Religious Education For Tolerance

Theodora van Boven
0527696
Masterscriptie van de Masteropleiding Religie
& Beleid aan de Faculteit Filosofie, Theologie
en Religiewetenschappen van de Radboud
Universiteit Nijmegen
Prof. Dr. F.J.S. Wijsen
19612 woorden
January 2017
RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR TOLERANCE
An exploratory study of the policies and practises of religious education in Public,

Christian and Islamic secondary schools in the Netherlands and Indonesia
ABSTRACT
This study focusses on analysing the field of religious education in the Netherlands and Indonesia
on a macro-, meso-, and micro-level. We have applied a qualitative, descriptive research design
that contains of a review study of legal documents, policy statements and exploratory interviews
with scholars, administrators and teachers in the educational field. By mapping the status quo of
religious education in public and religiously-affiliated secondary schools, this study aims to
provide insights in possibilities and different ways to further stimulate the development of
education that contributes to the elimination of negative stereotypes and the dissemination of
religious literacy. The value of this exploratory research lies in the fact that it sheds light on
similarities and differences between the two countries and contributes to a higher degree of
understanding of the social reality in the different national contexts. We conclude that while the
link between religious education and religious tolerance in educational practises in both countries
is seldom utilized, opportunities and possibilities to effectuate religious tolerance trough religious
education are not fully seized.
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Declaration of own work
Hereby I, Theodora Marieke Aukje van Boven, declare and assure that I have composed the
present thesis with the title ‘Religious Education for Tolerance: An exploratory study of the policies
and practises of religious education in public, Christian and Islamic secondary schools in the
Netherlands and Indonesia ’, independently, that I did not use any other sources or tools other
than indicated and that I marked those parts of the text derived from the literal content or
meaning of other Works – digital media included – by making them known as such by indicating
their source(s).
Utrecht, November 29, 2016
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Acknowledgements
“One of the truths of our time is this hunger deep in people all over the planet for
coming into relationship with each other”.
-M.C. Richards (1916-1999)-
This research project has literally brought me to the other side of the world and back. It was an
unforgettable experience to discover the unfamiliar. I want to thank Kerk in Actie and the
Netherlands-Indonesia Consortium for Muslim-Christian Relations for this wonderful opportunity
and CRCS for their incredible hospitality. I am truly thankful to all the people I have met in both
Utrecht, Yogyakarta and Ambon for making this a captivating, unforgettable, and thought provoking
experience.
I would like to express my gratitude to professor Frans Wijsen, Corrie van der Ven and Suhadi for
introducing me to all the right people, for guiding me during the initial stages of this research, and
for providing the incredible opportunity of presenting my research at the international conference
in Ambon. I also like to thank all the people I have interviewed. I am sincerely grateful to them for
sharing their knowledge and illuminating views on religious education and tolerance in both the
Netherlands and Indonesia.
Last but not least, I would like to thank my parents for their unceasing support, for believing in me
and making my journey to Indonesia possible.
Thank you,
Theodora
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
I INTRODUCTUON 1
1.1 PROJECT FRAMEWORK 1
1.2 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN 2
1.2.1 Research Objective 2
1.2.2 Research Question 3
1.2.3 Theoretical Framework 3
1.2.3.1 The ethnic competition- and the Inter-group contact theory 3
1.2.3.2 The role of the teacher in moral education 4
1.2.4 Research concepts 5
1.2.4.1 The meaning of the word tolerance in the context of this study 5
1.2.4.2 (Models of) Religious Education 6
1.2.4.2 Definition of ‘Religious Literacy’ 6
1.3 TECHNICAL DESIGN 7
1.3.1 Data collection 7
1.3.2 Analysis 8
1.3.3 Reliability and Validity 9
1.3.4 Thesis outline 9
II RESULTS: DUTCH CASE STUDY 11

2.1 A Brief Overview of the Political, Social and Cultural Context 11
2.2 Religious Education in The Netherlands 12
A. MACRO-LEVEL: STATE POLICY 12
B. MESO-LEVEL: SCHOOL POLICY 15
Public secondary schools 16
Christian-affiliated secondary schools 16
Islamic secondary schools 17
General observations 17
C. MICRO-LEVEL: ATTITUDES 19
General observations 22
III RESULTS: INDONESIAN CASE STUDY 24

3.1 A Brief Overview of the Political and Social Context 24
3.2 Religious Education in Indonesia 25
A. MACRO-LEVEL: STATE POLICY 25
B. MESO-LEVEL: SCHOOL POLICY 28
C. MICRO-LEVEL: ATTITUDES 31
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IV DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES 35
4.1 Differences and Similarities on a Macro-Level 35
DIFFERENCES: Engagement and supervision of the state 35
SIMILARITIES: Religious education and citizenship 36
4.2 Differences and Similarities on a Meso-Level 36
DIFFERENCES: The approach to religious education 36
SIMILARITIES: Insufficient attention to the ‘religious other’ 37
4.3 Differences and Similarities on a Micro-Level 37
DIFFERENCE: The concept of (religious) pluralism 38
V DISCUSSION 39
5.1 Present-day Initiatives and theories on fostering religious tolerance 39
5.2 Limitations and possibilities in the Netherlands 41
5.3 Limitations and possibilities in Indonesia 43
VI CONCLUSIONS 45
VII RECOMMENDATIONS 46
Recommendations 46
Suggestions for future research 47
Limitations 47
REFERENCES 48
APPENDIX 53
Appendix A: Participants 53
Appendix B: Interview Guide 54
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I Introduction
“The Highest Result of Education is Tolerance”

-Helen Keller (1880-1968) -
1.1 PROJECT FRAMEWORK

For many years, both the Dutch and the Indonesian people have taken considerable pride in their
historical legacy of religious tolerance. In the seventeenth century, the Dutch Republic became the first
country in which freedom of conscience was enshrined in the law, making the Republic home to victims
of religious persecution and a country where free-thinking intellectual dissidents like Baruch Spinoza
and John Locke thrived (Geoffrey, 2011, p. 4). Indonesia’s reputation for tolerance stems from her long
history of religious diversity. Hundreds of local religions and six or seven world religions have co-existed
in this Southeast Asian archipelago of 17.000 islands for thousands of years (Adeney-Risakotta, 2014,
p. 71).
However, in recent years, tensions have risen between religious and ethnic groups in
Indonesia, resulting in conflict and cases of faith-based violence. Simultaneously, the Dutch narrative
of tolerance seems to be declining. Negative attitudes towards the Muslim population and signs of the
rise in Islamophobia are evident from the increase in racial profiling, job discrimination to inequity in
financial services (Report ECRI, 2008, p. 38). This development raises the question how we can combat
the decline of religious tolerance.
Recent studies have shown that in general, education is one of the most effective means of
preventing intolerance (UNESCO, 2014, p. 174). The transmission of knowledge is key to combatting
intolerance and stereotypes (Scheiner, 2015, p. 142). Furthermore, there is an increasing awareness
that ‘religious literacy’ could contribute to fostering understanding and religious tolerance (Moore,
2007). Religious literacy is defined as ‘the ability to discern and analyse the fundamental intersections of
religion and social/political/cultural life through multiple lenses’ (Harvard Religious Literacy Project). More
and more people observe a widespread illiteracy about religion that spans the globe. In the words of
Indonesian professor Ali Asani: “there is a worldwide “clash of ignorances” as people of different faiths and
cultural traditions fail to understand and engage positively with their differences and, instead, seek to destroy the
other” (Harvard Gazette, 5 Nov. 2015). Harvard professor Diane L. Moore argues that the consequences
of religious illiteracy are profound and include ‘fuelling the culture wars, curtailing historical and cultural
understanding, and promoting religious and racial bigotry’ (Moore, 2007, p.3). While schools are located in
the social or intermediate domain between the public and the private domain, schools play a
fundamental role in preparing young citizens for the reality of life in a pluralistic society and the
inevitable encounter with cultural and religious ‘others’ (Miedema & Bertram‐Troost, 2008, p. 2).
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With the premise that religious education can play a role in fostering religious literacy and
promoting a positive view of diversity, the Netherlands-Indonesia Consortium for Muslim-Christian
Relations -a non-governmental network of universities and civil society organizations in the
Netherlands and Indonesia- recently organized a conference titled: ‘Towards Inclusive Religious
Education in the Netherlands and Indonesia’ (24-26 August 2016). The Conference was aimed at
sharing best and new practices, academic reflections and identifying strategies for working together
on tolerance and peace through religious education.
In preparation for this conference, my research partner Senne Joustra and I were asked to
examine the status quo of religious education in both the Netherlands and Indonesia. How is religious
education currently positioned within the educational field? What is the content of religious teachings
at schools and (how) do religion teachers accommodate religious diversity?
A comparison between these two countries arises from the organizational context of this
project. The Netherlands-Indonesia Consortium is to a large extent founded on the common history
that both countries share. The participants in the Consortium, consisting of Muslim and Christian
scholars, religious leaders and practitioners from Indonesia and the Netherlands, partner to generate
practice-oriented knowledge using dialogical methods. In this context, the question whether and what
both countries can learn from each other is paramount.
1.2 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

The conceptual canvas of this study is coloured by the research objective (1.2.1), research questions
(1.2.2), the theoretical framework (1.2.3) and research concepts (1.2.4).
1.2.1 Research Objective

The starting point of this exploratory research is the assumption that religious education can provide
a breeding ground for religious tolerance. The research objective is to contribute to the ongoing debate
concerning religion in school education and to lay the initial groundwork for future research into ways
to disseminate religious tolerance through religious education. An overview of the current state of
affairs regarding religious education in both countries allows for a better understanding of
contemporary challenges in the educational field and helps to identify context-based limitations and
possibilities of teaching for tolerance. By mapping the status quo of religious education in secondary
schools and analysing the relationship between policy and practice of religious education in both the
Netherlands and Indonesia, this study lays the groundwork for a further investigation into a more
detailed understanding of opportunities and different ways to foster religious tolerance in Dutch and
Indonesian society, using the system of religious education as a vehicle.
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1.2.2 Research Question
This study analyses the legal framework, government policy, school policies and educational practices
regarding religious education in public and religiously-affiliated secondary schools in both the
Netherlands and Indonesia. The overarching question this study aims to answer reads;
What is the current state of affairs regarding religious education in public and religiously-affiliated
secondary schools in the Netherlands and Indonesia and what can both countries learn from each
other with regard to policies and practises of religious education as a means of promoting religious
tolerance?
In order to adequately address this main research question, the following sub-questions were
formulated:
1) Which educative goals regarding religious education and tolerance have been formulated in the Dutch
and Indonesian government policies?
2) How and to what extent are nationally formulated educational goals concerning religious education and
tolerance implemented in school policies of public and religiously-affiliated secondary schools?
3) How do teachers in public resp. religiously-affiliated secondary schools relate to religion and religious
diversity in the society and the classroom?
4) Which possibilities and restrictions are provided by the legal framework, government policies,
educational institutes and teachers’ attitudes in both countries with regard to the implementation of a
model of religious education which takes the religious other into account and fosters religious literacy?
1.2.3 Theoretical Framework

Over the years, several studies regarding the effect of diversity on social interactions have been
conducted and theories evolved. In the following, I will discuss both the intergroup contact theory and
the ethnic competition theory. These theories constitute the basis for the conceptualization of the
problem of (religious) intolerance and provide theoretical perspectives on effective ways to reduce
prejudice (1.2.3.1). Furthermore, I will briefly elaborate on the important role of the teacher in moral
education (1.2.3.2). These insights will be used as background theory when reflecting on contemporary
policy and educational practises of religious education in both Indonesia and the Netherlands.
1.2.3.1 The ethnic competition- and the Inter-group contact theory

The ethnic competition theory integrates the social identity theory and the realistic group conflict
theory (Savelkoul et al, 2010, p.1). The social identity theory assumes that the process of (social)
categorization leads to group identification, resulting in positive in-group and negative out-group
attitudes (Savelkoul et al, 2010, p.2). The realistic group conflict theory assumes that competition over
scarce resources and values between social groups, induces conflict of interest between those groups
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and eventually antagonistic inter-group attitudes (Savelkoul et al, 2010, p.2). Perceived threat seems
to be the most direct determinant of unfavourable attitudes towards ethnic minorities (Bobo, 1988).
Ethnic competition theory argues that the process of social identification and social contra-
identification intensifies under conditions of actual inter-group competition and/or perceived threat,
resulting in increased negative attitudes towards outgroups (Savelkoul et al, 2010, p.2).
The inter-group contact theory of Gordon Allport is based on the assumption that inter-group
contact will reduce prejudices against certain groups (Hewtone&Swart, 2011, p.375). Face-to-face
encounters between members from different groups reduces in-group/out-group distinctions and
negative associations such as anxiety, and induces out-group solidarity, resulting in positive
associations, such as empathy (Pettigrew&Tropp, 2008, p.923). According to Allport, direct inter-group
contact would be more likely to reduce prejudice if it involved equal status among the participants,
cooperation on common goals between groups, and institutional support. In addition, while contact is
associated with reduced anxiety, Tausch et al. (2007) found anxiety mediated the relationship between
inter-group contact and prejudice. There is less evidence for Allport’s favoured mediator, increased
knowledge about the out-group.
1.2.3.2 The role of the teacher in moral education

