The Contribution of Religious Education to the Prevention of Antisemitism: An International Empirical Study

Abstract

This research project is situated in the Europe-wide discussion on historical remembrance and the challenges of antisemitism today. The specific emphasis of the study is Holocaust remembrance in religious education. Within this horizon, we examine the practice of religious education by analyzing how the complex topic of Holocaust remembrance and antisemitism is approached and perceived by pupils and teachers in the context of this specific school subject. The research project asks, by means of an international comparative approach, how the topic of Holocaust remembrance and antisemitism is dealt with within religious education in the curriculum of secondary schools in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Going beyond the theoretical and mostly normative discourse, the emphasis is set on the empirical investigation of the practice of religious education focusing on antisemitism. This was examined in all three countries via an online questionnaire. This approach provides an overview and statistical data about various ways of teaching Holocaust remembrance and about antisemitism. Part of the online questionnaire is a qualitative analysis of short texts written by teachers involved and initiated by open questions. Additional interviews provide deeper insight of the teachers ’ experiences, obstacles, and achievements in class while covering the topic of antisemitism. In her rejection of every persecution against any man, the Church, mindful of the patrimony she shares with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel ’ s spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone.