Developing pedagogies for inter-religious teaching and learning

Inter-religious education is grounded in a dialogical model which requires knowledge and involvement in home tradition, and knowledge of, and insight into other traditions. This chapter shines a spotlight on the development of particular teaching and learning approaches used in religious education classrooms which have contributed to the building of foundations for inter-religious learning. It pays particular attention to the shift in approaches used in Australia which have been influenced by American and British experiences. It also considers Boys’ and Lee’s (2006) idea of inter-religious learning as a “form of dialogue that emphasises study in the presence of the religious other and an encounter with the tradition that the other embodies” (p. 94). More importantly, inter-religious learning requires critical dialogue within the home tradition in terms of other religion’s self-understanding and a supportive environment which enables people to cross religious boundaries and dialogue with the “other”.