A considerable amount of literature has been published on the role of teachers in transmitting
attitudes and values. A survey on moral themes, carried out in Finland, England and Sweden,
demonstrated that for the effectiveness of moral education, overall school culture is as important as
the transfer of factual knowledge: ‘by encouraging young people to express their inner thoughts and feelings
and facilitate dialogue, their competences and interest in the world are stimulated. (..) In contrast: if teachers in
their everyday practice do not respect or listen to the ideas and opinions of their pupils but instrumentally
superimpose values onto them, the prospect – via education – of developing morally aware, politically active and
democratic citizens seems more difficult, if not utopian’ (Sandström et al, 2010, p.215). Another review
study points in that same direction: an indirect approach to value education appears to be more
effective than a direct approach aimed at directly transferring values (Solomon et al, 2001, p.571).
With indirect approaches, the emphasis is on the launching of a value-forming dialogue between the
teacher and students and between students. Consciously and unconsciously, teachers continually
transfer values to their students. Therefore, teachers appear to play a crucial role in moral education.
As important socialisation agents, schoolteachers’ attitudes and actions are key vehicles in ‘moral
education’ (Sandström et al, 2010, p.205). Teachers need to be aware that they are handling both
potentials for dialogue and understanding, as well as those for conflict, simultaneously (Bakker et al.,
2008, p.349).
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1.2.4 Research concepts
In this study, policies and practises of religious education are analysed and their potential contribution
to fostering religious tolerance will be examined. In the context of this study, three concepts are
essential, namely (the meaning of the words) ‘tolerance’ (1.2.4.1), ‘religious education’ (1.2.4.2) and
‘religious literacy’ (1.2.4.3).
1.2.4.1 The meaning of the word ‘tolerance’ in the context of this study
The concept of tolerance encloses a broad spectrum of underlying ideas and a variety of different
meanings. The Oxford English dictionary defines tolerance as: ‘The ability or willingness to tolerate the
existence of opinions or behaviour that one dislikes or disagrees with’. ‘To tolerate’ is in turn defined as: ‘[to]
allow the existence, occurrence, or practice of (something that one dislikes or disagrees with) without
interference’. Other definitions include ‘interest in and concern for ideas, opinions, practices, etc., foreign to
one's own’, ‘a liberal, undogmatic viewpoint’ and ‘the act or capacity of enduring’.
In ethics, tolerance is typically conceived as ‘an individual virtue, issuing from and respecting the
value of moral autonomy, and acting as a sharp rein on the impulse to legislate against morally or religiously
repugnant beliefs and behaviours’ (Brown, 2009, p.9). Robinson, Witenberg and Sanson (2001) have
studied how tolerance as an individual virtue can be learned. The authors describe four levels of
tolerance:
1) Individual endurance – to put up with the differences;
2) To be fair and objective – ignoring the relevance of difference;
3) Conscious rejection of prejudice;
4) Full acceptance – celebration of difference.
These differentiations illustrate the many different attitudes covered under the heading of 'tolerance'.
Therefore it is important to specify the meaning of the word tolerance in the context of this study.
When using the word tolerance, I refer to the definition of tolerance as enshrined in UNESCO’s
Declaration of Principles on Tolerance. This Declaration adopts a definition of tolerance in line with the
‘fourth level’ of tolerance. The Declaration affirms that tolerance is neither concession nor indulgence
or condescension, it is an active attitude promoted by recognition of the universal rights and freedoms
of others: “Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of our world's cultures, our
forms of expression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, communication, and
freedom of thought, conscience and belief. Tolerance is harmony in difference. It is not only a moral duty, it is also
a political and legal requirement. (…) It means accepting the fact that human beings, naturally diverse in their
appearance, situation, speech, behaviour and values, have the right to live in peace and to be as they are. It also
means that one’s views are not to be imposed on others” (Article 1, UDPT).
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1.2.4.2 (Models of) Religious Education
Religious education encompasses a variety of different forms and practises. Based on differences in
pedagogical aspects (cognitive-, affective-, attitudinal goal and teaching methods), normative basis and
societal context, we can distinguish between three models of religious education, namely: the mono-
religious model, the multi-religious model and the inter-religious model.
The mono-religious model is characterised by the dominance of a specific religious tradition,
the pedagogical aim of internalisation of that tradition, and the claim of a particular religion to absolute
truth as a normative basis (Sterkens, 2001, p. 49). The aim of mono-religious education is to construct
a religious identity in line with one’s own religious tradition and to increase pupils’ interest and
involvement in that particular religion. Other religions might be discussed, albeit from the perspective
of one’s own tradition and with the aim of affirming that tradition (Sterkens, 2001, pp. 50-54).
While the mono-religious model can viewed as a model for ‘learning in religion’, the multi-
religious model focusses on ‘learning about religion’. The aim of the multi-religious model is to
compare different religious traditions in order to increase knowledge and tolerance of other religions
and immanent world-views. The normative basis of this model is religious relativism; all religions are
considered equally valuable and evaluated according to ‘objective’ criteria (Sterkens, 2001, pp.55-59).
It focusses on the accumulation of information about beliefs, rituals and values of different religious
traditions.
The inter-religious model focusses on religious identity formation through the development of
competence in dialogue. The normative basis for this model is ‘pluralism’. Within this model, plurality
is viewed as an opportunity for mutual enrichment. It aims at fostering respect for both other religious
traditions as well as one’s own religion by teaching effective communication between the adherents
of different religions (Sterkens, 2001, pp. 63-66). Interreligious learning is ideally characterized by
three main aspects, namely (1) the formation of identity, (2) openness to others, and (3) the willingness
to learn with and from each other (Miedema, 2006, p. 170).
1.2.4.2 Definition of ‘Religious Literacy’

Harvard professor Diane L. Moore articulates the following definition of religious literacy: “Religious
literacy entails the ability to discern and analyse the fundamental intersections of religion and
social/political/cultural life through multiple lenses”. She specified that a religiously literate person will
possess “1) a basic understanding of the history, central texts (where applicable), beliefs, practices and
contemporary manifestations of several of the world's religious traditions as they arose out of and continue to be
shaped by particular social, historical and cultural contexts; and 2) the ability to discern and explore the religious
dimensions of political, social and cultural expressions across time and place” (Harvard Religious Literacy
Project).
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Moore furthermore emphasizes that critical to this definition is ‘the importance of understanding
religions and religious influences in context and as inextricably woven into all dimensions of human experience’
(Harvard Religious Literacy Project).
1.3 TECHNICAL DESIGN

As above-mentioned studies show, teaching for tolerance is not just a matter of State or school policy,
but in practise appears to be highly influenced by preferences and attitudes of individual teachers.
Therefore, I will not only analyse current State policy and evaluate (the development of) existing
curricula, but I will also assess preferred pedagogical approaches and attitudes of present day teachers.
In order to adequately study this phenomenon, I have applied a qualitative, descriptive
research design. A cross-national, multiple case study that contains a literature review and document
analysis as well as exploratory interviews with several key figures in the educational field to
complement existing data. The major strength of the case study design is the opportunity to use many
different sources of evidence (Evers & Van Staa, 2010). By combining these different methodologies, I
hope to realize a methodological synergy that allows me to gather rich, complex data in a systematic
and holistic manner. It is commonly thought that the interdependency and interaction between the
different methods will amount to a diligent and firm research process (Vennix, 2011, p.100).
Triangulation is used to ‘partially overcome or counterbalance the deficiencies and biases that flow
from single methodologies’ (Evers & Van Staa, 2010).
1.3.1 Data collection

The specific research data on Indonesia and the Netherlands were obtained from a review study of
legal documents, policy statements and national and international literature concerning religious
education. The World Values Survey database was used to provide data concerning general attitudes
and values in Dutch and Indonesian society with regard to religion and education. The World Values
Survey studies changing values and their impact on social and political life. It is the largest non-
commercial, cross-national, time series investigation of human beliefs and values ever executed.
In addition, between February and April 2016, Senne Joustra and I conducted a total of nine
exploratory interviews with scholars, administrators and teachers in the (religious) educational field,
supplemented with one e-mail interview. The interviews were recorded using a handheld recording
device. The audio files were transcribed verbatim in Word documents to facilitate subsequent data
analysis.
The participants have been carefully selected to represent different types and orientations of
public and religiously-affiliated secondary schools. The structure of the Dutch educational field created
the opportunity to contact umbrella organisations in order to provide a more general overview of
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educational practises in different secondary schools. Therefore, participants in the Netherlands were
administrators at education umbrella organisations (one public: VOS/ABB, one Christian: Verus, and
one Islamic: ISBO ) while in Indonesia, three religion teachers from different secondary schools in
Yogyakarta participated (one public: SMAN 7, one Christian: SMA Bopkri 1, and one Islamic: SMA Piri
1). Furthermore, we complemented our findings by conducting interviews with scholars specialized in
religious education (two in Indonesia: M. Yusuf (UGM), Tabita Kartika Christiani (UKDW), one in the
Netherlands: Elza Kuijk (VU)). An overview of the respondents can be found in appendix A.
Participants’ experiences were captured and interviewees were invited to provide feedback on
the usefulness, impact as well as barriers of religious education as a means to foster religious tolerance.
To ensure that the same general areas of information were collected from each interviewee, we have
used the ‘General Interview Guide Approach’. This technique provides more focus than the
conversational approach, but still allows a degree of freedom and adaptability in getting the
information from the participant (Turner, 2010, p.755). While wording used slightly varied based on
whether administrators, scholars or teachers were being interviewed, questions particularly aimed at
providing insights on the school policy of religious education and teachers attitudes towards religion
and religious diversity. See appendix B for the interview guide.
Due to time limitations, language barriers and reservations of teachers to participate, we have
used convenience sampling to select participants in the Indonesian educational field. We are aware
that this sampling technique can cause systematic bias and limitations in generalization. However,
given the nature of this research, in which the interviews serve a merely exploratory purpose
supplementary to existing literature, it is not my intention to make inferences about the entire
population based exclusively on this sample. Furthermore, we included two Indonesian scholars, both
specialists in religious education in Indonesia, in order to create a more general overview.
1.3.2 Analysis
After conducting the interviews, the recorded data were transcribed. This provided a good opportunity
to familiarize myself with the data in order to list key ideas and recurrent themes. The corpus of this
study consists of all the interview transcripts and all data collected from the literature review and the
World Values Survey.
During the process of data analysis, I have used a deductive (scissor and sort) technique. The
scissor-and-sort technique is a quick and cost-effective method for analysing a transcript (Stewart&
Shamdasani, 2015, p.123). Raw data was selected and ordered along the line of three sensitizing
concepts, which derived from the research questions (deductive) (Van Thiel, 2014, p.143). The
following concepts were used as a guideline and starting point for analysing the interviews and
literature: 1) State policy; 2) school policy; 3) teachers attitudes towards religion and religious diversity,
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allowing for an analysis of the educational field on a macro-, meso- and micro-level. Additional material
was stored in the same systematic manner. Once the interpretative process was finished, each topic
was provided with a brief summary of research insights, elaborated with direct quotes derived from
the interviews. The data from different sources were compared and contrasted with each other to
search for patterns, cause and effect relations and other forms of interconnection (Van Thiel, 2014,
p.148).
In the last phase, I compared the results of the two case studies. Shining light on the similarities
and differences between the two countries contributes to a higher degree of understanding for the
social reality in the different national contexts and might help to identify context-based limitations and
possibilities of teaching for tolerance.
1.3.3 Reliability and Validity

Opponents of qualitative research often argue that this form of research is rather subjective. Even
though it is true that most qualitative data analysis is subjective (Van Thiel, 2014, p.150), measures
have been taken to ensure validity and reliability of this study. As mentioned earlier, triangulation of
research methods was used in order to overcome the weakness or intrinsic biases related to single
method studies.
Nevertheless, I am aware of the limitations of this research. The small amount of interviewees
and the clustering of the approached institutions, will make a generalization based on the interviews
alone unreliable and rather useless. For this reason, I sought to note patterned regularities in the ways
interviewees account for their experiences with religious education and teaching for tolerance in the
classroom, as well as paying attention to alternative viewpoints and counter-evidence. I interpreted
the results using a comparison with existing literature regarding religious educational practises in both
the Netherlands and Indonesia.
Moreover, it is recognised that in a cross-national study, analytical interpretations may be
obscured by ethnocentrism and insufficient familiarity with conditions and culture of other countries,
in this case Indonesia. To compensate for this, attention is paid to general national values, using the
results of the World Value Survey.
1.3.4 Thesis Outline

This thesis is divided into five chapters. In the first two chapters, I will present the results of the analysis
of the educational field of religious education in both countries on a macro-, meso- and micro-level. In
the first chapter I will present the findings of the Dutch case study (Chapter II) and in the second
chapter, the results of the Indonesian case study (Chapter III). The next chapters sheds light on
similarities and differences between the two countries which contributes to a higher degree of
9
understanding of the social reality in the different national contexts. The similarities and difference
chapter (IV) is followed by a discussion (V) identifying possibilities and restrictions provided by the legal
framework, government policies, educational institutes and teachers’ attitudes in both countries with
regard to the implementation of a model of religious education which takes the religious other into
account and fosters religious literacy. In the two last chapters, I will present the conclusions (VI) and
recommendations (VII) in which I will make some suggestions for future research.
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II Results: Dutch Case Study
“If liberalism has a future, it is in giving up the search for a rational consensus on the best
way of life. Nearly all societies today contain several ways of life, with many people
belonging to more than one”.
-Gray (2009)-
This part of the thesis presents the results of the content analysis of the Dutch case study. Presenting
the results, I tried to find vivid examples that capture the essence of the points made by participants
(interviews) and authors (literature). This chapter is divided into two parts. In the first section, I will
present a brief overview of the political and social context of the Dutch society (2.1). These contextual
remarks will allow for a better understanding and contextualisation of the results and conclusions of
this research. In the second part, I will discuss the results of the data analysis of the case study of
religious education in the Netherlands on a macro-, meso- and micro-level (2.2). The aim is to obtain
insights in how the three domains influencing religious education (State policy, school policy and
teachers (attitudes)) in the Netherlands intertwine and interact. Furthermore, which relevant concepts
and underlying ideas influence this process?
Figure 1: Interaction and interconnextions

State Policy
Teachers Attitudes
1) religion
School Policy
2) religious diversity
2.1 A Brief Overview of the Political, Social and Cultural Context

The history of religion in the Netherlands has been characterized by diversity of religious beliefs and
practices. As a means of dealing with religious diversity in Dutch society, a system of so called
‘pillarization’ was invented. Between 1880 and 1960, the Dutch society was ‘solidified’ and oriented
vertically to religious and ideological pillars (Vellenga, 2015).
In the 1950's, over 80% of the Dutch population belonged to a church. However, since 1960
onwards, the Netherlands has become one of the most secularized countries in the western world. In
2014, a survey by the VU University Amsterdam concluded that for the first time in the history of the
Netherlands, atheists (25%) outnumber the theists (17%). The majority of the population being
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agnostic (31%) or ‘ietsist’ (27%) (Ipsos/VU 2015). However, despite the progress of secularisation and
the decline of church membership, religion remains a central aspect of Dutch society (Vellenga, 2015).
The constitutional context of the relationship between religion and the secular state in the
Netherlands is embedded in the concepts of the separation between church and state, neutrality of
the state with regard to religion and belief (art.6 jo. Art.1 GW), and the freedom of religion and belief
(art.6 GW) (Van Bijsterveld, 2015, p. 524). Separation between church and state is considered an
important feature of the Dutch secular state and entails that the state respects the internal
organization of the church and that the churches have no formal say in public decision-making (Van
Bijsterveld, 2015, p.529).
The Dutch church-state relationship can be characterized as a model of cooperation between
state and religious institutions, based on the ‘inclusive neutrality’ of the state. Neutrality means that
the state allows all religions and denominations to have equal footing (Vermeulen & Bader, 2012, p.3).
The system of education is exemplary of the Dutch way of dealing with organizations based on a
religion or belief (Van Bijsterveld, p. 525). It is a dual system which consist of public-authority schools
(openbare) and private (bijzondere - mostly religiously affiliated) schools, equally funded by the state.
Denominational schools form an integral part of the public educational system (J. Sturm et al., 1998,
p.2). The majority of 2/3 of all schools in the Netherlands are religiously-affiliated schools whereas 1/3
have a "neutral status" according to religion and worldviews (CBS, 2009).
2.2 Religious Education in the Netherlands

