Spiritual learning communities: historical, systematic and practical observations1

Authors

  • Bert Roebben PhD, professor of Religious Education at the Fakultät Humanwissenschaften und Theologie, Technische Universität Dortmund, Dortmund - Germany,

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/revistapistispraxis.06.002.ds05

Keywords:

Learning by conversation. Learning in difference. Interreligious learning. Teacher education.

Abstract

Children and young people have the inalienable right to be part of a learning community. Nobody can learn on his/her own. Education is always a communal enterprise. In this paper the concept of the ‘spiritual learning community’ is developed as a contemporary answer to the socio-educational issues raised by Martin Buber and John Dewey in the 1930s. Cultural and religious diversity today stimulate education and schooling more than ever before to reconsider the narrative-communicative and spiritual dimension of every learning process. The spiritual dimension of the learning community relates to a specific
habitus, namely of de-centration from the self and dedication to the other, and to a specific focus, namely on existential questions such as content of the learning process. Insights
from philosophy of education and from European religious education theory and concrete experiences of teacher education at the universities of Dortmund (Germany) and Wien
(Austria) form the horizon for this reflection.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

AFDAL, G. Researching religious education as social practice. Münster:

Waxmann, 2010.

ASTLEY, J. A theological reflection on the nature of religious truth. In: ASTLEY,

J. et al. (Ed.). Teaching religion, teaching truth: theoretical and empirical perspectives. Oxford: Peter Lang, 2012. p. 241-262.

BAART, A.; VOSMAN, F. Een lerende gemeenschap ‘ethiek’ van geestelijk verzorgers [A learning community of ethics for pastoral caregivers]. Tijdschrift voor

Geestelijke Verzorging, v. 9, n. 41, p. 38-50, 2006.

BIESTA, G. Philosophy, exposure, and children: how to resist the instrumentalisation of philosophy in education? Journal of Philosophy of Education, v. 45, n. 2, p. 305-319, 2011.

BORGMAN, E. The ‘New’ Europe: a spiritual gesture. Concilium, n. 2, p. 33-41, 2004.

BOYS, M. C. Learning in the presence of the other. Religious Education, v. 103,

n. 5, p. 502-506, 2008.

BUBER, M. Education and worldview. In: BUBER, M. Pointing the way: collected essays. New York: Harper, 1957. p. 98-105.

BUBER, M. Autobiographical fragments. In: SCHILPP, P. A.; FRIEDMAN, M. (Ed.). The philosophy of Martin Buber. London: Cambridge University Press, 1967. p. 3-39.

BÜTTNER, G. How theologizing with children can work. British Journal of Religious Education, v. 29, n. 2, p. 127-139, 2007.

DEWEY, J. A common faith. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934.

DUMESTRE, M. J. Postfundamentalism and the christian intentional learning community. Religious Education, v. 90, n. 2, p. 190-206, 1995.

FABER, W. Das dialogische Prinzip Martin Bubers und das erzieherische Verhältnis [The dialogical principal of Martin Buber and the educational relationship]. Ratingen: Henn, 1962.

GEARON, L. 2006. The teaching of human rights in religious education: the case of genocide. In: BATES, D.; DURKA, G.; SCHWEITZER, F. (Ed.). Education, religion and society: essays in honour of John M. Hull. London; New York: Routledge, 2006. p. 71-82.

GEURTS, T. Losmaken en trekkracht: de spiritualiteit van ongebonden spiritualiteit – Ontmoeting met Kees Waaijman [Unfastening and the power to drag: the spirituality of unrestrained spirituality – interview with Kees Waaijman]. Narthex: Tijdschrift voor Levensbeschouwing en Educatie, v. 12, n. 4, p. 21-26, 2012.

GHILONI, A. J. Interreligious education: what would Dewey do? Religious Education, v. 106, n. 5, p. 476-493, 2011. GRÜMME, B. Alteritätstheoretische religionsdidaktik [Religious education

based on alterity theory]. In: GRÜMME, B.; LENHARD, H.; PIRNER, M. (Ed.).

Religionsunterricht neu denken: innovative ansätze und perspektiven der religionsdidaktik. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2012. p. 119-132.

IPGRAVE, J. ‘My God and other people’s Gods’: children’s theology in a contexto of plurality. In: IVERSEN, G. Y. de; MITCHELL, G.; POLLARD, G. Hovering over the Face of the Deep: philosophy, theology and children. Münster: Waxmann, 2009. p. 53-69.

JACKSON, R. Rethinking religious education and plurality: issues in diversity and pedagogy. London; New York: Routledge, 2004.

JÄGGLE, M. Religiöse pluralität als herausforderung für schulentwicklung [Religious plurality as a challenge for school development]. In: JÄGGLE, M.; KROBATH, T.; SCHELANDER, R. (Ed.). Lebens. werte. Schule: religiöse dimensionen in schulkultur und schulentwicklung. Berlin: Lit-Verlag, 2009.

p. 265-280.

JOAS, H. Braucht der mensch religion? Über erfahrungen der selbsttranszendenz [Does the human being needs religion? On experiences of self-transcendence]. Freiburg; Basel; Wien: Herder, 2004.

