Education in the sign of awe: How values can master crises!

Education in the sign of awe: How values can master crises!

Bonn, Deutschland - The renowned educational researcher Klaus Zierer from Augsburg raises the alarm: religious instruction urgently needs to be reformed today! In a recent article, Zierer explains that the rapid increase of fears, depression and media addiction among young people is closely linked to "spiritual impoverishment". These trends are reflected in Generation Z, which is looking for meaning and stability through life. Zierer calls for a "humane education" that not only limits itself to knowledge and skills, but also includes the spiritual dimensions of humanity. This is also considered essential in school education in order to convey values that, according to Zierer, have been lost in today's society, as he emphasized in an interview at Katholisch.de

religious education as a key to evaluating

The importance of awe of God as a basic educational goal is focused on. Zierer and his colleague Thomas Gottfried argue that this value forms the heart of the educational goals in the Bavarian constitution. In your newly published book, you expose why this goal is of great relevance, especially in times of crisis, such as after Corona pandemic. "The students are disoriented and are looking for support," says Gottfried. It is a valuable attitude that should address both teachers and students in order to discuss questions of meaning and create a deeper connection to the world. Your plea underlines the need to further develop religious education as part of general education in order to meet the requirement profile of modern society.

The challenges that Zierer and Gottfried describe are huge: religious instruction is often perceived as outdated or irrelevant. Zierer points out that many students lose faith through conventional religious lessons. Instead, teachers should start situational and in the living environments of the students - for example through challenging and relevant lessons that deal with the spiritual questions of the young people. This is the only way to be perceived as lively and relevant, which could not only strengthen beliefs, but also values and ethical attitudes, as already reported by the Catholic News Agency (KNA).