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Alneyan said:
*Off topic alert* Kristoffer, if you do not mind my asking, what exactly would be the religious part of your work as a teacher? While I have had a bit of sociology in the past, anything getting close to religious is seldom taught in French schools, and so I was a bit curious about what would be a course about religion (or comparative religion as you wrote in your hobbies).
Sorry for bringing up this topic here, but your discussion about religion a few Posts before gave me the opportunity to do so, and it seems like as good as thread for this question as any. */Off topic alert*
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In Sweden 'knowledge of religions' is obligatory in school. Kids of 10 will get some kind of introduction on christianity. At 12 they will get introduced to other religions. From 13-15 there are more depth to the studies of religion. Between 16-19 (some are older) you have one obligatory course in religion and can choose to take another depending on your choice of education program. This one gives more focus on ethics and (hopefully) deepens the understanding of what religion does to the individual and society, both from a christian perspective and a perspective of other moral views, religious or nonreligious.
Higher studies of religion include theology, ethics, comparative religion/history of religions, sociology of religion, psychology of religion, exegetics, bible studies etc. You have the opportunity to specialize once you have taken one basic year. I went for history of religion/comparative religion and some additional islamology.
I work with kids of 16-19. Most of these kids are not too interested in religion when they first show up. They also have lots of prejudices against religion, particulary christianity and islam. Almost all of them have a strong dislike of the concept of God. On the other hand they have a very strong opinion on how God should be. He's unfair and evil and thus he can't exist, but he should be good and fair and powerful and worthy of their love. In essence they want a God, but they can't find one that is good enough for them
Comparative religion is an old term. It is now called religious studies or history of religions, but the old term is still frequently used. I think I prefer 'history of religions', especially if I would describe my personal interests. It is the study of other religions. What does the cultic practices of death look like in buddhism? What does it look like in islam or shinto? How did myths affect society in ancient greece. Are myths less prominent today? Do we need myths? What does rituals do for the individual and society? Who were the gods of Sumer? What did the sumerian cult look like and how did the cult change in babylonian times?
It is most interesting!