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Teaching Religion in Brazil, in Public Schools and Confessional CollegesEduardo R. Cruz and Afonso L. SoaresPontifical Catholic University of So Paulo, BrazilAbstract. This essay is part of a collection of short essays solicited from authors around the globe who teach religion courses at the college level (not for professional religious training). They are published together with an introduction inTeaching Theology and Religion18:3 (July 2015). The authors were asked to provide a brief overview of the curriculum, student learning goals, and pedagogical techniques employed in their courses.

This short essay describes two personal experiences in a huge country with diverse situations, in a context that is broadly Western and European (Iberian). The first half (by Afonso Soares) describes Religious Education (RE) in public schools, in a religiously diverse (but overwhelmingly Christian) country with separation between church and state. The second part, by Eduardo Cruz, describes RE in the context of a confessional (albeit largely secularized) university. Our accounts are quite different because of the differences in the contexts we describe: one describes the curriculum for public schools that are open to some form of religious education, and the other describes mandatory courses in confessional universities. Classroom activities, assignments, curriculum, and approaches to teaching are quite different at this kind of university compared to public high schools, and they vary from place to place. Classes in high school last only an hour, whereas college classes are typically two to three hours long. What distinguishes college-level work is more demanding activities, such as seminars prepared by groups of students. Religious Education in Elementary and High Schools The discipline of Religious Education (RE) is the result of the didactic transposition of knowledge produced in the Sciences of Religion (ScR) for classes in elementary and secondary public education. Unfortunately, there is not wide agreement between the various sectors involved with the subject (education professionals, religious leaders, political officials, and spokespersons for public opinion) about how the kind of knowledge acquired by religious experience of humankind should be related to the pedagogical methods that introduce it to young citizens in the school system. The difficulty is indeed epistemological but also carries considerable political weight. There has long been tension between ensuring the legitimate access of students to RE (on behalf of the principle of religious freedom) and preserving the secular state (which cannot compromise with one or another religious denomination).

In the 1930s Brazils secular state switched from refusing to allow any form of RE in public schools to advocating that every family has the right to demand adequate religious formation in the public school system for their children on behalf of freedom of worship. The problem has been to find a model that overcomes REs confessional impasse (where each religious denomination wants to indoctrinate its own students). If this were resolved it would benefit the learners themselves greatly, because they would have access to a sensitive, though independent, presentation of the findings of the studies of religion.

Brazilian law - Article 33 of Law No. 9475 of July 22,1997 - states that registration for RE is optional, but it is an integral part of the basic training of the citizen. It also constitutes a discipline in normal hours of public schools up to eighth grade, and it secures respect for religious diversity in Brazil, prohibiting all forms of proselytism. Therefore, RE in public education must be non-confessional. In reality, however, several different theoretical and methodological models for RE continue to exist in different public school contexts, each generating different content and postures (both political and didactic) in teaching-learning situations.In Brazil there are at least three embodiments of RE: the catechetical-doctrinal, the theological-ecumenical, and the ScR-related. The Catechetical model is the oldest, it is related to contexts in which religion enjoyed hegemony in society, and it still survives in current practice -- many continue betting on this hegemony, using, in turn, modern methods. It is followed by the theological model, which is built in an effort to dialogue with secular and plural society and on anthropological bases. The latest model is located within ScR and provides theoretical and methodological references for the study and teaching of religion as an autonomous discipline fully inserted into school curricula. It is aimed at opening the way for a more critical RE, laying its foundations and requirements in the scientific universe within the commonplace of other disciplines taught in schools. (Passos 2007, 54)

