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Administering Secularization: Religious Education in New South Wales since 1960

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2011

Damon Mayrl
Damon Mayrl*
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley [[email protected]].
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Abstract

This paper examines the development of religious education policy in the government schools of New South Wales (Australia) since 1960. The New South Wales religious education curriculum features three components: (1) teacher-led “general religious education” (gre); (2) right-of-entry denominational instruction provided by visiting clergy (“special religious education”, or sre); and (3) occasional additional devotional exercises such as hymns and prayers. Between 1960 and 1980, this system underwent a partial secularization. gre was transformed from a straightforward course in Christianity built around government-produced Scripture readers to a flexible curricular component built around the academic study of multiple religions. At the same time, sre was strengthened and had its position in the curriculum secured; and devotional exercises were allowed to continue only in those settings where they formed an “appropriate” match with the community. I find that “secularizing” reforms were most consistently driven by teachers and administrators with practical motives: avoiding controversy, improving working conditions, and facilitating class management. This finding both challenges and complements recent works that interpret secularization as a political process driven by politicians and professionals primarily interested in enhancing their power or prestige at the expense of religious actors.

Résumé

L’article porte sur l’évolution de la politique d’éducation religieuse dans les établissements scolaires publics des Nouvelles Galles du Sud depuis 1960. Trois volets : l’éducation religieuse de base dispensée par un maître, le droit pour les dénominations d’offrir un cours spécifique dispensé par un prêtre ou un pasteur, et enfin les expressions circonstancielles, hymnes et prières. Entre 1960 et 1980 une sécularisation partielle a remplacé le catéchisme avec manuel officiel, par un cours flexible d’introduction scientifique aux diverses religions. Les enseignements dispensés par des ministres d’un culte ont vu leur place dans le curriculum consolidée. Ces réformes ont été conduites à partir d’un point de vue pragmatique et dans un souci d’harmonie. Elles vont à l’encontre de l’idée selon laquelle sécularisation irait nécessairement avec idéologie antireligieuse et luttes de pouvoir.

Zusammenfassung

Dieser Beitrag erörtert die religiöse Erziehungspolitik in öffentlichen Schulen Neusüdwales seit 1960. Drei Aspekte werden beleuchtet: der von einem Lehrer erteilte Religionsunterricht, das Recht einer besonderen Unterweisung durch eine katholischen oder evangelischen Pfarrer und schließlich gelegenheitsgebundene Ausdrucksformen, wie Hymnen oder Gebete. Zwischen 1960 und 1980 hat eine Teilsäkularisierung zur Abschaffung des Religionsunterrichts mit offiziellem Unterrichtsmaterial geführt, der durch einen flexiblen Unterricht mit einer wissenschaftlichen Einführung in verschiedene Religionen ersetzt wurde. Der jeweils von offiziellen Vertretern einer Religion erteilte Unterricht wurde im Weiteren verstärkt. Sowohl pragmatische Ansätze als auch Harmoniegedanken haben zu diesen Reformen geführt, die widerlegen, dass die Säkularisation hautpsächlich ein politischer Prozess sei, der von Politkern und anderen Akteuren geführt würde, um ihre eigene Macht oder ihr eigenes Prestige auf Kosten der Kirchen zu stärken.

Keywords

SecularizationReligious educationAustraliaGovernment SchoolsSécularisationEnseignement religieuxAustralieÉcoles publiques.SäkularisationReligionsunterrichtAustralienÖffentliche Schulen.
Type
Research Articles
Information
European Journal of Sociology / Archives Européennes de Sociologie , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , April 2011 , pp. 111 - 142
Copyright
Copyright © A.E.S. 2011

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