In this result section, I will analyse the educational field of religious education in the Netherlands on a
macro-, meso- and micro-level. On a macro-level, I will present an overview of state’s laws regarding
religious education and tolerance (A), on a meso-level, I will discuss school policies of religious
education (B) and on a micro-level, I will analyse the attitudes of religion teachers towards religion and
religious diversity (C).
A. MACRO-LEVEL: STATE POLICY

For a proper understanding of religious education in the Netherlands, knowledge about the Dutch
educational system is imperative. Article 23 of the Dutch Constitution can be considered one of the
key features of the Dutch education system. This article governs the relationship between educational
institutes and the State (Onderwijsraad, 2016).
The Dutch “dual” educational system of equal treatment of both state and denominational
schools has existed in the Netherlands since 1920. It is rooted in the historical legacy of the Dutch
‘pillarization’ system. Until 1806, education in the Netherlands consisted only of private (elite) schools
and church-based education. Following the Education Law of 1806, public schools were founded. These
12
schools were predominantly based on a liberal Christian (protestant) worldview. As a result, some
religious minorities started illegal schools in order to provide their children with education in line with
their values and world views. In 1848, the Dutch Constitution guaranteed the freedom of education
which allowed churches or religious groups to establish schools and granted parents the right to send
their children to those private schools instead of public (Vermeer, 2013, p.85). However, only state
schools received government funding. The system of completely equal treatment of both state and
denominational schools has existed in the Netherlands since 1920 and is enshrined in article 23 of the
Dutch Constitution (Freedom of Education).
The freedom of education, guaranteed under article 23, entails the freedom of establishment
(vrijheid van oprichting), the freedom of organization (vrijheid van inrichting) and the freedom of
‘persuasion’ (vrijheid van richting). The freedom of establishment means that everyone (churches,
parents) has the right to found schools to provide teaching based on religious, ideological or
educational beliefs and apply for (equal) state funding. The freedom of organization means that both
public and private schools are free to determine – within legal boundaries and quality standards set by
the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science - what is taught and how. The freedom of persuasion
encompasses the freedom to express the fundamental orientation of the school in the selection of
staff, pupils and teaching material (Mentink et al, 2016). Like the state, public schools are strictly
neutral with regard to religion and worldview.
As a result of these historical developments, the position of religious education is closely linked
to the unique features of the Dutch educational system. Within this legal structure, the autonomic
realization of religious education is part of the freedom that non-public schools enjoy. It is considered
a part of a school’s (religious) identity, an expression of the right to freedom of persuasion. Religious
education is not supervised by the state, as it would violate the separation between church and state
and the state’s neutrality with regard to religion (Vermeer, 2013, p.87).
National Curriculum/ Core Objectives

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is responsible for defining the general education policy.
The potent role that education can play in creating knowledgeable, involved and tolerant citizens, has
not remained unnoticed by government officials and policy makers. In 2005, the Dutch parliament
adopted the Law on the Enhancement of Active Citizenship and Social Integration which obligates
primary and secondary schools to promote active citizenship and social integration. According to the
Dutch Education Inspectorate (Inspectie van het Onderwijs, 2012) the transmission of key values
(sense of respect, tolerance, solidarity, etc.) and the formation of informed and involved citizens are
important benefits of education. Since then, article 17 of the Law on Secondary Education (WVO)
stipulates that education (among other things) is aimed at ‘ensuring that students have knowledge of, and
13
are acquainted with the different backgrounds and cultures of their peers’ . The introduction of citizenship
education in 2006 is a manifestation of efforts made by the government to overcome challenges posed
by the increasingly plural nature of Dutch society. Citizenship education is supposed to ensure social
cohesion by focusing on active citizenship and social participation.
In addition to the general educational objective articulated in article 17 WVO, core objectives
of secondary education are formulated in additional regulations (Kerndoelen). There is no detailed
national curriculum. Instead, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science formulated 58 core
objectives to be taught (article 11 WVO). These core objectives provide the basis for the national exams
at the end of secondary school and the reviews and quality inspections by the Dutch Inspectorate of
Education. Core objectives describe what the school must offer, but not how it should be done. The
curriculum is interpreted according to the evocative nature of education (SLO, 2008, p.5). Schools
define their own policies within this global, national framework. However, all schools are obliged to
account for their educational practice, programs and evaluations vis-à-vis the Inspectorate of
Education (Ruiter & Vermeulen, 2007, p.194).
Education in religion does not belong to the list of core objectives, as it would violate the
separation of church and state (Ruiter & Vermeulen, 2006, p.6). Nonetheless, one of the core
objectives relates to the issue under concern. Under the heading “people and society” core objective
number 43 of the list reads: Students learn about similarities, differences and changes in culture and beliefs in
The Netherlands; learn about their own ways of life and how to connect these to the ways of life of others; and
learn to understand the meaning for society of respect for one’s convictions and beliefs (..)”. Schools are free to
interpret this in their own ways when implementing this core objective into their educational practises.
To ensure that there is always an option for Protestant, Islamic or any other religious/
ideological education, all public secondary schools are obligated by law to provide a classroom to
facilitate optional education by religious communities (article 46 WVO). The school authorities do not
take any responsibility for the content of this education. Furthermore, it should be noted that public
secondary schools are obligated by law to ‘contribute to the development of students with attention to
religious, ideological and social values as they are present in Dutch society, and acknowledging the meaning of
the diversity of these values’ (art. 42 WVO). However, this article, defining the character of public
education, does not apply to private (mostly religiously-affiliated) schools. The freedom of education
guarantees autonomy for schools concerning educational and pedagogic-didactic approaches. Private
schools decide independently on issues concerning their identity, like religious education and
citizenship education (Onderwijsraad, 2016). Whether religious education is compulsory or optional is
part of the school policy.
14
In Dutch education, promoting tolerance of sexual diversity and ethnic-religious tolerance are
accepted, compulsory goals. Educational objectives related to religion are shaped within the
framework of citizenship education. However, the autonomic realization of religious, moral and
citizenship education is part of the freedom of education that schools enjoy, guaranteed under
article 23 of the Dutch Constitution. Confessional religious education is regarded an expression of
the (religious) identity of the school whereas (equal) attention to different religions in public schools
is prescribed in order to reflect the neutral character of public education. We can distinguish several
key elements, some of which are interrelated: ‘Separation of Church and State’, ‘Inclusive neutrality
of the state’, ‘Freedom of education’, ‘Dual system’, ‘Autonomy of schools’, ‘Core objectives’, and
the ‘Evocative nature of education’.
Table 1: Overview of the Dutch educational system+ RE and educational goals aiming for tolerance
Context -Separation between church and state Inclusive neutrality of the state
-Neutrality of the state with regard to
religion and belief (art.6 jo. art.1 GW) No supervision of RE by the state
-Freedom of religion and belief (art.6 GW)
Dutch Art.23: Freedom of Education Dual system: equally funded public and non-public
Constitution - freedom to found schools schools
- freedom of organisation Autonomy of schools
- freedom of conviction/persuasion RE as expression of schools identity
Law on Art. 17: enhancement of active citizenship Education aimed ‘ensuring that students have
Secondary and social integration (ALL SCHOOLS) knowledge of, and are acquainted with the
Education different backgrounds and cultures of their peers’.
(WVO) Art. 42: Character of PUBLIC education Public schools should ‘contribute to the
development of students with attention to
religious, ideological and social values as they are
present in Dutch society, and acknowledging the
meaning of the diversity of these values’
Art. 46+47: GVO/HVO (PUBLIC schools) Public schools obligated to provide a classroom to
school authorities not responsible for facilitate optional religious education by religious
content communities (confessional)
Core Number 43: all schools are obligated to Students learn about similarities, differences and
objectives teach their students about cultures and changes in culture and beliefs in The Netherlands;
Besluit beliefs in order to generate respect and learn about their own ways of life and how to
Kerndoelen tolerance. connect these to the ways of life of others; and
learn to understand the meaning for society of
respect for one’s convictions and beliefs (..)
B. MESO-LEVEL: SCHOOL POLICY

As mentioned above, the freedom of education and the associated ‘evocative nature of education’
allows for an interpretation of core objectives. Schools can define their own policies within the global
framework of national formulated objectives. This means that schoolboards can choose the methods
for the subjects to be taught and construct a specific program planning. Analysing the educational field
and contemporary educational practises of religious and worldview education, we can make several
observations.
15
Religious education in public secondary schools
Interviews: Religious education in public secondary schools is rarely taught. Marleen Lammers
(VOS/ABB) stated that: ‘The legal obligation of public secondary schools to contribute to the development of
students with attention to religious, ideological and social values is generally met by incorporating religion into
other subjects like history or sociology’. One of our other the interviewees, Paul Boersma, clarified this
situation when he pointed out that: “Generally, public education is not familiar with the domain of religious
or worldview formation due to the fact that this discipline is traditionally exclusively taught in a confessional
setting.” Consequentially, we observe a lack of consideration for religion in educational practises in
public schools.
Literature: These findings are consistent with observations made in secondary literature regarding (the
absence of) religious educational practises in public secondary schools in the Netherlands (Kuyk, 2007,
p.139). Due to the ‘neutral character’ of public schools, public schools cannot provide confessional
religious education in which subjectivity plays a part, but they can address religious and social values
(Leeman, 2008, p.52). VOS/ABB, the Association for Public and General Education, recently published
a brochure (2016) with the aim of stimulating religious and worldview education in secondary public
schools. The vision expressed reads ‘Worldview education provides solidarity and connection, it touches the
hearts of pupils and staff (..) Identity development is paramount [therefore] VOS/ABB recommends that all
students of public secondary schools should have the opportunity to develop themselves within the religious
sphere. And also ‘It is considered a human right that children have the opportunity to develop their own identity.
Worldview is an essential part of this identity. Teachers can make a significant contribution to the development
of students to become actively tolerant citizens’. Therefore, they urge public schools to consider worldview
education as an integrated part of citizenship education.
Religious education in Christian-affiliated secondary schools

Interviews: According to one of our interviewees, religious scholar Elza Kuyk, the way religious
education is shaped ‘predominantly depends on the attitude of the religious teacher and the way schools
formulate their religious identity’. Because of this diversity, it is not possible to provide a general
description of the content of religious education at religiously affiliated schools. Elza Kuyk provided
some indicators of the status of religious education in confessional schools. She states that: ‘barometers
of the status of religious education and the importance given to the subject include the question whether or not
religious education is included in the official final exams and the school’s appreciation of the grades.’
Literature: Most religiously-affiliated schools do provide religious education, as it is considered an

important expression of the schools’ identity (richting). Whether or not religious education is an
16
integrated part of the school’s curriculum, predominantly depends on the particular identity of the
school. In 2008, Regiecentrum ‘Religious Education as a subject of examination’, conducted a study
regarding the status of religious education as an examination subject. Results indicate that 85% of
approached Orthodox schools, 57 % of Protestant-Christian schools and 48% of Catholic schools offer
religious education as a small exam (Regiecentrum, 2008, p.2).
Within Christian-affiliated secondary schools, religious education can either be confessional or
non-confessional (Kuyk, 2007, p.137). External (religious) organisations are sometimes involved in
school’s policies and the content of religious education. Officially, all Catholic schools are supposed to
integrate a confessional approach of religious education. The Bishops Conference approves standards
for religious education. However, practice might be different (Kuyk, 2007, p.138). The protestant
churches do not have any formal relation with the protestant schools.
Religious education in Islamic secondary schools

Interviews: Within the Islamic secondary school, religious education plays a significant role in the daily
educational practises. According to Rasit Bal (ISBO), religious education in Islamic schools is aimed at
‘transferring Islamic teachings and getting pupils acquainted with Islamic religious practises’. This approach can
be characterized as religious socialisation/ learning in religion.
Literature: Since 1988, several Islamic schools in the Netherlands were established with the purpose
of providing education which contributed to a cultural-religious personality development in an Islamic
spirit (Shadid & Van Koningsveld, 1992, p.110). In 2014, ‘Avicenna college’ was founded, currently the
only Islamic-affiliated secondary school in the Netherlands. Recently, the director of Avicenna College
Richard Troost, published a document regarding the school’s current state of affairs (Troost, 2016) in
which he proclaimed that: ‘The Islamic identity of the school has been shaped. You can see and feel that we
are an Islamic school: dress codes, prayer room, call to prayer, Ramadan grid etc. But also the values of faith
referring to respectful treatment and decent behaviour. Meanwhile, there is a lot of contact with the mosques on
how to shape education in the triangular relationship between parents, mosque and school.”
General observations
With regard to educational objectives related to religion which are shaped within the framework of
citizenship education, a report of the Dutch Education Council, an independent governmental advisory
body, presents some interesting insights. In this report, the Council expressed her concern about the
poor implementation of the core objectives regarding citizenship education in secondary schools
(OnderwijsRaad, 2012). In many schools, there is no coherent curriculum to meet the core objectives
concerning citizenship education such as the above-mentioned core objective number 43, which
17
instructs schools to teach students about similarities, differences and changes in culture and beliefs.
The Council notes that legislation regarding citizenship education is unclear. They furthermore observe
an absence of available methods and tools to effectively stimulate civic competences (OnderwijsRaad,
2012, p.7).
With regard to religious education as a subject expressing the religious identity of a school, several
observations can be made. Throughout the educational field, one can find a wide range of available
methods, modules and detailed programs for teaching worldview and religious education developed
by specialized institutes. Depending on the pedagogical approach, the identity of the school and the
preference of religion teachers, methods and hours used to teach religious education widely differ.
As a provision typical of religiously affiliated schools, religious education initially served the
general purpose of religious socialisation (Vermeer, 2013, p.88). As a result of both secularisation and
increasing diversity in society i.e. the classroom, efforts have been made to derive the subject from its
confessional basis. This resulted in the transformation of religious education into ‘worldview
formation’, more suitable to accommodate the increasingly diverse backgrounds of students (Kuyk &
Schreiner, 2010, p.6).
In an exploratory study, Wiel Veugelers (2008, p.28) distinguishes four pedagogical approaches
to religious education: 1) education in a religion (text-oriented theological approach); 2) learning about
different religions (phenomenological approach); 3) religious development within a religious tradition
(existentialistic philosophical approach) and; 4) personal religious development within a democratic
framework (social ethical approach). His research shows that most secondary schools that offer
religious education nowadays have adopted the third or fourth pedagogical approach. One can
observe a general shift in the goals of religious education; from the emphasis on the transfer of
knowledge (approach 1 and 2) to an approach were the personal development of the student is
paramount (3, 4).
Heid Leganger-Krogstad (2001, p.61) provides some additional insights. She argues that
approach 1 and 2 give priority to human understanding on the basis of common cultural history and
makes use of a mainly substantial view of religion. In the first approach, focus is on the individual
formation of identity, while the phenomenological approach puts emphasis on the understanding of
religion as a phenomenon in a broader context. Approaches 3 and 4 give priority to human
understanding on common ground and make use of a mainly functional view of religion. In the third
approach, the individualistic perspective (development of child) is dominant, while the collective
(society) perspective dominates the fourth approach (p.63).
Integrating all above-mentioned insights, I have created the following figure that provides a
general overview of current positions of different schools in the Netherlands.
18
Figure 3: Main approaches to Religious Education+ current positions of different secondary schools
Analysing contemporary school policies regarding religious and worldview education, one can
identify a number of topics influencing school policy: ‘freedom of education’, ‘external (religious)
organisations’, ‘historical confessional basis of RE’, ‘student population’, ’identity of the school’,
‘pedagogical approach’, ‘social developments’ and the ‘preference of religion teachers’.
Additionally, we can observe a relationship between the identity of the school and the different
approaches to religious education. Public schools express an interest in religious education as a way
to stimulate ‘identity development’ of their students. In Islamic schools, ‘religious socialisation’ is
paramount whereas most Christian-affiliated secondary schools have adopted an approach of either
‘religious development within a religious tradition’ or ‘personal religious development within a
democratic framework’.
C. MICRO-LEVEL: ATTITUDES TOWARDS RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN SCHOOLS

