Upper secondary school philosophy students’ attitudes towards religious education in school A study in Central Finland Otto Tuomela Philosophy major, University of Jyväskylä [email protected]
Dec 30, 2015
Upper secondary school philosophy students’
attitudes towards religious education in school
A study in Central FinlandOtto Tuomela
Philosophy major, University of Jyväskylä
Outline
I. IntroductionII. PurposeIII. Research question and hypothesisIV. Related studiesV. Population and methods
No data has yet been analyzed.
IntroductionIt’s a common misconception that students of philosophy are atheists,
and even anti-religious.
Purpose
• To map students’ attitudes towards religion in education.
• To find out whether philosophical abstract and hypothetical thinking affects religious belief.
• To answer the conception if studying philosophy makes one prone to atheism.
Research question and hypothesis
• Q: How do Finnish upper secondary school students react towards religious education in school?
• H: Negatively.
• Religiousness is a private matter, and asking about it directly is commonly considered inconsiderate.
Related studies
• Abstract categorical and hypothetical thinking is instrumental to questioning the existence of deities (Cheyne, 2009).
• Philosophy teaches theories that promote atheism or at least question the existence of God (Jacovides 2007; Kail, 2007; Santaniello, 2007; Viney, 2008;).
Consideredthemselves religious
Didn't considerthemselves religious
Consideredthemselves atheists
According to the Finnish Youth Barometer of 2006, 45 percent of 15-19-year-olds consider themselves religious (Myllyniemi, 2006)
Very important
Important
Somewhat important
Not important at all
In the Finnish Youth Barometer of 2008, 72 percent of 15-29-year-olds think that religion as a school subject is only somewhat or not at all important (Myllyniemi, 2008)
Population and methods
• The research population cosists of students from four different elective courses of philosophy. So far, 58 students have participated.
• The data is collected with the following questionnaire (in Finnish). Questions 1-4 are rated on a scale of 1-6, question 5 is open-ended.
Questionnaire
Sex: f / m Age: Religion:1. Religious education in school is useful.2. Religious education in school is
important.3. Religious education in school is
interesting.4. Religion is to be taught in school.5. Please give a short explanation to your
answers.
References• Cheyne, J. A. (2009). Atheism rising. Skeptic, 15 (2), 33-37. • Helve, H., Hjelm, T., Myllyniemi, S., Paakkunainen, K., Wilska, T.-A.
(2006). Uskon asia Nuorisobarometri 2006 (The Youth Barometer). Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta, julkaisuja 34, 66, 124-125.
• Huttunen, T., Kareinen, H., Korpinen, S., Kuure, T., Ojakoski, M., Jokihaara, N., Tuuttila, L. (2008). Mitä kuuluu? Nuorisobarometri 2008 (The Youth Barometer). Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta, julkaisuja 39, 24.
• Jacovides, M. (2007). How is Descartes’ argument against scepticism better than Putnam’s? Philosophical Quarterly, 57 (229), 593-612.
• Kail, P.J.E. (2007). Understanding Hume’s natural history of religion. Philosophical Quarterly, 57 (227), 190-211.
• Santaniello, W. (2007). Review of Nietzsche’s philosophy of religion. Ars Disputandi, 7.
• Viney, W. (2008). Religion and science in Christendom: A history of intellectual warfare and accommodation. Midwest Quarterly, 49 (4), 343-357.