Szkolne nauczanie religii wobec idei „małych ojczyzn”

Abstract

In the context of revival of local and regional patriotisms the idea of “little homelands” is getting a new dimension. The idea not only stresses the knowledge of the closest neighbourhood, but also the need for identification with it on the plane of belonging to a defined social-cultural circle. The idea also finds its place in school teaching of religion – within the frames of correlation between religion teaching and regional education. Its aim is to aid children and youths in acquiring the sense of being rooted in their “little homelands”, in forming the consciousness of their own familiar, local-regional and national separateness. The analyses undertaken in the article aspire to find an answer to the question: what relations are there between school teaching of religion and the idea of “little homelands”? Searching for an answer to that research problem required many-aspect analyses. First, a general characteristics is given of religion teaching at school, then the phenomenon of “little homelands” is stressed, and the place of the idea of “little homelands” is pointed to. In the final part of the article didactic-educational implications for catechetic practice are shown.