As mentioned in the theoretical framework, several studies have revealed the eminent importance of
the attitude and role of the teacher in moral education (Sandström et al, 2010, Solomon et al, 2001).
In practise, the effectiveness of teaching for tolerance appears to be highly influenced by preferences
and attitudes of individual teachers. Teachers continually transfer values to their students. In the
following, teachers’ attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in schools will be analysed.
In Dutch society in general, attitudes towards religion vary from positive to extremely negative. Results
of the World Values Survey 2010-2014, indicated that 10.7% of the Dutch population view religion as
‘very important’ and 14.5% as ‘rather important’ in life, whereas the majority of people regarded
religion as ‘not very important’ (28.9%) and ‘not important at all’ (43.8%). Overall, religious persons
seem to be more positive about the public role of religion than non-religious persons (Bernts &
Berghuijs, 2016).
19
Many Dutch regard diversity as seemingly unproblematic in their daily lives. Only 2.7% of the
1902 respondents reveal that they do not like to have people from a different religion as their direct
neighbour. On the other hand, a majority of 46.3% of the respondents indicate that they do not trust
people from a different religion to 39.5% of people who ‘somewhat trust’ (38.6%) or ‘completely trust’
(0.9%) the religious other. Furthermore, 13.3% of the respondents agrees (9.4%) or strongly agrees
(3.9%) with the statement that the only acceptable religion is their own religion while a majority of
72.1 percent disagrees (27.4%) or strongly disagrees (44.7%). These results indicate an overall
compliance with prevailing notions of basic human rights like the freedom of religion, but illustrate a
certain scepticism towards the ‘religious other’ on a personal level.
Teachers’ attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in Public secondary schools
Interviews: From our interview with Marleen Lammers (VOS/ABB) it became apparent that not all
teachers in public schools endorse the earlier mentioned vision of the Association for Public and
General Education regarding the stimulation of religious education in public schools. Lammers stated
that ‘within the domain of public schools, discussions about the place of religion in schools are often heated.’
She identifies two prominent positions: a) those who interpret the neutrality of the public school in a
strict manner: the state school is a “neutral” space and must therefore be kept free of religious insignia
of all kinds (active neutrality) and b) those who view neutrality of the public schools as an opportunity
for meeting and encounter between all members of society, regardless of their (religious) backgrounds
(active pluralism). She furthermore raises the idea that the age of the teachers might be a factor in the
preferred notion of religion in schools: “I recently heard that current students of the Pabo (Dutch teacher-
training institutes) are much more open to the idea of facilitating (religious) encounters. It might also be a
generational difference. (..) younger generations are perhaps more open towards the notion of religion in the
public domain and more focused on the question whether and how students can learn from each other. ’ Although
this might indeed indicate a correlation between age and teachers’ attitudes towards religion in
schools, additional data are necessary in order to provide confirmation of this hypothesis.
Literature: Results from the World Values Survey 2010-2014 indicate that in general, 38.6% of the
Dutch population strongly agrees (6.3%) or agrees (32.3%) with the statement that all religions should
be taught in public schools whereas 48.5% of
the respondents disagreed (23.8%) or strongly
disagreed (24.7%). A cross-reference of this
data with the variable ‘age’, confirms some
influence of age on the level of compliance
with the statement that public schools should Figure 4: World Values Survey 2010-2014
20
provide teaching in all religions. However, in contrast to above-mentioned hypotheses, results indicate
that younger people (<29) are less inclined to agree with the statement (33.2%) than other age groups:
36.6% (age group 30-49 years) and 40.5% of people with an age of 50 and more. In the level of
disagreement, we can only observe a slightly elevated level of disagreement in the age-group of 30-
49: 49.8% to a total of 48.5 %. Of course, these findings only account for the attitudes of the general
public towards teaching religion in public schools and do not necessarily reflect the specific attitudes
of educators/teachers in public schools.
Teachers’ attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in Christian-affiliated secondary schools
Interviews: Present day religion teachers experience a lot of diversity of religion and believe in their
classroom. This brings about new challenges for religion teachers. As one of our interviewees Paul
Boersma explained ‘As a teacher, you will need to develop a certain sensitivity to students who express a
different perspective on things you consider ‘the truth’. He argues that teachers nowadays cannot be too
normative. Teachers should create an open, safe teaching environment with room for discussion and
critical thinking “Of course, you have your own life views, but let others question those. I think most present-
day religion teachers have learned to do that, or should learn to…. They function in a diverse society and hope
that that diversity enables them to facilitate an encounter. The concept of ‘encounter’ appears to play a
prominent role in contemporary teaching practises. ‘Not interfaith learning, but an encounter… that’s a
word we’re going to be using a lot.’ The context of ‘encounter’ opens opportunities for an exchange of
ideas and values, a forum where students from different backgrounds share and develop their
worldviews in an equal setting, using dialogical methods.
Literature: Research shows that in the Netherlands, proximity to the school tends to be the main
reason for selecting a particular school. The denomination of the school appears to play a minor role.
Denomination is only mentioned by 3% of all respondents as a reason for choosing a high school.
(MARE, 2004, p.8). Consequentially, the student population at religiously-affiliated schools is often
quite diverse. As a subject predominantly present in religiously-affiliated schools, religion teachers in
denominational schools have experienced significant changes in the approach to religious education
over the years. These changes required teachers with ‘(often powerful) personal experiences of religion and
(strong) beliefs and/or views on religious, spiritual and ethical issues to develop the skills to present these matters
empathetically and impartially to pupils who have their own personal experiences, beliefs and views’
(Everington, 2016, p. 178). This presents distinctive professional challenges. In their professional role,
teachers need to be aware of and develop the relationship between their personal and professional
lives.
21
Teachers’ attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in Islamic secondary schools
Interviews: As became apparent from the before mentioned proclamation of the director of the
Avicenna College (Troost, 2016), religion plays a significant role in daily school practises in the Islamic
secondary school: dress-codes, prayer rooms, call for player etc. However, specific data regarding
teachers’ attitudes towards religion in the Islamic school, are not (yet) present. According to our
interviewee Rasit Bal, teachers’ attitudes towards religious diversity in Islamic secondary schools differ.
How diversity in the classroom is perceived ‘predominantly depends on the attitude of the specific teacher,
ranging from teachers who embrace religious pluralism to teachers who reject diversity. Most teachers try to find
a middle ground, searching for ways to integrate the reality of diversity with the Islamic religious tradition’.
Literature: In Islamic secondary schools, the approach to religious education is mainly aimed at
religious socialisation in the Islamic tradition. As a result, above-mentioned tensions between the
religious background of the religion teacher and present-day pedagogical approaches to religious
education are less evident. The student population of the Islamic school is quite homogenous. Ethnic
diversity in Islamic schools is generally limited to two to three groups: Turkish, Moroccan and Indian-
Surinamese (Dronkers, 2015). However, this does not mean that the Islamic school is religiously
homogenous. Within Islam, one can differentiate different branches (Sunni, Shia, Sufi etc.) which
account for a religiously divers student population. Within the Islamic school, 80% of teachers are
Muslim and 20% non-Muslims. With regard to the teacher population, the director of the Islamic
school states: “We would like to keep this division as it offers diversity and potential for debate within the
school” (Troost, 2016).
General observations
Research on the perceptions of teachers regarding religious and cultural diversity in secondary schools,
indicates that many teachers regard ethnic diversity in the classroom as an enrichment, as it prepares
students for life in the multicultural society (Renkema et al., 2000, p.30). However, teachers experience
a lack of structural support and programs on how to deal with diversity in the classroom (Renkema et
al., 2000, p.37). They often struggle to implement intercultural education -dealing with cultural
differences in the classroom- as an integrated part of the regular teaching practises. Moreover, it often
shows low priority (SLO, 2008, p.38).
In addition to above-mentioned attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in society and schools
in particular, our research has raised the question whether ground for inter-faith education in
contemporary Dutch society still exists. According to one of our participants (Paul Boersma), ‘there is
little space for inter-religious meeting in a society where religion plays an increasingly smaller role in the
22
perception of students’. This observation is shared by different scholars. They observe a growing tension
between the aims pursued in religious education in school and the predominantly secular outlook on
life of present-day youths. According to scholar of religion Paul Vermeer (2013), most students in
contemporary Dutch society are not particularly interested in reflecting upon their own lives from a
religious perspective: ‘Even if the aim of religious education is no longer to socialise students in a religious
tradition, but to help them develop a religious or secular worldview of their own, this tension will not be resolved
as it still assumes a personal interest in religion and worldview among the young’.
Furthermore, the context of ‘encounter’ appears to be a key concept in contemporary
educational practises. Throughout the interviews, participants of public and Christian-affiliated schools
both frequently referred to this concept. In contrast to interreligious education, the context of
encounter does not presume a religious affiliation of the students. It derives its directive from the
assumption that meetings with the religious or ethnic ‘other’, i.e. ‘out-group’, will allow for the further
development of students’ identity.
When analysing the attitudes of teachers towards religion and religious diversity in secondary
schools, we can conclude that it is impossible to formulate a general point of view. However, several
tensions can be identified: a) RE as a confessional tradition vs. neutrality of public schools; b) active
neutrality vs. active plurality; c) own religious background of RE teachers vs. present-day pedagogical
approaches to RE; d) aims of RE vs. personal interests of present-day students and; e) diversity in
the classroom vs. lack of structural support.
23
III Results: Indonesian Case Study
“Religious education encourages students to obey their religious teachings in daily life and
utilise religion as the foundation of ethics and morality in their personal lives, families,
society, and national life’”
- Article 5.3 of Regulation No. 55/2007-
This chapter presents the results of the Indonesian case study. The structure is similar to the previous
chapter. The chapter is divided into two parts: 1) an overview of the political and social context of the
Indonesian society (3.1) which allows for a better understanding and contextualisation of the results,
and 2) the results of the data analysis of the Indonesian case study on religious education and teaching
for tolerance (3.2).
3.1 A Brief Overview of the Political and Social Context

Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is the most populous Muslim-majority country in the
world. With a population of over 242 million, linguistic, religious and cultural differences are significant
(EP-Nuffic, 2015, p.5). Religion plays an important role in Indonesian society. Results from the World
Values Survey (2005-2009), indicate that 98% of the people in Indonesia regard religion as very
important (94%) and important (4%) in their lives.
Indonesia’s 1945 Constitution defined the state as neither a secular nor Islamic. Instead,
founders formulated a national doctrine aimed at accommodating all of Indonesia’s religious and
cultural traditions: the pancasila (‘five principles’). Even though Freedom of Religion is guaranteed in
the Indonesian Constitution, freedom is only partially granted. The Indonesian government has
recognized six official religions, namely Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and
Confucianism. Every Indonesian is required to embrace one of these religions. In a recent Population
Census (2010), 87.18% of Indonesians identified themselves as Muslim, 6.96% Protestant, 2.91%
Catholic, 1.69% Hindu, 0.72% Buddhist and 0.05% Confucianism.
With regard to the state-religion relationship, it could be stated that Indonesia incorporated a
model in which the state embraces more than one official religion, whereas the first principle of
Pancasila, the state ideology, is the belief in one God. Under Suharto, the government made strenuous
efforts to construct a homogeneous national culture, most notably through the education system
(Yusuf, 2015, p.29). However, since the end of the New-Order regime (1966-1997), the post-New Order
regime can be characterized as ‘preferred treatment for some religions, or support for a particular
traditional model’ (Yusuf, 2015, p.29). The post New-Order regime seems more inclined to support the
Islamic majority, whereas the New Order regime treated all official religions equally.
24
The Indonesian education system is governed by the Ministry of Education and Culture and the
Ministry of Religious Affairs. Educational institutes in Indonesia can be divided into two main
categories: Formal and Non-Formal education. Formal schools follow the state’s official curriculum.
Public formal schools are financed by the state (Department of National Education (Depdiknas)), while
private formal schools are partly state-funded (by the Department of Religious Affairs) and partly
privately financed. Private education plays a prominent role, particularly in secondary education. 66%
of all secondary education institutions are privately owned (EP-Nuffic, 2015, p.5).
3.2 Religious Education in Indonesia

In compliance with chapter II, I will present the results of the Indonesian case study of religious
education, focussing on state policy (A); school policy (B) and attitudes of teachers towards religion
and religious diversity in schools (C). This will allow for an analysis of the educational field on a macro-
, meso-, and micro-level.
A. MACRO-LEVEL: STATE POLICY

