PENANAMAN KONSEP IDENTITAS DIRI BERDASARKAN IMAN KRISTEN MELALUI PERANAN PENDIDIKAN KRISTEN

Knowing identity in the Christian faith is essential to the life of each believer. Understanding the concept of self is closely related to how a person in his daily dealings with him, with others around him and also shows how he represents God. The result of not knowing or knowing yourself wrong can have a bad impact on yourself, others, the environment, as well as faith in God. Thus, the role of Christian education is highly demanded by both Christian education in the family, church and Christian schools to be able to work well together in order to achieve the inculcation of the concept of self-identity according to the Christian faith in children. It is not easy to realize the concept of self-identity in accordance with the Christian faith in the lives of children in an era that is so influenced by the current developments. Therefore, there is a need for awareness from the parties implementing Christian education to instill the principles and values of living according to the Christian faith as a provision for children in navigating their lives to face the challenges of the times.

Passive Freedom of Education: Educational Choice in Flanders and The Netherlands

According to the ECHR, parents have the right to have their children educated in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions. In this contribution, we examine how this passive freedom of education is granted in the Belgian (Flemish) and Dutch education systems, which are both characterised by substantial funding of non-governmental (mainly Christian) schools. In order to do so, we will have a closer look at the diversity between denominational schools as well as to the diversity within these schools, with a particular focus on their school identity and their policy concerning Religious Education (RE). In addition, attention will be given to the organisation of RE classes in governmental schools, which is also considered a means to guarantee the passive freedom of education. Our analysis brings us to the conclusion that, in spite of a similar legal and financial framework, the Dutch constellation is currently best able to guarantee passive freedom of education for all in today’s secularised, pluralistic context.

Introduction

This introduction insists that history matters. What if current divisions in America rest, in part, on a fundamental divergence in the understanding of our history? The chapter proposes that the three most prominent Christian curricula have played a role through the historical narrative they promoted for K-12 education since the early 1970s. They became more widespread in different forms of alternative schooling from Christian schools to voucher programs, and homeschooling. Their narrative has been significant in defining Americans’ understanding of the world and its history and exposes the efficacy of the alliance among certain religious interests, conservative legislators, school boards, and various corporate interests in reshaping education in the United States. The campaign for a “Christian right history” is analogous to the successful advocacy for “intelligent design” in public school science curricula. Many conservative institutions support both the inclusion of politically conservative and Christian content into school curricula.

Students’ Identity and Mental Well-Being Among Muslims and Christians in Pakistan

The identity, belongingness to the larger society as well as mental well-being of minorities in Pakistan may have suffered as a result of recent social and political attacks on Christians. The present study was aimed at finding and comparing various aspects of identity (i.e., personal, social, relational, and collective) and mental well-being among adolescents from the majority (Muslims) and minority (Christian) religious groups of Lahore district in Pakistan. The study hypothesized that adolescents of religious minorities would have a lower level of sense of aspects of identity than their dominant counterparts. The sample comprised of 414 male and female students (Muslim = 225, Christian =189) with an age range from 13 to 18years, drawn from two Muslim and two Christian schools. Data was collected using the Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (Cheek & Briggs, 2013), and Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (Tennant et al., 2007). Results indicated a significant difference in the level of awareness of aspects of identity as well as well-being between majority and minority adolescents. Furthermore, within the majority group, there was also a significant gender difference in social identity and mental well-being with Muslim boys scoring higher than Muslim girls on these variables. Implications of the study are discussed.

SOGI statements and LGBT+ student care in Christian schools

This article discusses a sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) statement widely used in Christian schools in light of its expressed commitment to treating all persons with compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. I argue that this commitment is undermined by other parts of the statement which fail to address, and even exacerbate, the harms LGBT+ students experience in schools. I suggest revisions to the SOGI statement and a range of practices that would improve LGBT+ student safety and support in Christian schools that hold a traditional view of marriage.