Martin Rothgangel Books

At a time when educational issues have increasingly come to determine the social and political discourse and major reforms of the education system are being discussed and implemented, and when migration has become a significant phenomenon, contributing to changes in the religious landscape of the European continent, it is highly appropriate to focus our attention on the concrete situation regarding religious education. This volume contains – again on the basis of thirteen key questions – the countries of Southern Europe (Republic of Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain, Andorra, Monaco, and San Marino). Beyond the all-important tasks of taking stock and making international comparisons, the aim of this book, that is the final volume of the series "Religious Education at Schools in Europe", is to create a foundation for further action in the field of education, especially with regard to interfaith expertise.

This volume offers an introduction to all questions of teaching Religious Education as a school subject and as an academic discipline related to this subject. The chapters cover most of the aspects that religion teachers have to face in their work, as well as the theoretical background necessary for this task. The volume is a textbook for students and teachers of religious education, be it in school or in an academic context, who are looking for reliable information on this field. The book has proven its usefulness in German speaking countries. This volume is the English translation of the German Compendium of Religious Education (edited by Gottfried Adam and Rainer Lachmann). The present English version is based on the 2012 edition which aims for a most current representation of the field. The background of the book is Protestant but its outlook is clearly ecumenical, and questions of interreligious education are considered in many of the chapters. The compendium continues to be widely used in Germany, Austria and Switzerland – as an introduction to the field and as a handbook for students who are preparing for their final exams. The English edition makes this compendium available to students and colleagues in other countries.

People form attachments to their home, their neighbourhood and environment, to the region and nation to which they belong. They express feelings about space and place, especially so in ‘globalized times’. In religious studies, in theology, and in education, there is a growing interest in spatial theories either as constructed within national borders, or within international and transnational spaces. The “spatial turn” has become an acknowledged term in interdisciplinary discourses. Although every practice of religious education is situated and contextually dependent, religious education (RE) research until now has not systematically paid attention to this fundamental insight. This volume is devoted specifically to clarifying the close relationship between RE practice and spatial and situational conditions. After clarifying the main concepts in Part 1, Part 2 includes chapters related to classroom studies, while Part 3 focuses on studies about teachers of religious education. Part 4 contains studies beyond the classroom, such as school chapels, churches, and ‘inner space’. All contributions to this volume were developed in the context of the European Network for Religious Education through Contextual Approaches (ENRECA) which has focused recently on the central issue of space and place.