In this part, I will address the first sub-question of this study. This section focusses on the question
whether and which educative goals aiming for (religious) education for tolerance have been
formulated in Indonesian educational policies.
After the independence of Indonesia, the construction of a national educational system
became one of the key challenges faced by the young state. The first Education Law was introduced in
1950 (Law No. 4/1950). The Educational objective of the 1950 Education Law was “ to foster decent
competent human beings and democratic citizens who have good morals and take responsibility for the welfare
of society and the homeland” (art.3). Following the example of the Dutch educational system, the 1950
Education Law stipulated religious instruction as an optional school subject in public schools, with the
right of the parents to decide whether children ought to be enrolled. In 1966, religious education
became compulsory in both public and private schools, from elementary school to university. The
Educational Objective of the 1966 Education Law was to ‘develop true followers of Pancasila based on the
provisions required by the Preamble and contents of the Constitution of 1945’ (Suhadi et al, 2015, p.17).
After the democratic transition in 1998, the Indonesian government issued a new education
law (Law No. 20/2003). The educational objective of this law is to ‘develop students’ potential in order to
become persons imbued with human values who are faithful and pious to the one and only God Almighty, noble,
healthy, knowledgeable, skilled, creative independent, who will become democratic and accountable citizens’
(art.3). The Education Law regards formal, non-formal and informal religious education as a national
responsibility – shared by the government and the religious communities. The law No. 20/2003
particularly stipulates the aim of religious education: ‘Religious education has the function to prepare
25
students to become community members who understand and practise religious values and/or acquire expertise
in his or her own religion’ (art.30.2). Religious education is part of the mandatory national curriculum
(art.37). The law requires all schools to provide teaching about any particular religion for the students
who hold that religion by teachers of the same religion (art.12). During the religious teaching hours,
students should be separated in different classrooms in accordance with their own religion.
In 2007, the government released Government Regulation No. 55/2007 concerning (the
implementation of) religious education in schools. Article 1.2 of this Peraturan Pemerintab explains
the objective of religious education in further detail: ‘Religious education is aimed at developing students’
abilities to comprehending, embracing and practising religious values (..)’. Furthermore, article 5.3 of
Regulation No. 55/2007 articulates that: ‘Religious education encourages students to obey their religious
teachings in daily life and utilise religion as the foundation of ethics and morality in their personal lives, families,
society, and national life’ (Yusuf & Sterkens, 2015, p.116).
National curriculum
The curriculum contents of religious education are developed by the Ministry of Religious Affairs,
which provides guidance on the management of religious education in schools, in accordance with Law
No. 20/2003 and Government Regulation No. 55/2007. For each officially recognized religion, a specific
curriculum is developed. Article 6 of Ministry of Religious Affairs Regulation No. 16/2010 states that
the formulation of the curriculum content of religious education should aim to (a) deepen and widen
students’ knowledge of and insight into their own religion, (b) encourage students to practise their
owns teachings in daily life, and (c) to position religion as the foundation of noble character in personal
life, family, society and national life (Yusuf, 2016, p.56).
In 2013, a new national curriculum was developed and implemented. In the 2013 Curriculum,
‘Spiritual attitude’ became a Core Competency in all school subjects. Religion and civic education are
prevailing aspects in the new curriculum. According to some Indonesian scholars, this can only be
understood in the context of strengthening religious ideology in the Reform Era. Historically, one can
observe a close link between political situations and ideologies adopted by the government towards
education, and religious education in particular (Suhadi et al, 2015, p.13). Dominant ideas in the
Reform Era are ‘noble character’ and ‘faith and piety’. Since the 2013 Curriculum, religious values are
considered the standard for morals and character building (Suhadi et al, 2015, p.49).
Teaching for tolerance does not receive much attention in any of the curricula of religious
classes (Parker, 2010). In the 2013 curriculum for Islamic Religious Education at secondary school level,
the word tolerance gets mentioned once. Furthermore, the overall approach of the curriculum tends
to be rather exclusive as it stresses the mastery of religious teachings and marginalizes the aspects of
reflection (Suhadi et al., 2015, p.54). In the 2013 curriculum of Christian Religious Education
26
(Protestant Christianity), the word tolerance does not appear. However, the curriculum emphasizes
the approach of ‘ethics over dogma’, affirming that one of the purposes of Christian Religious and
Character Education is ‘to nurture Indonesian citizens who are able to live their faith in a responsible manner
with noble characters in a pluralistic society’ (Suhadi et al., 2015, p.50).
Like religious education, Civic education is a compulsory subject in the national curriculum
(art.37 of Law No. 20/2003). Explanatory notes to the article explain: ‘Religious education shall be intended
to mould learners to become a human being who is faithful and pious to the One and Only God, and who has
morals and noble character. Civic education shall be intended to mould learner to become a human being who
has a sense of nationalism and patriotism’ (MNE, 2002a). The curriculum for Civic Education articulates
the importance of the value of equality and diversity ‘without distinguishing race, religion, gender, group,
culture and ethnicity' (Parker, 2010). At the same time, it does not mention religion in the remaining
content of the subject’s curriculum, providing limited opportunities to teach about other religions in a
way that promotes understanding and religious tolerance.
When comparing the educational objective of the 2003 Education Law to the objectives formulated
in previous Education Laws, one can observe a general shift towards a more religiously engaged
purpose of education. Religion is considered the foundation of ethics and morality. Religious
education in Indonesia is mandatory and supervised by the Government. The Indonesian
government demonstrates a strong preference for mono-religious education, predominantly meant
to internalize one’s own religion.
Figure 5: Overview of the Indonesian educational system+ RE and educational goals aiming for tolerance
Context -Pancasila Preferred treatment for some religions
-Selected/partial freedom of religion Six officially recognized religions
Education Art.3: general educational objective develop students’ potential in order to become
Law No. persons imbued with human values who are faithful
20/2003 and pious to the one and only God Almighty, noble,
healthy, knowledgeable, skilled, creative
independent, who will become democratic and
accountable citizens’
Art.12+37: RE mandatory + part of Every student is entitled to receive religious education
curriculum: preference of mono- in accordance with his/her religion, imparted
religious model by an educator who has the same religion;
Article 30.2: aim of RE. ‘Religious education has the function to prepare
students to become community members who
understand and practise religious values and/or
acquire expertise in his or her own religion’
Government Article 1.2: objective of religious ‘Religious education is aimed at developing students’
Regulation education in further detail abilities to comprehending, embracing and practising
No. 55/2007 religious values (..)’
article 5.3: religion as foundation of ‘Religious education encourages students to obey
ethics and morality their religious teachings in daily life and utilise religion
as the foundation of ethics and morality in their
personal lives, families, society, and national life’
27
Ministry of Article 6: curriculum content of RE: curriculum content of religious education should aim
Religious cognitive (a) and attitudinal aspects to (a) deepen and widen students’ knowledge of and
Education (b/c) insight into their own religion, (b) encourage students
Regulation to practise their owns teachings in daily life, and (c) to
No. 16/2010 position religion as the foundation of noble character
in personal life, family, society and national life.
2013 -Spiritual attitude as Core Competence Mono-religious education
Curriculum -Religion as foundation of morality and Stresses the mastery of religious teachings and
character building marginalizes the aspects of reflection
B. MESO-LEVEL: SCHOOL POLICY

In Indonesia, each school is obligated to provide a course of religion according to the religion their
students believe and adhere to. Schools can format their religious education within these
requirements of the national curriculum. Analysing the educational field and contemporary
educational practises of religious education in Indonesia, we can make several observations.
Religious education in the public secondary school

Interviews: In accordance with the state policy, the public secondary school facilitates religious
education for every student based on their religious background. Students are separated during
religious classes. The public school stated that, as a school, they support multiculturalism and religious
dialogue. In every religious subject, material based on multiculturalism is used: ‘We implement
multiculturalism in every subject’. The method used to teach the content of the curriculum focusses on
the experience of the student as foundation for discussion, study-cases and research. ‘We also teach
about universal values like empathy, tolerance, love. So we put these universal values in all the material’. In this
public school, religious education focusses not merely on religious socialization. Regarding the purpose
of religious education, the religion teacher at the public school stated that the aim of religious
education is ‘to improve life quality based on religion, to gain universal knowledge of humanity and of the world
and to learn to treat each other equally and with respect. For example, if humans are all created by God, we are
all equal’.
Literature: In contrast to the inclusive, multiculturalist approach to religious education in above-

mentioned public secondary school, most public schools tend to embrace a rather exclusive mono-
religious approach. One can observe a trend towards Islamisation of school culture in public schools
(Kwok, 2014). Parents expect public schools to be neutral and reflect the multicultural heritage of a
country that recognized six religions. However, over the past decade, public schools have increasingly
adopted policies that favour Islam, the majority religion. This trend becomes apparent from mandatory
Muslim-styled dress codes to reciting verses from the Koran before morning lessons.
28
Religious education in the Christian-affiliated school
Interviews: The Christian school indicated that they build their school around education in ‘unity in
diversity’. ‘Although the founder is Christian, this school is not build with the purpose of Christianisation. The
purpose is to facilitate proper education’. At the Christian school, the method used to teach religion is very
unique; ‘we do not separate the students based on religion, but we teach interreligious class. So faith
communication between students’. The school policy is to make the school a ‘multiculturalism laboratory’.
The school still uses the state curriculum, but adjusts the content towards a more general subject-
matter. ‘For example, in the content for Christian teaching, the curriculum instructs to learn students about
democracy based on the bible, we change it to democracy based on God’s word. So it’s not just democracy in
Christian perspective, but interreligious perspective’. According to the religious teacher at the Christian
school, the purpose of religious education is to educate students so ‘in the future, they can use the
multicultural perspective in the multicultural society’.
From our interview with scholar of religoon Tabita Kartika Christiani, it became apparent that
most Christian schools in Indonesia only provide one form of religious education. In contradiction with
the obligations of the 2003 Education Law, all students, regardless of their religious background,
receive Christian religious education. Tabita explains: “In Indonesia there are so many laws that are not
implemented well, and nobody knows, nobody cares.” Furthermore, scholar of religion Mohamad Yusuf
pointed out the influence of the social context of the schools. He found a correlation between the
content of religious education at Christian schools and their geographical location. Schools located in
areas with a Christian majority, ‘provide Christianity which focuses merely on theology. The student will only
learn about Scripture, memorising scriptures and practising religious rituals’. In contrast, schools located in
Christian minority areas not only focus on the cognitive aspects of religious teachings, but are more
inclined to teach about ethics and attitudinal aspects of Christianity: “Within Christian religious education
in the minority context, students not only learn Christian teachings but also ethics, for instance, how to deal with
society? How do religious teachings respond to societal issues?’
Literature: In Christian schools, religious education is predominantly mono-religious (Yusuf, 2016,

p.95). However, Christian religious education emphasises both ethical and doctrinal aspects of
Christianity. Findings from a recent empirical study of religious education models in Islamic, Christian
and Hindu affiliated schools in Indonesia (Yusuf, 2016) indicate that Christian schools tend to integrate
non-theological aspects such as democracy, human rights and other societal problems into their
religious teachings. Students are encouraged to reflect their theological Christian teachings in their
daily lives (Yusuf, 2016, p.97). Religious communities seem to influence school policy at Christian-
affiliated schools. Christian schools often receive teaching materials and financial support from
religious communities and are all led by an active member of the Christian community (Yusuf, 2016,
29
p.99). However, almost all Christian schools participate in the centralised State examination for
religious education, demonstrating the acknowledgement of both the power of the state and religious
communities.
Religious education at the Islamic school

Interviews: At the Islamic school, students are separated during religious classes. The teacher
combines the government curriculum with the institutions’ curriculum. She teaches religious
education based on experience. In her view, religion is not about knowledge, but about ‘practising
religious values and how we live the religion in daily life’. She teaches about other religions, creates religious
dialogues by inviting teachers from other faiths during religious classes and organises fieldtrips to
minority communities. Her methods are quite unique; ‘My methods here are different from the other Islamic
schools here, they focus on theory. I try to teach students not to be exclusive’ . She states that the aim of
religious education is ’to teach how to be a good person, with good behaviour in the context of society. How to
be tolerant, how to be good to the other, despite our differences. It’s about learning universal values(…).
Eliminating prejudice is the goal of my teachings’.
Literature: Results from recent empirical studies (e.g. Yusuf, 2016) indicate that Islamic schools tend
to emphasise the creation of religious identity in Islamic religious education. Almost all students at
Islamic-affiliated schools are Muslim. Schools usually do not teach about other religious traditions
(Yusuf, 2016, p.96). Policies of religious education in Islamic schools are usually strongly influenced by
both the state and religious communities. Islamic schools use the state curriculum and textbooks
together with additional curricula and teaching materials developed by their religious communities
(Yusuf, 2016, p.98). Some scholars like Kathleen Woodward (2015) detect a general trend within
Islamic schools regarding the teaching of democratic values and pluralism. She observes that civic
education in Islamic schools is often taught with specific Islamic interpretations that change the
meaning of concepts, particularly pluralism: “The pluralism aspect is addressed in the sense that the
Constitution of Medina is used as evidence that Muhamad allowed non-Muslims to live in a Muslim
society, but it is not addressed in the manner Westerners may assume when they hear the word
pluralism” (Woodward, 2015, p.19). Consequentially, while Islam and democracy’s compatibility are
stressed in Islamic civic education, tolerance for pluralism is generally limited (Woodward, 2015, p.1).
She argues that the mainstream Islamic schools are important actors in the increasing Islamization of
Indonesian society: ‘Islamic schools are homogenizing Islam in Indonesia and shaping the public
discourse and democracy in ways that are infused with modernist Islamic values’ (p.20).
30
In line with the state’s policy, the approach to teaching religion in public schools is mono-religious/
confessional. Public schools seem to be more inclined to follow state policy when it comes to
providing separate religion classes to students from different religious backgrounds. Even though
most religiously-affiliated schools seem to favour mono-religious education, statements from our
interviewees indicate that the social context of the educational institutions might influence the
preferred approach to religious education. Moreover, local religious communities and institutes
appear to play a significant role in shaping the content of religious education in religiously-affiliated
schools. Furthermore, studies show that Islamic schools tend to emphasize the creation of religious
identity in Islamic teachings whereas Christian schools are more inclined to focus on ethical, as well
as doctrinal aspects of their religion. In general, we can observe a shift towards a more religiously
engaged (school) culture, reflecting the state policy and according to some, the Islamization of
Indonesian society in general.
C. MICRO-LEVEL: ATTITUDES TOWARDS RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN SCHOOLS

