This volume offers an introduction to all questions of teaching Religious Education
as a school subject and as an academic discipline related to this subject. The
chapters cover most of the aspects that religion teachers have to face in their work,
as well as the theoretical background necessary for this task. The volume is a
textbook for students and teachers of religious education, be it in school or in an
academic context, who are looking for reliable information on this field.
The book has proven its usefulness inGerman speaking countries. This volume
is the English translation of the German Compendium of Religious Education that
has gone through many printings and several editions. The first edition was edited
by Gottfried Adam and Rainer Lachmann in 1984. The present English version is
based on the 2012 editionwhich aims for a most current representation of the field.
The background of the book is Protestant but its outlook is clearly ecumenical, and
questions of interreligious education are considered in many of the chapters. The
compendiumcontinues to bewidely used inGermany,Austria and Switzerland – as
an introductionto the field aswell as a handbook for studentswho are preparing for
their final exams.
The English edition makes this compendium available to students and colleagues
in other countries. Some of its contents are closely related to a German
context, for example, in respect to legal regulations.While readers have to be aware
of their respective context it may still be of interest to learn about the situation in
another country. The German understanding of Religious Education is of special
interest because of the way in which educational and theological perspectives are
brought together, instead of limiting the subject to religious studies. Itmay remind
readers of the pluralistic situation in Europe that also applies toReligious Education
with its different models. Other aspects related to the actual teaching process,
however, are not limited to a specific situation or country. It is actually one of the
interesting questions connected to the translation of such a textbookwhich parts or
aspects of Religious Education can be considered international and which ones
belong to the national context. In this respect, the present book opens up new
opportunities for international exchange and comparative research.