Sociological approach to the understanding of orthodox religious teaching in the first cycle of primary education

In this paper, throught the analysis of Ortodox religious education, in the curricula for the first cycle of primary education in the Republic of Serbia, explore cycle values that are directed to students to teach, accept and incorporate them into ther behavior. This research is conducted from a sociological theoretical and methodological point of wiew, according to whitch, through the study of religion, certain social phenomena and processes are known. To that end, this paper presents the basic theoretical determinations of Othodoxy in sociology, points out the process of returning religious education in Serbi and analyzes the current curricula of Orthodox religious education from the first to the fourth grade of primary school. This is about Orthodox Christianity of the Serbian style and experience, founded in the part of Saint Sava, known as Svetosavlje. In the function of this paper, an analytical descriptive method was applied, in order to identify and describe teaching contents from Orthodox religious teching, and then to determine their coherence with other teaching contents and the ruling system of social values in the Republic of Serbia. The basic starting point in these considerations is that the religious values of Orthodoxy are contained in the curricula for the first cycle of primary education characterized by traditional culture and morals. They affect: the development of awareness of belonging to the Orthodox faith, Serbian tradition and nation; on the development of religious tolerance among people and towards other confessional communities, as well as on the acquisition of religious culture among students.