The purpose of this article is to construct an ethical position of Academic Development Programmes where managerial, top-down principles, are rejected because of the disciplinary resistance such positions bring in the reluctance of recognising existing teaching practices. Instead a focus on particularity through the acceptance of professional difference in an interdisciplinary dialogue is put forward where comparative didactics and interfaith dialogue bring new abilities for university teachers to become better practitioners within their own fields of teaching.

The aim of this article is to conduct a systematic review of articles on climate change in religious education found through scholarly databases. Five database searches have been conducted, resulting in 49 academic journal articles. The results are categorized into studies that focus on theory and methodology, observations of existing practices, and quantitative studies on climate change. The key findings include the recognition of an environmental crisis and the cultivation of hope regarding climate change. It demonstrates that religious education can play a crucial role in schools by addressing climate anxiety and fostering hope for a brighter future.

Academic teacher development is an educational meeting place for academics already practising the art of teaching. Yet, it is in courses for this development that academics are supposed to be taught how to teach and how to improve their teaching skills. In my article I propose a new conceptual methodological framework for teaching teachers how to teach – Didactic Reasoning. Its foundation can be traced to pragmatist philosophy and interfaith dialogue in theology. The key aspect of Didactic Reasoning is to make university teachers better teachers by the development of a didactic voice and the courage to try this voice in teaching activities. This is done through intersubjective meetings between academics to develop a respect for the ‘teaching-other’ in their colleagues and through the use of practice-focused themed conversations led by teacher educators.

Today, in many western secular countries there is an ongoing public debate on the educational role of religiousinstitutions. This debate has been much examined in previous research. But, the religious institutions own policiesregarding education has received little focus in research, even less from a comparative perspective. Therefore, thispaper aims at analysing and comparing four such ecclesiastical policies on religion: the “Veritas Gaudium” (2018),issued by Pope Francis for the Roman Catholic Church; the Church of England’s “Vision for Education” (2016), and theGerman Evangelische Kirche’s “Kirche und Bildung” (2009); and finally from Sweden, the Lutheran Church of Sweden’supcoming policy on education.This paper, being part of research project “Confessional Education in Secular Contexts” at the University of Borås, aimsat analysing these four ecclesiastical policies on education focusing on how the churches present the need for theireducational perspectives in a secular context. Questions such as, how the denominations view themselves in terms ofeducational institutions, and how they argue from a theological perspective on the needs for education, will beinvestigated. The paper position itself in the juxtaposition fields of Practical Theology and Religious education. Policyanalysis is a methodology seldom used in Practical Theology, albeit commonly used in Religious Education, still,ecclesiastical policies are more frequently analysed in Practical Theology than in Religious Education. With thecombination, important aspects of understanding Christian denominations effort of position themselves aseducational agents in a secular context, can be identified and understood.

In the post-secular societies of Northern Europe, Christian denominations have had to re-construct their identities as educational agents. This article focuses on the Church of England and the Church of Sweden, and their changed self-identification as expressed in their educational policy documents. Whereas the Church of England’sdiscourses are of partnership and business competition, the Church of Sweden’sdiscourses are about the Apocalypse and external threats. These approaches areanalysed using Habermas’ concept of religion, identifying a transformation of religious language into secular argumentation to become viable in the secular public space. The question posed is: “Is theology becoming a losing proposition in Northern Europe?"

This study aims at investigating and comparing state attitudes towards confession in policies regarding meetings with religious elements at schools. Two state policies have been examined through a text analysis inspired by Critical Hermeneutics – the 2012 guidelines, currently in use, and a historic guideline from 1967. Results show that two different stands are emerging regarding confessional elements. In the 1967 policy, pupils are encouraged to meet and tolerate different religious perspectives including non-religious attitudes in order to develop a democratic consciousness. Half a century later, the 2012 policy consider confession as problematic and something from which pupils ought to be protected. The study ends with a discussion of how recent regulations align with the ambition of training pupils in the encounter with religious others in the multicultural society Sweden and Europe presently are part of. Perhaps, something could be learned from previous state regulations – that encountering otherness does not necessary lead students to question their own beliefs, rather it may expand their horizon of cultural competence.

