Abstract
The South African National Policy on Religion and Education (2003) is designed to expose learners to the diversity of religious traditions that constitute the nation. The new policy replaces the mono-religious system of education promoted during apartheid. Since 1994, there has been extensive research on the background and theory of the new policy. However, there is insufficient empirical research on how the policy is implemented in various schools in the country. This paper uses the concept of religious literacy to explore this implementation in a state school founded on church ground. The article focuses on examining the meaning of religious literacy in relation to the policy and to this school. It shows that diversity education and personal development are the main goals of religious literacy in the national policy. It also shows how the Catholic school in question is equally committed to these goals, but with a distinctive meaning of nurture and socialization.
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Notes
- 1.
Headmistress, 5 August 2013; St. Mary’s Primary School.
- 2.
Headmistress, interview by Danika Driesen, St. Mary’s Primary School, 6 August 2013.
- 3.
Grade 5 Educator, interview by Danika Driesen, St. Mary’s Primary School, 13 August 2013.
- 4.
Grade 6 Educator, interview by Danika Driesen, St. Mary’s Primary School, 12 August 2013.
- 5.
Group interviews by Danika Driesen, St. Mary’s Primary School, 5 August 2013 (Grade 6 learners) and 6 August 2013 (Grade 5 learners).
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Driesen, D., Tayob, A. (2016). Negotiating Religious Literacy Between National Policy and Catholic School Ethos in Cape Town, South Africa. In: Berglund, J., Shanneik, Y., Bocking, B. (eds) Religious Education in a Global-Local World. Boundaries of Religious Freedom: Regulating Religion in Diverse Societies, vol 4. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32289-6_5
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