KOZYREV, F. The roles of dialogue in religious education: a Russian perspective. In: BATES, D.; DURKA, G.; SCHWEITZER, F. (Ed.). Education, religion and society: essays in honour of John M. Hull. London; New York: Routledge, 2006.

p. 215-227. KUNDERA, M. Die Weltliteratur: how we read one another. The New Yorker, January 8, 2007. Available at: <http://legacy.newyorker.com/ reporting/2007/01/08/070108fa_fact_kundera>. Available at: 2014, Aug. 13th. LANSER-VAN DER VELDE, A.; MIEDEMA, S. Het gewone geloof van gewone mensen: de godsdienstfilosofische visie van John Dewey [The ordinary faith of ordinary people: philosophy of religion according to Dewey]. In: LOGISTER, L. (Ed.). John Dewey: een inleiding tot zijn filosofie. Damon: Budel, 2005. p. 35- 53.

LOMBAERTS, H. The impact of the status of religion in contemporary Society upon interreligious learning. In: POLLEFEYT, D. Interreligious learning. Leuven; Paris; Dudley: Peeters, 2007. p. 55-86.

MASSCHELEIN, J.; SIMONS, M. Globale immuniteit: een kleine cartografie van de Europese ruimte voor onderwijs [Global immunity: a small cartography of the European space for education]. Leuven: Acco, 2003.

MEYER, H. Was ist guter Unterricht? [What is good instruction?]. Berlin: Cornelsen, 2009.

MOULIN, D. Giving voice to ‘the silent minority’: the experiences of religious students in secondary school religious education lessons. British Journal of Religious Education, v. 33, n. 3, p. 313-326, 2011.

MOYAERT, M. Leven in Babelse tijden: de noodzaak van een interreligieuze dialoog [Living in a Babel era: the necessity of the interreligious dialogue]. Kalmthout: Uitgeverij Pelckmans, 2011.

MUTH, A.-K.; SAJAK, C. P. Der gast als gabe? Religionspädagogische überlegungen zur frage der konfessionellen gastfreundschaft im religionsunterricht [The guest as a gift? Religious educational reflections on the question of confessional hospitality in religious education]. In: SCHMID, H.; VERBURG, W. Gastfreundschaft: ein modell für den konfessionellen religionsunterricht der zukunft. München: DKV, 2010. p. 22-33.

NIEUW WIJ: website. Available at: . Accessed in: 2013, May 28th.

PANIKKAR, R. The Window. [2010]. Video. Available at: <http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Kvsov6OuTWs>. Accessed in: 2013, Mar. 18th. RELIGIONSMONITOR: website. Available at: . Accessed in: 2013, May 28th.

RICOEUR, P. Parcours de la reconnaissance: trois études [Parcours of recognition: three studies]. Paris: Éditions Stock, 2004.

ROEBBEN, B. Seeking sense in the city: european perspectives on religious education. Berlin: Berlin : LIT, 2009.

ROEBBEN, B. Scholen voor het leven: kleine didactiek van de hoop in zeven stappen [Schools for life: small didactics of hope in seven steps]. Leuven:

Acco, 2011.

ROEBBEN, B. Das Abenteuer “mensch-werden” [The adventure of becoming a “human being”]. Katechetische Blätter, v. 137, n. 4, p. 241-247, 2012a.

ROEBBEN, B. 2012b. Living and learning in the presence of the other: defining religious education inclusively. International Journal of Inclusive Education, v. 16, n. 11, p. 1175-1187, 2012b.

ROTH, J. Job, the story of a simple man. Woodstock: Overlook Press, 2002.

Original in German, 1930.

SCHLAG, T.; SCHWEITZER, F. Brauchen jugendliche theologie? Jugendtheologie als herausforderung und didaktische perspektive [Do Young people need a juvenile theology? Youth theology as challenge and didactical perspective]. Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener Verlagsgesellschaft, 2011.

SCHNEIDERS, S. Religion vs. spirituality: a contemporary conundrum. Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, v. 3, n. 2, p. 163-185, 2003. SIMONS, M.; MASSCHELEIN, J. The public and its university: beyond learning for civic employability? European Educational Research Journal, v. 8, n. 2, p. 204-217, 2009.

TER AVEST, I. 2009. Conflict matters: ‘the making of’ a difference. In: TER AVEST, I. (Ed.). Education in conflict. Münster: Waxmann, 2009. p. 15-37. VON STOSCH, K. Komparative theologie als wegweiser in der welt der religionen [Comparative theology as a signpost in the world of religions]. Paderborn: Schöningh, 2012.

ZONDERVAN, T. Jongeren als verhaal van God [Young people as the story of God]. In: ZONDERVAN, T. (Ed.). Bricolage en bezieling: over jongeren, cultuur en religie. Averbode: Altiora, 2008. p. 147-172.

Published

2014-09-13

How to Cite

Roebben, B. (2014). Spiritual learning communities: historical, systematic and practical observations1. Pistis Praxis, 6(2), 473–495. https://doi.org/10.7213/revistapistispraxis.06.002.ds05