The catechetical and theological models (defended by the leadership of the Catholic Church) develop from the idea that the citizen has the right to obtain, with the support of the state, a religious education consistent with the faith that the Church confesses. In contrast, the ScR model, develops from the idea that , religion is a social and cultural phenomenon subject to personal cultivation and therefore argues that knowledge of religion is part of the general education and contributes to the complete formation of the citizen, and should thus be the responsibility of school systems and subject to the same requirements of other areas of knowledge that make up the school curricula (Passos 2007, 65) -- Obviously, the ScR approach does not ensure abstract neutrality. Educating someone means imparting knowledge and values. Thus the ScR approach is not the same as those who would advocate some sort of generalized religion. Proponents of ScR as the epistemological basis for RE see it as the best way to answer the theoretical, social, political, and pedagogical challenges to the study of religion for the formation of citizens, in order to reduce confusion between religious-oriented education and education for citizenship (Soares 2010). With proper training, ScR teachers can foster citizenship and humanization among the pupils, through knowledge of religion and values preserved by religious traditions.How Is Knowledge about Religion Handled in Classrooms? There is no simple answer to how teachers design courses and teach about religion in the RE classroom. The rules are not clear. Different states in Brazil have different RE curricula. Nevertheless, among the followers of all three models of RE, there is a consensus that the best way to engage students is the existential approach. Assignments and activities typically used to facilitate this kind of learning in our students vary. At first, and generally speaking, teachers encourage students to share their personal experiences with their classmates (their life story, the context where they live, their culture, religious practice). The activities may vary depending on the age of the children and the maturity of the class. The teacher can ask an open questions, such as: Tell us about your life, your family, and your neighborhood. Or the teacher can assign an individual activity: Write an essay about how you became who you are today'?". This type of activity generates a lot of discussion and exchange of information and perceptions in the classroom. The teacher must carefully identify situations of conflict, racism, or prejudice and, little by little, can suggest other possible views to students, showing that we can evaluate cultures, religions, and situations differently, insofar as we allow ourselves to change.Another productive activity is to ask students to speak, write, draw, or act out things that exist in the world (good or bad). Then they do the same with things, feelings, or values that they wish existed (or so they think). Sharing results gives way to discussing topics such as faith, values, cultures, rituals, religion, God/gods, and the spiritual world.When it comes time to study religious rituals, it is always helpful to begin the discussion with actual experiences from the students own family and school life. Students are encouraged to see the presence of rites at various stages of their lives, whether they are explicitly religious or not (examples include singing the national anthem, flag raising, graduation ceremonies, girls debutante balls, inaugurations of banks and public buildings, and so forth). From this starting point, the teacher extends the discussion to the importance of rituals in our daily lives. Ritual creates meaning that is beyond scientific models (and so it of course should not be excluded from human knowledge). The students personal experiences relationships that the teacher can build between social reality and the different religious experiences present among pupils.Religious Education in the University SettingOur university, Pontifical Catholic University of So Paulo (PUC-SP), is a typical large confessional university of some fifteen thousand undergraduate students with diverse religious and spiritual backgrounds. Most students are somewhat indifferent to religion as a subject of discussion, and are wary of religious norms and doctrine. The discipline of religious culture (in the case of PUC-SP, Introduction to Theological Thought) is aimed at freshmen, but not all students in class are freshmen (freshmen twice?). They arrive with some curiosity about this kind of course, not knowing what to expect, even though many of them initially assume that it will be little more than confessional religious instruction.

One major hurdle has little to do with religion itself. For many reasons (too many to discuss here), most students can only attend university part-time. This is especially true of private universities. Therefore, even when students are actually interested in this introductory course in religion, they often do not have much opportunity to study outside of class.

That said, we approach this situation as a challenge, not an obstacle. Our approach draws on some forty years of shared experience, as well as several research projects developed in our graduate program in Religious Studies. Rather than teaching religion, our basic goal is to evoke students own religious sensibilities and experiences, insofar as they are relevant to the academic context. The first step is to offer epistemological grounding for the claim that both scientific and religious knowledge stem from common cognitive mechanisms that fulfill basic human needs. We discuss criteria for the recognition of religion in our society, contemporary trends, and the importance of studying them. We also show how scholars from different areas approach religion, and how religion is implicit in many academic undertakings and in society at large.

Rather than resorting to a textbook, we provide students with a number of short texts (in many cases, contemporary materials from newspapers and the internet), PowerPoint presentations, videos, and movies, stimulating small group or classwide discussion.

