Religious Education Policy in Public Schools During the New Order

The new order government policy about religious education in state schools gradually led to an accommodative policy. If the old order government made religious education a facultative subject, then at the beginning of the new order the government strengthened the position of religious education by removing facultative provisions, even though they were not obligatory. Until finally, through Law number 2 (1989), the government required religious education to be taught in all channels, types, and levels of education. And the right of every student to get religious lessons by their religion and is taught by religious educators. This research includes historical research and policy studies, because it relies on past data, whose steps consist of four main activities, namely heuristics, verification, interpretation, and historiography. This accommodative policy is influenced by several factors, including; the government’s determination to implement Pancasila purely and consistently after it was diverted in the old order era; the weakening of the government’s power at that time so that it required the political support of muslims as the majority population; There is an intellectual transformation of muslim thinkers and political activists towards harmonious and complementary political relations between Islam and the state so that Islamic ideas are more easily accepted; and muslims experience a process of rapid social, educational, economic and political mobilization and so that more and more people are involved in government and can influence policies in a pro-muslim direction.

Learnings from the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development (AREFD) project for initial teacher education of religious educators

Since October 2018, researchers at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education at Dublin City University have been engaged in the Adult Religious Education and Faith Development (AREFD) project. The overarching aim of the project was to facilitate a re-energising of adult religious education and faith development in Ireland. Working amongst local faith communities with an academic research focus, an area of interest that has emerged is how the insights gained from AREFD project can contribute to initial teacher education, particularly involving students preparing for employment as post-primary religious educators. This paper will outline some of the key themes that emerged from the data gathered in phase two of the AREFD project as it pertains to the initial teacher education (ITE) of religious educators. In phase two, a total of fourteen semi-structured interviews/focus groups were conducted between December 2019 and April 2021, featuring twenty-two people from across the island of Ireland who have a wealth of experience in AREFD across diverse contexts. The purpose of these interviews was to gather together the rich insights from the depth of experience of the interviewees on practicalities and possibilities central to adult religious education. The contexts in which they have worked are all pertinent to both the post-primary Religious Education curriculum in the Republic of Ireland and wider related learning experiences, in Ireland and beyond. Four key findings from this phase of the AREFD project are reported upon in this paper: the specific realm of AREFD as distinct from school-based religious education and catechesis; the need for intentional investment in AREFD; the physicality of religion; collaboration, communication and connection. These findings may contribute to the reflections of and course development by initial teacher education providers as they seek to offer the highest quality opportunities to their students, in the understanding that their students are adults themselves and that education is a lifelong endeavour.

Strategy for shapeing the character of students based on PAI in school

The formation of the character of students as the basic foundation, namely Islamic Religious Educators. The purpose of this study is to analyze, namely: (1). Planning for student learning arrangements (2). Implementation of learning on students (3). Evaluation of student learning (4). The inhibiting factor of the learning that has been carried out (5). Supporting factors of each retaliation. Conclusion: (a). Planning for the preparation of the character formation of students in improving noble character in SMA 22 has been going well and systematically (a). The implementation of student character learning is in accordance with noble character. (c). The evaluation of the implementation of character learning that has been carried out at SMA 22 has been in accordance with the instruments prepared by the teacher. (d). The obstacle factor in learning is the lack of socialization of the principal in providing enlightenment related to the preparation of the lesson plan (e). Supporting factors from the principal involving teachers and school committees and stakeholders in the preparation of the RPP.

Children of Heaven and Earth: Catholicity through Teilhardian Pedagogy

Beginning with the anthropology of Teilhard de Chardin, this paper explores the need to reimagine education in light of an evolutionary cosmos. Teilhard understood the human person as deeply involved in the meaning-making processes of the cosmos, and as co-creators with God in evolution. To progress the human person must choose organization over entropy and develop a deep rooted “zest” for her own evolution. The classroom can provide an important space that allows the student to develop this zest for her own evolution by providing the student with the opportunity to envision the ways in which her own life contributes to the evolution of the world and the life of God. Religious educators and educational systems have the unique task of cultivating spaces in which students are invited to realize their own energetic centers of creativity and how this energy can be used to co-create an evolving world. Through the development of a Teilhardian pedagogy students can ultimately embrace a deeper sense of “wholeness” as God’s presence in an evolving world.

