Unveiling similarities in differences: Educating for democratic citizenship in religious education

Abstract

In response to rapid societal changes, Norwegian primary and secondary schools were granted the New National Curriculum (LK20) in 2020, introducing three new interdisciplinary topics. One is the topic of democracy and citizenship education (CE). As an interdisciplinary topic, CE should be approached in the overall compulsory subjects. Based on relevant theoretical perspectives and empirical findings from an action research study with 10th graders in Norway, this article aims to explore: How citizenship education can be targeted in religious education lessons, and how this can influence pupils’ processes of being formed as democratic co-citizens? The study discloses that when CE is targeted in religious education (RE), opportunities arise where pupils can (1) practice critical reflection and literacy through dialog, (2) unveil common references amongst themselves and their peers, and (3) identify linkages between CE and RE.