, men også KRLE-lærere og skoleledere kommer til orde når disse sammenhengene diskuteres. Boka formidler kunnskap fra forskningsprosjektet «Ikke-formell trosopplæring, offentlig skole og religiøse minoriteter i Norge» (FAITHED). I dette prosjektet, som er finansiert av Forskningsrådet, har et team av utdanningsforskere, samfunnsforskere og religionsforskere gått sammen for å synliggjøre og forstå mangfold i skolen og i samfunnet med særlig blikk for religiøst mangfold. Denne kunnskapen er relevant for lærere og skoleledere, utdanningsforskere og studenter i lærerutdanningene. Ledere, lærere og medlemmer i trossamfunnene vil også ha nytte av å kjenne til hvordan barn og unge selv opplever rollen trossamfunnene og skolen spiller i livet deres. Håpet er at boka kan bidra til refleksjon og diskusjon i utdanningsfeltet, i trossamfunnene, men også i den offentlige samtalen om det mangfoldige norske samfunnet.