Critical thinking and non-formal Islamic education: Perspectives from young Muslims in the Netherlands

Critical thinking is a highly valued skill in the twenty-first century, and its incorporation into formal school curricula as a core skill is nearly ubiquitous globally. It is considered imperative for educational quality, employability, competitiveness, and for promoting democratisation and social integration. While schools are tasked to promote critical thinking, non-formal Islamic education (NFIE) provided by mosques or by private organisations or tutors is often criticized for its emphasis on rote learning and memorisation, and for fostering an uncritical acceptance of authority. Based on interviews with 27 young adult alumni from four different Muslim communities in the Netherlands, this study seeks to explore the pedagogy of NFIE, with a focus on critical thinking. The accounts of young adults revealed that an emphasis on stimulating critical thinking was largely absent, and there were limited opportunities for interactions, questions, debating or challenging the authority of religious educators or Islamic texts. The traditional pedagogical approach, discouraging attitudes of educators and peers, lack of language proficiency, the young age of learners, and a perceived lack of need for critical deliberations were identified as key challenges. Young adults called for reforming the pedagogy of NFIE to allow for more reflexive, inquisitive and dialogical learning. Some argued that lack of critical deliberation would lead to weakness in the belief structures and faith of new generation Muslims in Europe, resulting in a sense of confusion and disorientation, and limited embodiment of Islamic principles.

Handing Down the Faith

The most important influence shaping the religious and spiritual lives of children, youth, and teenagers is parents. Yet little research has studied this link in the intergenerational transmission of religion between generations. This book reports the findings of a new, national study of religious parents in the United States. The findings are based on 215 in-depth, personal interviews with religious parents from many traditions and different parts of the country; and on analyses of two nationally representative surveys of American parents. Unlike many studies that focus only on mainstream Christianity, this book reports on parents from a wide range of traditions: mainline Protestant, Catholic, evangelical, black Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, Mormon, Buddhist, and Hindu. It explores the background beliefs informing how and why religious parents seek to pass on religion to their children; examines how parenting styles interact with parent religiousness to shape religious transmission; shows how the approaches of parents now were influenced by their own experiences as children growing up under their parents; reveals how religious parents view their congregations and what they most seek out in a local church, synagogue, temple, or mosque; explores the experiences and outlooks of immigrant parents; and steps back to consider how the field of American religion has transformed over the last 100 years to explain why parents shoulder such a huge responsibility today in transmitting religious faith and practice to children. The book will interest scholars of religion, family, parenting, and socialization; clergy and religious educators and leaders; and religious parents themselves.

INOVASI PEMBELAJARAN PENDIDIKAN AGAMA ISLAM DI ERA INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY

Digital era is a condition where everyone is able to access various informations on the network (online). It is available in cyberspace and make easier to access everything without space and time limitation. There is no world block after the invention of this system. The digital natives, has a tendency to search information through internet. They prefer to get advantage of smartphone features or other technological devices for entertainment or to fulfill primary needs. Music and movies can be enjoyed or downloaded freely or paid cheaply. For scientific needs and accessing information, one can get articles freely without any requirements in this digital era. This phenonema on the other hand is an encouraging thing that indicates a change of the world in a more advanced. This era has demanded learning innovation, and technological advances must be utilized as best as possible by educators, especially Islamic religious educators. Utilization of technology in the learning process is a must so that the learning process is not stagnant and rigid. Utilization or innovation of Islamic religious education learning must be carried out immediately, especially in the learning method. The internet as a learning media can be an alternative method of learning Islamic religious education. This can be in the form of e-learning, or applications which facilitate the learning material delivery, resulted learning process is more interesting.

MENGUAK PERAN ULAMA DI GAYO ANALISIS SOSIAL DAN HISTORIS

The Gayo people are people who live in the highlands of Aceh province. Islamic identity for the Gayo community has existed since the 11th century AD, the Gayo community pays great respect to religious leaders. This can be seen in various aspects, one of which is in government, known as sarak opat. The role of ulama in Gayo is classified in several ways: In the context of the Gayo community, ulama have a role as religious educators, as politicians, as religious officials and as government officials and most ulama in Gayo are classified as free ulama. The public’s recognition of the predicate “free ulama” for someone is based on deep knowledge, noble character and high adherence to religious teachings, and is not tied to the government bureaucracy as an official.