Gain insights on how religious tolerance can be fostered by teaching about other religions. Professor Lyn Parker from the University of Western Australia will be sharing case studies on Indonesia at the Harmony Centre @ An-Nahdhah Mosque in Bishan on 28 Feb from 5 pm – 7 pm. All are welcome!

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Synopsis

This talk explores the possibility that religious schools can foster religious tolerance and teach about "Other" religions, using the case study of Indonesia. Given the religious violence and Islamic radicalization that occurred after the downfall of Suharto in 1998, and the suspicion with which Islamic schools are viewed internationally, the question is a potentially important one. Kymlicka argues that religious schools are unlikely to be able to teach students how to live with "differences" (2001:304). I begin this lecture by briefly contextualizing the study historically and introducing the post-Suharto reforms in education. Religious schools - notably Islamic schools, but also Christian schools - are an important and growing sector within the Indonesian education system. I discuss approaches to inter-faith education and tolerance, and faith schools, and then I examine how a few, admittedly exceptional, private faith schools in Indonesia offer new ways of teaching Religion. The paper does to attempt to provide a comprehensive survey of Religion teaching in Indonesian schools, but it does show, contra Kymlicka, that it is possible for faith schools to foster inter-religious tolerance and understanding. Insights from the Indonesian case will provide clues toward the teaching of religious tolerance through inter-faith education in other context.

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