Second, we present theology as an academic discipline in search of interdisciplinarity, in the context of any university, not just confessional ones. We examine what theology has to learn from the natural and human sciences, and what it offers to them. What does it mean to say that theology concerns the same reality as the other sciences, sub specie aeternitatis? Finally, we proceed to the ethical realm: what are the main ethical concerns in students own milieux? How do academic disciplines deal with them? What is the specific contribution of religion, and the role of theology in it? Is religion the root of all evil, as Dawkins (2008) puts it, or seen more accurately, is it a source of good?

Building upon our many years of experience, we recently published several volumes on the relationship between theological thought and academic experience from different fields of knowledge. The fields include the Natural Sciences, Law, Health, Culture, Education, and so on. The inaugural volume in the series is on Theology and other areas of knowledge (Steps Passos 2010). The publishers website gives a helpful synopsis of the entire Teologia na universidade series (Paulinas 2011, in Portuguese).

The following curriculum comprises these two main points (religion at large and theology) over two semesters: Academic (scientific) compared to religious forms of knowing

Religion -- anthropological roots and forms

Religion and its presence in society

World religions, their profile and challenges

Theology as an academic discipline, and its relationship with different areas of knowledge (the content changes from class to class, according to the preferences of the students major)

Religion and ethics -- local and global challenges

What is expected from students is, first, to recognize the presence of religion in their everyday affairs -- religion as more than just one component of cultural life, attended to mostly over the weekends. There are religious overtones in whatever they think and do, whether they recognize it or not. Second, they should recognize that common sense about religion in the contemporary world is marred by prejudice and emotionalism (for example common misunderstandings about Islamic practice). There is, therefore, a need for a more scientific approach to religion. Third, theology is not just a matter of church polity, but is a valid and necessary partner in academic dialogue. Finally, students must explore proper ethical stances in face of the many challenges in our world, and look at the proper role of religion in them.Opportunities for assessment happen throughout the course and at its end. Besides regular tests and end of term papers, students are evaluated when leading seminars (usually involving PowerPoint presentations), and in other more informal ways. Each teacher in each class will have diffent ways of evaluating their students learning. The main purpose of evaluation is not to measure memorization but to allow students to think about religion in their everyday life to overcome commonsensical thinking about religion in their everyday life.Despite several informal follow-up evaluations of courses, it is hard to say how successful our classes are at achieving our goals. Most students end up with a more favorable view of the issues discussed during the course and, hopefully, of their own religious choices. The degree of information retained varies, but at least students gain the skills to seek information on their own from proper sources. The amount of explicit Christian (and Catholic) doctrine that is taught changes from one field of knowledge to the other, depending on the sense of opportunity (for example, what is being reported through the mass media), student demand, and especially the connections between our syllabus and other courses in the curricula.

Despite being a curriculum designed for confessional universities, content and methods are designed as though they were for secular universities. Our goal is that any student could profit from these courses, regardless of their professional interests, religious upbringing, or choice of college or university. That is a positive aspect of our university being perhaps the most secularized among other confessional universities: doctrinal elements are only presented after a lengthy detour, making them more plausible for a usually skeptical audience. In our estimation, this approach engages more intelligently other academic areas, and allows for a better presence of religion and theology in the public arena.

Bibliography

Dawkins, Richard. 2008.Root of all Evil? London, U.K.: Channel 4.Passos, J. D. 2007. Ensino religioso; construo de uma proposta. So Paulo, Brazil: Paulinas.Paulinas. 2011. Teologia na universidade. http://www.paulinas.org.br/sala_imprensa/?system=news&id=397&action=read (accessed 13 April 2015).Soares, A. M. L. 2010. Religio & Educao: da cincia da religio ao ensino religioso. So Paulo, Brazil: Paulinas, 2010.Steps, John Decius Passos, Joo Dcio, ed. 2010.Teologia e outros saberes: uma introducao ao pensamento teologico. So Paulo: Ed. Paulinas