As the effectiveness of teaching for tolerance appears to be highly influenced by preferences and
attitudes of individual teachers, this section focusses on the teachers’ attitudes towards religion and
religious diversity in schools. Conducting our own exploratory interviews in Yogyakarta, we have made
several observations regarding the attitudes of religion teachers towards religion and religious
diversity in society and schools.
In general, the Indonesian people regard religion as (very) important in their life. Results of the World
Values Survey 2005-2009 indicate that only 1.2 percent of the respondents regard religion as not very
important (0.9%) or not important at all (0.3%). 91% of the respondents regard religious faith as one
of the five most important qualities that children should be encouraged to learn. Over 85% of the
respondents agree (26.6%) or strongly agree (58.7%) with the statement that politicians who do not
believe in God are unfit for public office.
With regard to general attitudes towards (religious) diversity in Indonesian society, the
database of the World Value Survey provides some indicators. 41% of the general population regards
ethnic diversity as enrichment. When asked which people they do not like to have as their neighbour,
31% mentioned people from a different race whereas 33% mentioned people from a different religion.
Teachers’ attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in Public secondary schools
Interviews: The director of the public school, pak Budi articulated that in his school, all students are
equal. “Discrimination based on religion does not exist in this school”. He explained that the school facilitates
a program for all religion teachers to visit different places of worship, in order to create a more
31
multiculturalist view. “[This way] we also built this multicultural perspective on all the teachers ”. Budi
furthermore states that “In this school, we try to implement the highest level of tolerance”. He explains that
the highest level of tolerance means understanding, accepting and celebrating differences.
Religious scholar Mohamad Yusuf suggested that teachers in public schools are generally more
tolerant towards other religions then religion teachers at religiously-affiliated schools. However, his
premise is primarily based on the theoretical assumption that intergroup contact would eliminate
prejudice (Allport) and does not necessarily reflect the reality. He argued that “If they work in the public
school, they are able to interact with students or with teachers from different religious backgrounds. And then
they become more tolerant. But in private schools, where the school only hires teachers from the same religious
backgrounds, they have no opportunity to interact with teachers from different religious backgrounds, and they
tend to be more exclusive and more intolerant.”
Literature: In 2008, the Centre for Islamic and Social Studies of the State University of Jakarta,
conducted a survey which focused on the socio-religious attitude and behaviour of religious teachers
in Java (UIN, 2008). A total of 500 religion teachers from different public secondary schools in Java
were asked to participate. The results indicate that only 18.5 percent of the teachers agree with the
statement that children need to learn about another religion, apart from their own. 10.4 percent of
the respondents report that their Muslim students learn about non-Islamic religions, whereas 26
percent state that their schools conduct inter-religious dialogues. Furthermore, teachers were asked
to indicate the most important goal of their teachings. 3 percent agreed that the value of tolerance is
the most important goal or second most important goal (11 percent). The majority of the teachers
regarded ‘noble virtue’ and ‘obedient in worshipping’ as their top goals (Tan, 2011, p. 117). According
to Dr. Burhanuddin, the director of CISS, this 'anti-pluralist view' of most religion teachers is likely to
reflect in their school lessons (Tan, 2011, p. 117).
Teachers’ attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in Christian-affiliated secondary schools
Interviews: When asked about teachers attitudes towards religion in Christian-affiliated schools,
religious scholar Tabitha explained that teachers often view that it is their responsibility to provide
confessional religious education to students in compliance with students’ religious backgrounds: “They
say they have to teach their students their own faith to make sure that they go to heaven”. Teachers are often
afraid that teaching about other religions will confuse the students and make them question their own
religious affiliation. “[They think that] if students know about other religions, they can change their religion.
Something like that, a kind of fear about that. Their students only have to know Christianity, and they will go to
heaven.”
32
Literature: In 2014, scholar of religion Tabita Kartika Christiani studied the ways Religiosity Education
-as an alternative to Catholic religious education- was implemented in some Catholic schools in
Yogyakarta (Christiani, 2014). Religiosity Education aims at teaching students to appreciate different
religions. Between October and December 2012, she interviewed Catholic religious education teachers
from 10 different Catholic schools in Yogyakarta. Some respondents indicated that they don’t feel the
need to teach students about other religions, because most students are Catholic. They argue that
Catholic parents send their children to a Catholic school so they will learn about Catholic teachings and
be educated in a Catholic manner. Learning about other religions might lead to less understanding of
their own Catholic teachings (p.535). Furthermore, there are practical issues to consider: if almost all
students are Catholic, it is hard to conduct an inter-faith dialogue in the classroom. Moreover, some
Catholic religious education teachers indicate that they are not confident enough to teach religiosity
education, as they feel they do not possess adequate knowledge of other religions (p.535). Christiani
furthermore indicates that nationally formulated government regulations do not stimulate schools to
implement other forms of religious education. She argues that there are two substantive reasons for
teachers' worries and fears regarding the implementation of religiosity education: “First, if they do not
obtain approval from the Office of Education for their syllabus, the school will not be accredited and the teachers
will not be certified. Secondly, the implementation of Catholic religious education anticipated a plan for a national
exam on religious education. Nationally and formally, the subject is Catholic religious education, not religiosity
education. If a school does not implement Catholic religious education' the students may not be able to answer
the questions in the national exam” (p.536).
Teachers’ attitudes towards religion and religious diversity in Islamic secondary schools
Interviews: The Islamic school is an Ahmaddiyah school, a repressed minority within Indonesian Islam.
The school has experienced oppression and violence from Islamic fundamentalist groups. This
experience shaped the teacher’s view on religious education; ‘it made me more inclusive and me more
eager to learn students not to be exclusive’. In her experience, exclusivism is a product of truth claims and
dawa (proselytizing Islam). She argues that religious education plays an important role in teaching
tolerance: “in Indonesia the situation now is about conflict and violence. This conflict and violence is always
based on the prejudices and stereotypes. So I try to eliminate the prejudice by meeting, by dialogue, with the
people who have different identities”. Statements from the teacher furthermore indicate that not all
Islamic school teachers share the same tolerant attitude towards other religions: ‘Teachers from other
schools regard me as a liberalist, judge me because I am a pluralist [=haram]. Not all Islamic school teachers
embrace the same inclusive approach. “There are different perspective on how to teach Islam, there are many
people who want to teach exclusive way, but also a pluralist way”. She observes a growing tendency towards
exclusive Islamic teaching since the 1998 Reformation: “I taught for 30 years: before the reformation I didn’t
33
see exclusive teachings, but after that massive” . The teacher furthermore explains that this tendency
towards exclusivism goes beyond school walls: "My school was attacked by some groups. And the local
government asked us to stop the activities, if we want to be safe we had to stop. So they take the side for exclusive
groups, not to protect inclusive groups. So indirectly the government, and also the police, support the exclusive
groups.”
Literature: Results from a recent study on the perceptions of teachers and students towards religious
diversity in Islamic secondary schools in Solo (Baidhawy, 2014) indicate that nearly one-third of the
Islamic school teachers in Solo express intolerant views towards socio-religious differences. Baidhawy
specifies that tolerant teachers believe that God considers Islam as the only true religion, and
consequently that all religions other than Islam are rejected by God. However, this group also believes
that the existence of other religions must be recognized and respected, as they are all protected under
the Indonesian Constitution (Act 1945). Tolerant teachers view religious freedom as an human right,
and therefore believe that Muslims must respect all religions and beliefs of others, while remaining
faithful to Islam. Tolerant teachers encourage mutual respect and building good relationships between
Muslims and non-Muslims in the realm of social interaction among human beings (Baidhawy, 2014,
p.300). Similar to the tolerant teachers, intolerant teachers also believe that God considers Islam as
the only true religion, and that religions other than Islam - though accepted by the Government - are
rejected by God. The difference is that intolerant teachers believe that the duty of Muslims is to
convert non-Muslims. Muslims should spread the message and the mission of Islam (da'wah). Choosing
a religion other than Islam in the end would risk being cursed by God and put in hell. According to this
group, it is necessary to convince others that Islam is the only true religion. Therefore any religion
other than Islam is false. Participating in celebrating Christmas and holy days of other religions is
forbidden (haram). They avoid friendship with non-Muslims for fear of being converted into non-
Muslim (Baidhawy, 2014, p.300).
Most Indonesian religion teachers (82%) at public schools do not agree with the statement that
children need to learn about another religion, apart from their own. This view is likely to reflect in
their lessons. Furthermore, our findings indicate that most religiously-affiliated religion teachers
predominantly favour a mono-religious model of religious education. This view appears to be
motivated by a fear of converting and/or confusing the student. However, participants in our own
exploratory research in Yogyakarta, all express a strong willingness to implement a multireligious
perspective within religious education. These findings illustrate possibilities and commendable
efforts at teaching for tolerance that rely on the good will and spirit of individual teachers.
34
IV Differences and similarities
“The opposite of a correct statement is a false statement. But the opposite
of a profound truth may well be another profound truth.”
- Niels Bohr (1885-1962)-
In the following, I will compare the findings of the exploratory research in both countries, allowing for
a context-based interpretation of the results and contributing to a higher degree of understanding of
the social reality in the different national contexts. The chapter is divided into three sections where I
will discuss the most significant similarities and differences between the two countries on a macro-
(4.1), meso- (4.2), and micro-level (4.3).
4.1 Differences and Similarities on a Macro-Level

Public policies regarding religious education cannot be understood in a vacuum. Policies are generally
influenced by a variety of factors including public opinion, economic conditions, new scientific findings,
interest groups, NGOs, lobbyists and political activity (Gittell et al, 2012, p.110). Aside from the fact
that both countries share a common history and both struggle with the question of how to
accommodate (religious) diversity, societal differences between the two countries are manifold.
One of the most prominent differences between the Dutch and Indonesian society is (the
public opinion about) the role of religion in the public domain. Although Indonesia it is not an Islamic
state, Islam is very much a part of the public domain and policy making. Religions and faiths are
significant and powerful elements in the hearts of the Indonesian people. Consequentially, religion is
considered the foundation for national ethics and morality. In contrast, many people in the
Netherlands seem to marginalize the role of religion in contemporary ‘secular’ Dutch society. The
separation between Church and State characterizes the secularity and religious neutrality of the state.
Even though this separation between Church and State does not mean a separation between religion
and the public domain, many Dutch seem to articulate this point of view. These views are reflected in
the position of religious education in the educational policies of both countries.
DIFFERENCES: Engagement and supervision of the state

In the Netherlands, confessional religious education is not an obligatory school subject. Whether
religious education is compulsory or optional is part of the school policy. Moreover, the content of
religious education is not supervised by the state. Such measures would violate the separation
between church and state and the state’s neutrality with regard to religion.
In Indonesia, religious education is an important pillar of the official education system. It is
compulsory on all levels and the Ministry of Religious Affairs is actively involved in the development of
35
the different religious education curricula. The 2003 Education Law has been publicly criticized, mainly
with regard to the incorporation of religious values in the national educational system and the state’s
intervention regarding the practise of religious education in private schools (Yusuf, 2016, p.1).
SIMILARITIES: Religious education and citizenship

In the Netherlands, references to education in/about religion are predominantly shaped in the context
of citizenship education. The introduction of citizenship education in 2006 (article 17 WVO and core
objective number 43), is a manifestation of efforts made by the government to overcome current
challenges posed by the increasingly plural nature of Dutch society. In this context, teaching about
religions is perceived as a way to stimulate certain citizenship competences such as understanding
(worldviews of) fellow citizens.
In Indonesia, religious education is seen as an important factor in identity formation. Religious
education in Indonesia is primarily meant to internalize one’s own religion and to create ‘piety and
faithful persons’. However, whereas religious values are perceived as the foundation for national ethics
and morality, one can argue that the realm of religious education in Indonesia is regarded instrumental
in fostering and promoting civic values (M. Künkler and H. Lerner, 2016, p.18). Thereby indirectly
making religious education an important part of citizenship education.
4.2 Differences and Similarities on a Meso-Level

In both countries, schools can format their religious education within the requirements of the national
curriculum. However, the national curriculum regarding religious education in Indonesia is exceedingly
more extensive and, contrary to the Netherlands, Indonesian educational policies do not allow for a
‘free interpretation’ of prescribed objectives. In both countries, school policies regarding religious
education appear to be (highly) influenced by the ‘identity of the school’, the ‘student population’, the
‘preference of the teacher’ and, at some schools more than others, ‘external (religious) organisations’.
One obvious difference between the two countries is the fact that confessional religious education is
not taught by teachers working at public schools in the Netherlands. More specifically, following article
46/47 of the Law on Secondary Education (WVO), confessional religious education might be taught in
public schools, but school authorities do not take responsibility for the content of religious teachings.
This is a direct result of the neutrality of the state and by extension, the neutral character of public
schools in the Netherlands.
DIFFERENCES: The approach to religious education

In the Netherlands, one can distinguish between four main approaches to religious education. These
approaches are distinctly described by both Wiel Veugelers (2008) and Heid Leganger-Krogstad (2001).
36
Nowadays, religious education at secondary schools in the Netherlands is rarely confessional. Due to
secularisation and an increasingly diverse student population, most schools have embraced a more
sociological/historical approach to the phenomenon of religion in the form of ‘worldview formation’.
In this study, the text-oriented theological approach is only found in the Islamic secondary school.
In the Indonesian context, the approaches to religious education are clearly less diverse.
Religious education is almost always mono-religious/confessional. Religious teachings are
predominantly theological, text-oriented and dogmatic. Such an approach is possible because religious
affiliation of all students is presumed and students are separated during religious classes. Within
religious teachings one can observe a distinction between an inclusive and exclusive approach to
religious education. Exclusive religious teachings derive from an exclusive truth claim: one’s own
religion is the only religion that can claim truth. Other religions will only be positively evaluated insofar
they show similarities to one’s own religion (Sterkens, 2001, p.50; Yusuf, 2016, p.14). Inclusive mono-
religious education derives from an inclusive truth claim. Other religions are evaluated positively
inasmuch as they display signs of divine revelation: other religions mediate salvation through general
grace (Sterkens, 2001, p.51). Findings from this exploratory study indicate a growing tendency towards
an exclusive approach to (Islamic) religious education.
SIMILARITIES: Insufficient attention to the ‘religious other’

In the Netherlands and Indonesia, children and youth attending secondary schools seldom learn about
the diversity of the religious and world-view traditions that surround them. In Indonesia, this situation
is a direct result of the state’s preference for mono-religious education. There is limited attempt to
endorse teaching across religions, nor to teach about other religions in a way that promotes
understanding and religious tolerance. The emphasis is on religious socialization in one’s own religion.
As a direct result of the legal structure of the Dutch educational system, national formulated
core objectives concerning moral/value education are generally vague by their nature.
Consequentially, core objectives like number 43, obligating schools to teach students about differences
in cultures and beliefs, are often poorly implemented in secondary schools (Onderwijsraad, 2012). In
public secondary schools, religion is seldom part of the curriculum. If religion is being taught at all, it is
teaching about religion in which religion is addressed as a social/historical phenomenon rather than
something relevant to students’ personal lives.
4.3 Differences and Similarities on a Micro-Level