The canonical year has since long been a firm foundation of sermons and teaching on the fundamentals of faith. For adults it has often been intertwined with current life situations and contextualization. For children, less so. Often, biblical stories have been used to learn the Christian narratives and faith fundamentals, but seldom in a societal context. This paper is a presentation of a planned project to construct a learning material for families and Sunday schools where the basis is the canonical year and its biblical passages but contextualized into today’s world of insecurities.

The climate crisis, with its global reach, demands diverse solutions, yet many religious education curricula, for example in Swedish schools, lack climate-focused content. Given that climate change disproportionately affects different regions, a postcolonial perspective is crucial in understanding the disparity between the crisis’s causers and victims. Religions contribute diverse ethical frameworks and spiritual resources, providing both identity and hope in the face of ecological anxiety. By integrating climate concerns into religious education, students can engage with concepts such as eco-theology, climate justice, and the spiritual responsibilities of humans toward nature. This integration fosters critical discussions on the socio-political roles of global religious institutions, such as the World Council of Churches can serve as platforms for dialogue and cooperation. The paper will also discuss the collaborative development of educational materials, highlighting the importance of cooperative work between educators, theologians, and interfaith groups. By drawing on examples from various religious traditions, the paper emphasises the potential of religious education to offer constructive, globally unified responses to the climate crisis while respecting the plurality of religious experiences.

Syftet med denna artikel är dels att undersöka hur den existerande professionsetiken ser ut för universitetslärare idag, 2016, dels att pröva utforma en ny, frågebaserad professionsetik, som istället för riktlinjer utgår ifrån de didaktiska frågorna hur, vad, varför och vem? Som en grund för artikeln står dels SULF:s etiska riktlinjer från 2005 för universitetslärare, dels den problematik som breddad rekrytering innebär vad gäller studenters prestationer och förutsättningar till studier. Stora brister identifieras i SULF:s etiska riktlinjer, framför allt vad gäller synen på svaga studenter och lärarens roll att hjälpa studenterna att nå godkända betyg i sin universitetsutbildning. För att ge universitetslärare den etiska assistans som SULF:s riktlinjer talar om, behövs en ny ansats till professionsetiken i högre utbildning. En konsekvens av denna slutsats är därför artikelns konceptuella modell för en ny professionsetik för universitetslärare som benämns som frågebaserad etik där universitetsläraren inte bara grundar sin reflektion om undervisning i etiska ställningstaganden utan även låter denna reflektion mynna ut i pedagogisk handling med hjälp av de didaktiska frågorna ”Vad utgör undervisningens innehåll?”, ”Hur väljs undervisningens metod ut?”, ”Varför bedrivs undervisningen?”, samt ”Vem deltar i undervisningen”. Svaren på dessa frågor är, enligt modellen, universitetslärarens egna, och är alla beroende av etisk reflektion för att kunna formuleras och realiseras.

In the first paper, devotional activities such as praying and worshipping in wall paintings, will be analysed. The wall paintings were the illiterate man's manual where he was taught the essentials of Christian faith and devotion.

Klimatfrågan har blivit en framträdande fråga i medierna. Trots rikligt med material omämnet inom olika ämnen, brister det inom religionskunskapen på svenska skolor. Det finnsdock tillgängligt material – men på andra språk och för andra utbildningsystem än det ickekonfessionellasvenska. Denna artikel fungerar som en lista över webbplatser med arbetsmaterialom religion och klimat samt presenterar flera exempel på klimattutalanden frånreligiösa företrädare. Syftet är att med denna översikt öppna upp möjligheter för svenskareligionslärare att undervisa om klimatfrågan genom att erbjuda en kombination av godaexempel och allsidiga perspektiv.

Den konfessionella formningen av teologi- och pastor/präststudenterna måste ske utanför de akademiska studierna. Gillar man inte den ordningen finns tyvärr inget utrymme för utbildning på högskolenivå i Sverige, skriver Viktor Aldrin.

