Religion i folkskolans styrdokument

Ett bidrag till religionsbegreppets äldre didaktiska historia

Abstract

The article investigates how concepts of “religion” have been formulated in the curriculum of the Folkskola from 1842 to 1955. Previous research has focused on the nationalistic and religious dimensions of this school. Especially the transformation of the subject Christianity (sv. Kristendomskunskap) has been focus for several studies, but the Grundbegriff  ‘religion’, understood as a “essentially contested concept”,  has not been empirically investigated in the light of advanced theoretical discussions about the concept of religion. This article shows how the concept of religion has been didacticised and given specific meanings, contents and educational functions. The study concludes that christocentric concepts and a christian world-order are prevalent during the research period. A moral socialization is gradually replaced by a democratic socialisation where pupils can take different positions and where there is room for dissents. The study also shows how religions have been ranked in different ways. The study contributes to knowledge about change in the concept of religion and to the conditions for teaching Christianity in the Folkskola.