The findings of this exploratory research reaffirm the importance of teachers’ attitudes towards
religion and religious diversity in shaping the content of religious education at secondary schools.
Overall, we can observe that in Indonesia, teachers and religious scholars struggle with the question
37
of how to make religious education more inclusive, whereas in the Netherlands, current discussions
among teachers and religious scholars often concern the position of religion in education in general.
One interesting observation is the difference in the conceptualization of (religious) pluralism between
the two countries.
DIFFERENCE: The concept of (religious) pluralism

In the Netherlands, the acceptance of differences in religion and beliefs derives from the idea of
universalism of human rights, freedom and equality. In Indonesia, the concept of pluralism is often
addressed from within religious thought itself. Religious scriptures and values constitute the basis for
the acceptance of pluralism. For example, "people of the book” (Muslims, Jews, and Christians) should
be respected, as did Muhammad, for worshiping the same God and many prophets the same as
Muslims (Woodward, 2015, p.19). Consequentially, the acceptance of religious pluralism in Indonesia
is often restricted to accepting ‘variations of the same religious thought’, as long as they do not
threaten the credibility of one’s own beliefs. In a way, this point of view is similar to popular opinions
among the Dutch, where different worldviews are deemed acceptable as long as they are considered
compatible with democratic values and liberal thought.
Table 3: Overview of similarities and differences (RE=religious education, CE=citizenship education)

INDONESIA THE NETHERLANDS
MACRO LEVEL
CONTEXT Pancasila Separation between Church-State
Preferred treatment of some religions Inclusive neutrality of (secular) state
Religiously engaged citizens Secularized society
Pluralism Pluralism
STATE POLICY RE Confessional RE: compulsory Confessional RE: optional
Religious values = national values (CE) Learning about religions in context of CE: compulsory
Extensive RE curriculum developed by ministry No national developed curriculum regarding RE or CE
Content of RE supervised by state RE not supervised by state (separation Church-state)
MESO LEVEL
PUBLIC Mono-religious/confessional RE Absence of RE in general
CHRISTIAN Mono-religious/confessional RE. In minority Varies: general shift from ‘transfer of knowledge’ 
context: more attention to ethical aspects ‘personal development of student’
ISLAMIC Mono-religious/confessional RE Mono-religious/confessional RE
GENERAL Absence of teaching across religions Poor implementation of CE + Insufficient attention to
OBSERVATION
(other) religion(s) as relevant to students personal lives.
MICRO LEVEL
GENERAL ISSUES How to make RE more inclusive? Position of religion within education?
CONCEPT OF Acceptance of pluralism derives from religious Acceptance of pluralism derives from human rights and
PLURALISM
scriptures and thoughts liberal thoughts
38
V Discussion
“There is a worldwide ‘clash of ignorances’ as people of different faiths and cultural
traditions fail to understand and engage positively with their differences and, instead, seek to
destroy the other.”
- Ali Asani, 2015 -
Now we have analysed both educational policies as well as educational practises of religious education
in both countries, we will address the fourth sub-question: identifying possibilities and restrictions
provided by the legal framework, government policies, educational institutes and teachers’ attitudes
in the Netherlands (5.2) and Indonesia (5.3) with regard to the implementation of a model of religious
education which takes the religious other into account and fosters religious tolerance. First, I will briefly
highlight some theories and present-day initiatives that demonstrate potential for fostering religious
tolerance between religious groups in contemporary society (5.1).
5.1 Present-day Initiatives and theories on fostering religious tolerance

In Indonesia as well as in the Netherlands, various social organisations have developed activities for
promoting religious pluralism among adherents of different faiths. In both counties, numerous NGO’s
work on facilitating ongoing intercultural and interreligious dialogue as a means of fostering knowledge
and mutual understanding in a pluralistic context. An example of such an organisation in the
Netherlands is the foundation ‘Veelkleurige Religies Rotterdam’ (VVR). This initiative focuses on
appreciating diversity by establishing dialogue between participants from different religious and
cultural backgrounds. They organise lectures, symposia and trips to places of worship such as mosques,
mandirs, synagogues and churches.
In Indonesia, the institute for interfaith dialogue (Interfidei), provides a rich source of
information concerning interfaith activities. Established in 1991, Interfidei was the first interfaith
organization in the country. They offer short courses, exchange programmes, conferences, workshops,
publications and visits to religious centres. By using the word ‘interfaith’ rather than ‘inter-religious’,
Interfidei aims to ‘go beyond the institutional baggage of religion to focus on the faith of individuals’
(Tan, 2011, p. 142). In this new margin, bridges can be built through intellectual and emotional
connections. Most activities have proven to be fruitful for creating more understanding between
religiously affiliated participants.
The theoretical foundation for the idea that establishing encounters and dialogue will
contribute to building greater understanding between students of different religions and cultural
backgrounds, can be found in the earlier mentioned inter-group contact theory. According to this
theory, face-to-face encounters between members from different groups are likely to reduce prejudice
39
as contact would weaken in-group/out-group distinctions and related feelings of anxiety which fuel
negative attitudes.
Aside from applying dialogical methods in religious education as a way of stimulating
understanding of religious diversity and reducing negative associations between different (religious)
groups, some general criteria should be considered when and wherever teaching about religions and
beliefs takes place. In a recent UN-report (UN, 2010) of the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion
or Belief, Heiner Bielefeldt focuses on the theme of freedom of religion or belief and school education.
In his report he expressed the following view: ‘(…) what is relevant is that education on religious trends,
traditions and movements as well as convictions, be provided in a fair and objective way, stimulating
the curiosity of the audience, encouraging it to question their bias and stereotypes about cultures,
religions and views other than the one which they see as being part of their own identity’ (UN, 2010,
par.26).
To accomplish such education, the Special Rapporteur recommends that states should
favourably consider a number of principles. He explicitly refers to the final document adopted at the
International Consultative Conference on School Education in relation to Freedom of Religion or Belief,
Tolerance and Non-discrimination (UN, 2001) and to the Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about
Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools (OSCE/ODIHR, 2007). The latter is prepared by the ODIHR
Advisory Council of experts on freedom of religion or belief with the aim of offering ‘practical guidance
for preparing curricula for teaching about religions and beliefs, preferred procedures for assuring fairness in the
development of curricula, and standards for how they could be implemented’ (OSCE/ODIHR, 2007, p.10).
According to these guidelines, school curricula that touch upon teaching about religions and beliefs
should ‘promote respect for freedom of religion or belief' and should be ‘impartial, balanced, inclusive, age
appropriate, free of bias and meet professional standards’ (UN, 2010, par.61). Among other things, the
Special Rapporteur urges states to favourably consider evaluating existing curricula in order to
determine whether they meet these standards.
Additionally, more and more scholars propose that including ‘religious literacy’ as an aspect of
education would improve social cohesion as it provides students with the necessary skills, tools, and
knowledge to function in a religiously diverse society (Rosenblith & Bailey, 2007, p.93; Moore, 2007).
Religious literacy means having knowledge of, and the ability to understand, various religions in
context. It means being aware of the roles religions play in human agency and understanding (Harvard
Religious Literacy Project). Diane Moore argues that the common approaches to religious education
are often insufficient when it comes to fostering religious literacy; “Such an understanding highlights the
inadequacy of understanding religions through common means such as learning about ritual practices or
exploring “what scriptures say” about topics or questions. Unfortunately, these are some of the most common
approaches to learning about religion and lead to simplistic and inaccurate representations of the roles religions
40
play in human agency and understanding”(Harvard Religious Literacy Project). Moore proposes
incorporating a method that recognizes that; 1) religions are not uniform but internally diverse; 2)
religions are not ahistorical and static but evolve and change over time; and 3) religious influences are
embedded in all dimensions of culture as opposed to the assumption that religions function in isolated
“private” contexts (Harvard Religious Literacy Project).
Integrating above mentioned insights, theories and suggestions, one can deduce that religious
tolerance will most likely be stimulated when: 1) teachers use dialogical methods; 2) the curriculum
content promotes respect for human rights (i.e. the freedom of religion and beliefs) and takes an
impartial, balanced, inclusive and non-discriminatory approach to teaching about religions and
beliefs and; 3) religious literacy among students is stimulated by incorporating an academic,
refectory study of religion throughout the curriculum.
5.2 Limitations and possibilities in the Netherlands