I samband med de nya läroplanerna i religionskunskap för grundskolan och gymnasiet har religionen kristendom kommit att fortsatt ha en särställning, trots att detta inte var inskrivet i Skolverkets förarbete. Kristendom är den enda religion som explicit skrivs ut i läroplanerna och därmed ställs specifika krav på lärare i religionskunskap. Undervisning om kristendom har alltid funnits med i lärarutbildningen men har många gånger kommit att behandlas som ett utomstående kompetensområde med liten didaktisk koppling till läraryrket. För att möta kraven i läroplanerna är det därför av största vikt att dels ge lärarstudenter kunskaper och kompetenser i hur kristendom kan utgöra en del i undervisningen i religionskunskap, samt dels utforma en relevant och praxisnära undervisning om kristendom i den religionsdidaktiska utbildningen. På så vis kan blivande lärare utrustas i arbetet som religionskunskapslärare i den nya grund- och gymnasieskolan.

Min presentation bygger på en forskningsstudie i mötet mellan ämnesdidaktik och högskolepedagogik som kommer att bedrivas under våren 2014 vid Göteborgs universitet och Högskolan i Halmstad. Underlaget för studien har inhämtats dels i form av två enkäter till lärarstudenter i religionsdidaktik och dels i form av en workshop med fokus på hur kunskaper i religionen kristendom kan omformas i praktisk didaktik. En sådan studie om kristendomens roll i en ny läroplan och ny lärarutbildning har möjlighet att inte bara skapa förutsättningar för en mer praxisnära religionsdidaktisk undervisning i religionen kristendom utan även i förlängningen ge elever möjlighet att nå de nya målen i religionskunskap.

Medeltida böneliv handlar om vanligt folks böner under en tid i Sverige, före den lutherska reformationen, då landet var del i den så kallade Kalmarunionen. Livet var inte enkelt att leva. Överallt hotade faror och döden var ständigt närvarande. De allra flesta bad till Gud, men vad man bad om har länge ansetts omöjligt att få kunskap om. Senare forskning har visat att det faktiskt går att veta något om medeltida böneliv.

I den här boken får du veta hur bonden bad för sina barn, vad en bonde kan ha haft för tankar om Gud, samt hur en medeltida person använde hela sin kropp för att be. Vidare ges inblickar i hur tid och plats ansågs spela roll för om en bön blev besvarad, på vilket sätt Jungfru Maria och helgonen utgjorde ett himmelskt hov att förhandla med samt vilka pedagogiska och didaktiska knep som användes för att lära ett barn att be. Avslutningsvis berättas om hur man sörjde och använde bön som strategi för styrka, och några glimtar ur den verktygslåda som alla standardböner utgjorde. Boken tar även upp hur namn på helgon användes som skydd genom att ge barn helgons namn. Bönelivet hos dem som tillhörde bondebefolkningen på medeltiden var både välutvecklat och fyllt av nyanser.

Viktor Aldrin (f. 1980) är docent i teologi med inriktning mot praktisk teologi/religionsdidaktik samt excellent lärare ETP. Han är universitetslektor i de samhällsorienterade ämnenas didaktik vid Högskolan i Borås och forskar om samspel mellan teologi och pedagogik. På Artos har han tidigare publicerat Skolavslutningar i kyrkan och spelet om religion i svensk skola (2018).

This article focuses on expressions of bereavement and religious coping in medieval miracle stories from Sweden. The stories come from the collections of St. Birgitta (Bridget) of Sweden, the Blessed Bishop Nicolaus Hermanni (Sw. Nils Hermansson) of Linköping and the Blessed Katarina of Vadstena, and were recorded in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

Catherine M. Sanders’s modern five stages of bereavement have been used as the theory of analysis through Kay Talbot’s adaptation of the theory for parents in grief. This theoretical foundation has provided new insights into how parental grief was expressed in medieval Sweden – and in stark contrast to Continental research on the same topic. Parents of both sexes expressed their grief outwardly through tears and crying, and a reluctance to accept that their children were dead. Throughout the miracle stories, lay people constructed their own prayers for miraculous intervention without the aid of any priests. This makes fathers and mothers in medieval Sweden agents of their own in terms of praying to God and being able to construct their own forms of religious coping.

