EDRE646 - Educating in Meaning and Identity: Implications for Religious Education

Year

Credit points

Campus offering

Prerequisites

Unit rationale, description and aim

Significant social and cultural changes have occurred within Westernised societies over the past 50 years that have impacted on the ways in which people draw (or do not draw) on religion for the construction of their sense of purpose and meaning in life, and their values. This has affected people's identity, self-understanding and spirituality. This unit studies the psychological processes in the construction of meaning and identity, appraising the way that contemporary consumerist culture has a shaping influence. It considers how the religious school can try to address this situation by educating young people in meaning and identity, in relation to the religious tradition, and in ways that can help them better negotiate a meaningful path through an increasingly complex and challenging culture. Relationships with religious spirituality and identity are included in the investigation.