One can argue that the structure of the Dutch educational system provides limitations for the top-
down implementation of a specific model of religious education. The separation between Church and
State prevents the government from prescribing the content of (confessional) religious educational
practises. Furthermore, article 23 of the Dutch constitution guarantees the freedom of education.
Within this legal structure, the autonomic realization of religious education is part of the freedom that
schools enjoy.
Because of this legal structure, the Dutch government can –in principle- not interfere in the
practises of confessional religious education in schools. Therefore, one might ask in how far the state
can consider taking responsibility for ‘evaluating existing school curricula that touch upon teaching about
religions and beliefs in order to determine whether they promote respect for freedom of religion or belief and
whether they are impartial, balanced, inclusive, age appropriate, free of bias and meet professional standards’,
as proposed by the Special Rapporteur (UN, 2010, par.61). One might consider such measures to be
an unlawful interference of the State in ‘religious affairs’. On the other hand, under international
human rights law, states are expected to promote an atmosphere of tolerance and appreciation of
religious diversity (Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination
Based on Religion or Belief, art. 5, para. 3). Furthermore, one might wonder if providing certain (quality)
standards would directly affect, or unduly compromise the religious integrity of religiously-affiliated
schools. Even though it would be interesting and relevant to further explore these questions, such a
detailed examination goes beyond the scope of this research.
The situation would be less controversial when it does not concern confessional religious
education, but involves teaching about religions and beliefs in the context of citizenship education.
41
Since the introduction of citizenship education in the Netherlands, some religious educationalists have
seized the opportunity to reaffirm the importance of religious education as a means of promoting
religious tolerance among students. In the European context, religious education is often considered
to be an agent for orientation and dialogue in an increasing plural society with a manifold variety of
religions and cultures (Scheiner, 2015, p. 145). Consequently, Miedema & Bertram‐Troost (2008,
p.131) argue that religious education should be considered as an integral part of citizenship education:
‘a broad concept of citizenship education implies that religious education and development is part and parcel of
citizenship education and should not form an optional or facultative element, but instead a structural and
necessary element of all citizenship education’. They stress that from a societal as well as pedagogical point
of view, all schools should be obliged to foster a religious dimension to citizenship. Such a measure
would involve a responsibility of the government to ‘stimulate the policy of and practice in schools to foster
religious edification as part of an integral citizenship education, without any preference at the side of the
government itself for a particular world view or religion’ (Miedema & Bertram‐Troost, 2008, 131).
The current debate about the future of education in the Netherlands illustrates the divergent
opinions about the role and position of religious education within the educational field. Early 2015, the
State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science appointed an advisory commission, Platform
Onderwijs2032, which was instructed to produce an advisory report on the form and content of future
education and to make recommendations for reform. In their preliminary report, no references were
made to religious education or religion in general (PlatformOnderwijs2032, 2015). It appeared that the
commission deemed religious education as insignificant, given the decline of ‘traditional support
systems such as religion’ (Davidsen et al, 2015). In the process of public consultation, many scholars of
religion emphasized the need for knowledge about -and understanding of- religion as an important
skill that young people must acquire if they are to function effectively in a rapidly changing
multicultural society. Their plea for the acknowledgement of the importance of religious education
proved to be successful. In its final document, published January 2016, the commission included
several references to teaching about religion, among which: ‘Education must also help to develop social
skills, an open attitude, and knowledge and understanding of other cultures and religions. This will help students
to appreciate the major societal challenges of today, and to think about viable solutions’
(PlatformOnderwijs2032, 2016, p.22) and ‘Students will also learn about the cultural expressions of other
nations. This domain includes an exploration of religion as a manifestation of culture’ (p.39).
The value of the final document lies in the fact that it recognizes the relevance of religion in
the public domain and that it should be taught accordingly. However, the government cannot prohibit
schools from organizing their teachings in line with their own ideological principles. As a result of the
freedom of education, the ownership of religious and citizenship education rests with the school
(Onderwijsraad, 2012, p.12).
42
5.3 Limitations and possibilities in Indonesia
In Indonesia, religious education is understood as being about one’s own religion; it is mono-religious
education, predominantly meant to internalize one’s own religion. Integrating earlier mentioned inter-
group contact theory and the ethnic competition theory, it could be reasonably contended that mono-
religious education has the least potential for minimalizing prejudice and religious intolerance. As the
normative foundation for the mono-religious model is the absolute truth claim of one’s own religion,
it could be argued that theoretically, an exclusive mono-religious approach is even likely to induce
conflict of interest between religious groups. An absolute truth claim makes the truth by definition a
scarce resource, while according to the ethnic competition theory, competition over scarce resources
will lead to negative out-group attitudes.
Furthermore, article 12 of the 2003 Education Law prescribes that ‘every student is entitled to
receive religious education in accordance with his/her religion, imparted by an educator who has the same
religion’. Consequentially, students are separated in different classrooms during religious teaching
hours. Therefore, one can argue that the 2003 Education Law constitutes a limiting factor for the
implementation of religious dialogue among students from different religious backgrounds during
religious classes.
In 2009, Tabita Kartika Christiani (UKDW) analysed the curriculum of Christian education in
Indonesia. She concluded that ‘in the pluralistic Indonesian context, Christian education needs to change from
learning only Christian teachings to learning about and appreciating other religions, having interreligious
dialogue with people of other faiths, as well as working with al people for peace and justice and reflecting on it
religiously’ (Christiani, 2009, p.192). Since then, efforts have been made towards a less dogmatic
curriculum content, affirming an approach of ‘ethics over dogma’ in the latest 2013 Christian Religious
Education curriculum. In the 2015 edition of the Annual Report on Religious Life in Indonesia, which
analyses the content of religious education in the 2013 Curriculum, authors also advocate a more
‘inclusive’ approach to religious education: ‘considering the diversity of Indonesian society, it is essential for
religious education to cultivate an attitude of appreciation for differences without marginalizing the
strengthening of each believer’s commitment to his or her own religion’ (Suhadi et al., 2015, p.50). They argue
that religious education should be reflective and emphasize the transfer of values rooted in religion,
rather than memorizing dogma. While learning about ritual practices or exploring ‘what scriptures say’
does not contribute to a deeper understanding religion(s) in context (i.e. do not stimulate religious
literacy), it can be concluded that the contemporary religious education curriculum in Indonesia offers
significant possibilities for improvement.
When reflecting on the possibilities and restrictions of the implementation of a model of
religious education which takes the religious other into account, dispels stereotypes and fosters
religious tolerance, it is paramount to recognize the role and the importance of (the attitudes of) the
43
teacher. As mentioned before, previous research has shown that 82% of Indonesian religion teachers
do not agree with the statement that children need to learn about another religion, apart from their
own. It is unlikely that teachers who demonstrate such an anti-pluralist view are willing to teach about
other religions in an inclusive, impartial, balanced and non-discriminatory way. In order to effectuate
a structural change, the perspective of teachers must be addressed.
When analysing contemporary policies and practises of religious education and evaluating their
potential for stimulating religious tolerance among students, we can conclude that in the
Netherlands and Indonesia, children and youth attending schools do not learn enough about the
diversity of the religious and world-view traditions that surround them. In the Netherlands, this
situation is a direct result of the marginalization of the role of religion in the public domain, which
prevents schools from fully appreciating and implementing government policies related to teaching
about different religions and changes in cultures and beliefs. In Indonesia, the insufficient attention
to the ‘religious other’, appears to be directly related to the preference of the government, schools
and religion teachers for a mono-religious model. Teaching about other religions is discouraged.
Other religions might be discussed, but only from the perspective of one’s own religion.
44
VI Conclusions
“‘Freedom of religion and school education is a multifaceted issue that entails significant
opportunities as well as far-reaching challenges.”
- Heiner Bielefeldt, 2010 -
This study focussed on analysing the field of religious education in the Netherlands and Indonesia on
a macro-, meso-, and micro-level. By mapping the status quo of religious education in public and
religiously-affiliated secondary schools, this study aimed to provide insights in possibilities and
different ways to further stimulate the development of education that contributes to the elimination
of negative stereotypes and the stimulation of religious literacy among students. We have applied a
qualitative, descriptive research design that contains of a review study of legal documents, policy
statements and exploratory interviews with scholars, administrators and teachers in the educational
field. The overarching question this study aimed to answer was: What is the current state of affairs
regarding religious education in public and religiously-affiliated secondary schools in the Netherlands
and Indonesia and what can both countries learn from each other with regard to policies and practises
of religious education as a means of promoting religious tolerance?
We can conclude that in the Netherlands and Indonesia, children and youth attending schools
do not learn enough about the diversity of the religious and world-view traditions that surround them.
Contemporary policies and practises in both countries are insufficient when it comes to stimulating
religious literacy among the young. In Indonesia, teachers and religious scholars struggle with the
question of how to make confessional religious education more inclusive. In the Netherlands, current
discussions among teachers and religious scholars often concern the position of religion in education
in general.
Religions and faiths are significant and powerful elements in the hearts of the Indonesian
people. In contrast, many people in the Netherlands seem to marginalize the role of religion in
contemporary ‘secular’ Dutch society. These views are reflected in the importance given to religious
education in government policies and educational practises in both countries. Even though religious
education can be considered an agent for orientation and dialogue in a pluralistic society, the link
between religious education and religious tolerance in educational practises in both countries is
seldom utilized. In a pluralistic society, a one-sided emphasis on one’s own religion during religious
classes is far more likely to divide than to unite students. Likewise, not teaching about religion at all
will not provide students with the acquired religious and world view literacy needed to fully
understand their fellow citizens. Consequentially, one can conclude that in both the Netherlands and
Indonesia, opportunities and possibilities to effectuate religious tolerance through religious education
are not fully seized. Therefore, I have formulated the following recommendations.
45
VII Recommendations
“Succeeding in portraying the others so that they can recognize themselves provides not only
a valuable and inspiring educational experience; it also help create understanding and
mutual respect between different communities or world-views.”
- Abdelfattah Amor, 2002-
In general, contemporary educational policies should prepare students for the reality of life in a
pluralistic society. Policies should intent to strengthen accurate understanding of others, ensuring
respect and acceptance of diversity, eliminate stereotypes and foster (religious) tolerance. Drawing on
the findings of this research and conforming to suggestions of the Special Rapporteur on freedom of
religion or belief (UN, 2010), I have formulated the following recommendations;
a) Realize that religious education is relevant to the public domain and that it should be taught
accordingly;
b) Disseminate the importance of teaching for tolerance and be aware of the key role that
religious education and teachers can play in moral education. Religion teachers are handling
both potentials for dialogue and understanding as well as those for conflict;
c) Religious education should be taught in accordance with general education criteria
(educational quality). Encourage an impartial, balanced, non-discriminatory, inclusive and
unbiased approach to teaching about religions and beliefs;
d) Review to what extent existing teacher-training institutes are proficient in providing teachers
with the necessary tools, expertise and knowhow for teaching about religion in a way that
promotes respect for the religious other;
e) Subsidise retraining for religion teachers. Religion teachers should be education professionals
who all possess sufficient self-awareness and derive their professional reflection on academic
study that allows for a critical appropriation of their own religious background and biography;
f) Provide opportunities for students and teachers for meetings and exchanges with their
counterparts of different religions;
g) Evaluate existing school curricula, teaching methods and textbooks in order to eliminate all
forms of discrimination and religious intolerance;
h) Establish advisory bodies that take an impartial, balanced and inclusive approach to involving
various stakeholders in the development of curricula and teaching methods for schools and
teacher-training institutions.
i) Orientate on present-day initiatives like Interfidei (Indonesia) and Veelkleurige Religies (the
Netherlands) for sharing experience, insights and knowledge about interfaith dialogue.
46
Suggestions for future research
During my research, I observed an absence of comprehensive information about how religion is taught
in schools and how teacher-training institutes prepare present-day teachers for challenges and
opportunities related to teaching about religion in a multi-religious society. Therefore, suggestions for
future research include further analysing how religion is taught in public and religiously-affiliated
schools and, analysing how teacher-training institutes address content related to religion and religious
diversity. Additionally, it would be fruitful to further explore the integration of scientific knowledge
and educational practises. Therefore I urge States and research institutes to facilitate systematic
accumulation of knowledge regarding criteria for high-quality religious education and the
development of effective educational programs that foster religious tolerance.
Limitations
It must be emphasised that, due to time constrains, language barriers and the exploratory nature of
the research, this study has its limitations. Nevertheless, the results from this study seem relevant and
indicate that the matter needs to be studied more closely. The value of this exploratory research lies
in the fact that it sheds light on similarities and differences between the two countries and contributes
to a higher degree of understanding of the social reality in the different national contexts. The study’s
value is furthermore that it identifies gaps in available empirical data and provides suggestions for
future research.
47
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APPENDIX A PARTICIPANTS
NEDERLAND
Openbaar Marleen Lammers, VOS/ABB, de vereniging voor bestuur, management en
onderwijs beleidsmedewerker/ medezeggenschap in het openbaar en algemeen toegankelijk
onderwijsadviseur onderwijs;
VOS/ABB behartigt de belangen van bijna 300 besturen met in
totaal ruim 2200 scholen met in totaal circa 700.000 leerlingen.
Christelijk Paul Boersma Verus, de vereniging voor katholiek en christelijk onderwijs in
onderwijs Gepensioneerd, Nederland. Ruim 4000 scholen in het basisonderwijs, voortgezet
voorheen leraar, onderwijs, middelbaar beroepsonderwijs en hoger onderwijs zijn
onderwijskundige en aangesloten. Vanuit het hart inspireert, begeleidt en
adviseur bij Verus ondersteunt Verus bestuurders, toezichthouders, schoolleiders,
docenten en ouders.
Islamitisch Rasit Bal, De Islamitische Schoolbesturen organisatie, ISBO, verenigt
onderwijs voormalig directeur scholen op islamitische grondslag en is een geïntegreerde
van de Islamitische organisatie voor bestuur en management van de scholen. Bij de
Scholen Besturen ISBO zijn op dit moment 41 van de 50 totaal islamitische scholen
Organisatie (ISBO) aangesloten.
Specialist Elza Kuyk, Gespecialiseerd in onderwijs en godsdienst. Belangrijkste
Wetenschappelijk publicatie: “Religious Education in Europe. Situation and Current
coördinator Trends in Schools”, 2007, IKO/ICCS, Noorwegen. Elza Kuyk, Roger
Remonstrants Jensen e.a. (eds).
Seminarium
Overig:
Hindoeïstisch SHON Niet gebruikt want basisonderwijs
onderwijs
Cultuureducatie MOCCA Niet gebruikt want geen religieuze educatie
Interculturele Platform IENS, Alper Gebruikt als achtergrond informatie over (effecten van)
dialoog Alasag interculturele dialoog.
INDONESIE
Openbaar Pak Budi, directeur SMAN 7, een openbare middelbare school in Yogyakarta
onderwijs &godsdienstleraar
Christelijk Pak Sartana, SMA Bopkri 1, een christelijke middelbare school in Yogyakarta
onderwijs godsdienstleraar
Islamitisch Ibu Anis, SMA Piri 1, een Islamitische middelbare school. Let op: Geen
onderwijs godsdienstlerares mainstream Islam maar Ahmaddiyah school, een onderdrukte
minderheid binnen de Indonesische Islam.
Specialist Pak Mohamad Yusuf Gepromoveerd op onderzoek naar modellen van religieuze
(UGM) educatie binnen Islamitische, Christelijke en Hindoeïstische
scholen in Indonesië.
Specialist Ibu Tabita Kartika Gepromoveerd op onderzoek naar godsdienstonderwijs in
Christiani (UKDW) Christelijke en Katholieke scholen in Indonesië.
Overig
Kyai Gus Reza, religieus Niet opgenomen gesprek + e-mail vragen, achtergrond
leider Islamitische informatie
boardingschool
Interreligieuze Interfidei (NGO) Niet opgenomen gesprek achtergrond informatie
dialoog
Specialist Suhadi Niet opgenomen gesprekken, achtergrond informatie
53
APPENDIX B INTERVIEWGUIDE
School policy
1. In which ways are you involved in the subject of religion and tolerance in education? Are you
involved in school policies or are there other ways in which you gain insight in the link
between government policy and the educational curriculum?
2. What are the characteristics of the relation between religion and education according to
your own experiences?
3. Does the (religious) background of the school influences the preference given to certain
models of religious education? (social context)
4. How do you implement the curriculum (Indonesia) or educational goals (the Netherlands)
into your everyday teaching practises? (teaching methods)
Teaching practises/ attitudes

1. How do teachers in public resp. private secondary education relate to religion/ideology?
a. Do you consider religion to be part of education and upbringing and if so, what is the aim
of religious education? (pedagogical aspects/ general goal of religious education)
b. What kind of definition of religion is practised?
c. Does the notion of neutrality (inclusive/exclusive) play a role in the choice of a position
towards religion and education?
d. If so, are there demonstrable differences in positions?
e. How do teachers relate to interreligious education?
2. How do (teachers in) public resp. private secondary education relate to religious or
ideological diversity in the society?
a. (How) do you pay attention to religious or ideological identity?
b. In what ways is this diversity visible inside schools?
c. Which factors play a role in the specific way a school deals with religious or ideological
diversity?
d. (How) does the school’s own identity play a role, when dealing with and formulating a
vision on religious or ideological diversity?
3. How do (teachers in) public resp. private secondary education relate to religious tolerance
as religious-pedagogical/didactic goal?
a. How is tolerance defined?
b. What is your opinion about religious tolerance as an educational goal and what (if any)
are your strategies in teaching religious tolerance in this school? (religious tolerance)
c. What are the possibilities and barriers to implement a model of (religious) education
aimed at increasing (religious) tolerance? (limitations & possibilities)
d. Are there possibilities to pay attention to tolerance either within or outside religious
education?
e. In how far do you have experience with education in citizenship and tolerance?
f. Broader perspective of citizenship education: is there also space for other
religions/interreligious understanding? Would there also be an opportunity to meet the
(religious) other within the frame of citizenship education?
g. In what ways are interreligious and social connections between students addressed?
54

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Theodora van Boven

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR TOLERANCE

An exploratory study of the policies and practises of religious education in Public,

Utrecht, November 29, 2016

II RESULTS: DUTCH CASE STUDY 11

III RESULTS: INDONESIAN CASE STUDY 24

“The Highest Result of Education is Tolerance”

1.1 PROJECT FRAMEWORK

1.2 CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

1.2.1 Research Objective

1.2.3 Theoretical Framework

1.2.3.1 The ethnic competition- and the Inter-group contact theory

1.2.3.2 The role of the teacher in moral education

1.2.4.2 Definition of ‘Religious Literacy’

1.3 TECHNICAL DESIGN

1.3.1 Data collection

1.3.3 Reliability and Validity

1.3.4 Thesis Outline

Figure 1: Interaction and interconnextions

2.1 A Brief Overview of the Political, Social and Cultural Context

2.2 Religious Education in the Netherlands

A. MACRO-LEVEL: STATE POLICY

National Curriculum/ Core Objectives

B. MESO-LEVEL: SCHOOL POLICY

education as an integrated part of citizenship education.

Religious education in Christian-affiliated secondary schools

Literature: Most religiously-affiliated schools do provide religious education, as it is considered an

Religious education in Islamic secondary schools

be characterized as religious socialisation/ learning in religion.

C. MICRO-LEVEL: ATTITUDES TOWARDS RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN SCHOOLS

3.1 A Brief Overview of the Political and Social Context

3.2 Religious Education in Indonesia

A. MACRO-LEVEL: STATE POLICY

B. MESO-LEVEL: SCHOOL POLICY

Religious education in the public secondary school

Literature: In contrast to the inclusive, multiculturalist approach to religious education in above-

Literature: In Christian schools, religious education is predominantly mono-religious (Yusuf, 2016,

Religious education at the Islamic school

C. MICRO-LEVEL: ATTITUDES TOWARDS RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY IN SCHOOLS

4.1 Differences and Similarities on a Macro-Level

DIFFERENCES: Engagement and supervision of the state

SIMILARITIES: Religious education and citizenship

4.2 Differences and Similarities on a Meso-Level

DIFFERENCES: The approach to religious education

SIMILARITIES: Insufficient attention to the ‘religious other’

4.3 Differences and Similarities on a Micro-Level

DIFFERENCE: The concept of (religious) pluralism

Table 3: Overview of similarities and differences (RE=religious education, CE=citizenship education)

5.1 Present-day Initiatives and theories on fostering religious tolerance

5.2 Limitations and possibilities in the Netherlands

PlatformOnderwijs2032, Hoofdlijnen Advies: Een Voorstel, 2015. http://onsonderwijs2032.nl/wp-

Regiecentrum ‘Godsdienst/Levensbeschouwing als examenvak’, Godsdienst / Levensbeschouwing als examenvak

Social Progress Indicator (2014) http://www.socialprogressimperative.org/data/spi/countries/NLD Indonesia:

UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report (2013/4), Wednesday, 29 January, 2014.

VOS/ABB, Levensbeschouwing, juist in het openbaar onderwijs, 2e editie 2016.

UNESCO’s Declaration of Principles on Tolerance (1995)

Constitution of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (2002)

Constitution of the Republic of Indonesia (1945)