The keynote speech explores the organisation, trends, and future of Practical Theology (PT) and Religious Education (RE) in Sweden in the year 2024. It covers the history of RE and PT in Swedish Higher Education, noting changes post-1994 with non-confessional education and the split of church and state in 2000. Current trends highlight the complexity of non-confessionality, the rise of minority perspectives, and the integration of digital religiosity and globalisation themes. Looking ahead, the presentation anticipates increased interdisciplinary cooperation and Nordic networks, alongside potential challenges such as the marginalisation of these subjects and the risk of RE becoming voluntary in schools.

The aim of this study has been to identify, explain and delineate praying among peasant communities in the ecclesiastical province of Uppsala, Sweden. Four aspects have been examined through the perspectives of ideals and practices, namely the standards of prayer, devotional prayer, prayer in times of need and prayer cultures. The standards of prayer considered the physical and mental behaviour of the praying peasant woman or man. The most ordinary way to act during prayer was to stand with hands together, palm against palm, and to pray in the vernacular often using mental themes to enhance the devotion. Devotional prayers were foremost the three ‘standard’ prayers Paternoster, Hail Mary and Apostolic Creed, and could be used separately or combined. Prayer in times of need was possibly considered a matter of praying to saints, something that cannot be proven to have been either practiced or recommended on other, ordinary occasions where God and the Virgin Mary were considered the proper recipients of prayer. A few authentic prayers exist that were possibly said by peasant women and men in connection with miracles and these show the ability to construct elaborate prayers and to propose businesslike agreements with saints. These three prayers were required knowledge for a peasant woman or man and were put to the test in order to become a godparent, and were therefore made available in the vernacular by the parish priests. Ways to maintain the prayer cultures were through mnemonic techniques, and indulgences stipulating and confirming prayers used or to be used in connection with certain churches, days and places within the churches. Name saints could also be used, since the person and the name saint were considered to have a special bond. Prayer could also be used as protection for the living; since a prayer was considered to generate either merits or favours from a celestial patron to his or her client. The prayer life of those belonging to peasant communities was both elaborate and full of nuances.

In this paper I will present key findings of my concluded project on the prayer life of peasant communities in late medieval Sweden, conducted at the University of Gothenburg 2005–2010. The aim of the project has been to identify, explain and delineate praying among peasant communities in late medieval Sweden. Four aspects have been examined through the perspectives of ideals and practices, namely the standards of prayer, devotional prayer, prayer in times of need and prayer cultures. Focus in my paper will be practices of prayer, especially those occurring in connection with the praying for miracles.

I grund och botten handlar en referens om redovisa sina källor. Det kan göras på många olika sätt. Här presenteras fyra vanliga referensstilar parallellt så att det blir överskådligt vad som skiljer dem åt och vad som förenar dem. Både parenteser och fotnoter behandlas.

Referensguiden 2 är en bearbetat utgåva med fokus på digitala referenser. Den första utgåvan utkom 2015. Boken är tänkt för studenter och gymnasieelever.

Viktor Aldrin, f. 1980, är docent i teologi med inriktning mot praktisk teologi/religionsdidaktik samt legitimerad lärare. Han undervisar på lärarutbildningen vid Högskolan i Borås. 

Innehåll

s. 4 Religion och klimatfrågan – om varför religionskunskapen behövs för att förändra vår värld, Viktor Aldrin

s.6 Mizan – Klimat- och miljöskydd ur ett muslimskt perspektiv, Mehwish Shahid Dar

s. 10 Undervisning i hållbar utvecklinginom ämnet religionskunskap, Laura Segura

s. 12 Climate Optimism: CelebratingSystemic Change Around the World av Zahra Biabani, Christian Benjaminsson recenserar

s. 15 Jobba med klimatfrågan i religionskunskapen. Tips på arbetsmaterial, Viktor Aldrin