Browsing by Author "Vikström, Maria"

This study is based on a perception that the regional differences in religious belonging present in Finland may have an impact on the classroom teacher’s starting position concerning religious education, which would suggest that the education for aspiring classroom teachers need to prepare them for their future working life in more diverse ways. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to contribute to a deeper understanding and more knowledge of religious education in a context with stronger Evangelical Lutheran beliefs and less confessional diversity, to give a glimpse into a situation that can be considered the direct opposite of the general trend of increasing multiculturality in most Finnish societies. The research- questions were formed on the basis of earlier research and guidelines for the Finnish religious education in relation to the reviewed context, which resulted in: 1) How do the teachers experience teaching religion in a municipality with stronger Evangelical Lutheran beliefs when the curriculum presupposes a non-confessional education? 2) What kinds of challenges do the teachers meet in connection with the religious education? The empirical part of the study was composed by a hermeneutic case-study in the municipality of Larsmo. The material was collected through separate interviews with three classroom teachers from different elementary schools in the municipality, all with experience of teaching religion. The interviews were then transcribed and analyzed with a content analysis in accordance with the hermeneutic theories, which resulted in a number of categories that could answer the question formulations of the study. The results showed that the teachers thought that the subject of religion offered more possibilities than challenges and that the homogenous context didn’t have any considerable impact on their ability to teach in a non-confessional manner. While the strong religious beliefs in general weren’t considered as having any substantially negative impact on their teaching, the lack of religious diversity resulted in more challenges. Based on the results and parts of the theoretical background described in this thesis, one can though assume that teaching religion in a non-confessional manner is not significantly harder in a context similar to this one than it is in other parts of the country.