Islamic Religious Education and Citizenship Education: An Empirical Study of Teachers’ Perspectives in Austria
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Theoretical Framework
2.1. What Is Citizenship?
2.2. Alternative Concepts of Citizenship
2.3. Research on Citizenship Concerning Muslims in Europe
2.4. Religious Education and Citizenship Education
3. Methodology and Research Design
- challenges of Religious Education in a social context;
- support for the integration, participation and identity development of young people as part of subject-orientation as a Religious Education requirement;
- role models and attributions of Islamic religious teachers;
- the institutional and structural framework as a basic prerequisite for successful teaching;
- the importance and potential of interreligious teaching and learning processes;
- the discourse of recognition and othering structures in intercultural and interreligious encounters.
- support for the integration, participation and identity development of young people as part of subject-orientation as a Religious Education requirement;
- challenges of Religious Education in a social context.
4. Results of the Empirical Analysis
4.1. Support for the Integration, Participation and Identity Development of Young People
“Perhaps it is also an issue for me that the Muslim young people do not feel marginalized by the society in which they live, and since they also live in Austria, that they also become aware that they can also describe themselves as Austrians, although they find it very difficult to do so.”(GD5, P23, L. 35–38; GD = group discussion, P = participant number, L = line numbers in the transcript)
“You may be different, but that doesn’t make you bad or anything, and that really helped me a lot in consolidating my identity, and since then I’ve also had the inner desire to be able to pass on this self-confidence, this question of identity, to the children in any case.”(GD7, P33, L. 69–72)
“Because I said I would also like to help people who were in their youth or in their difficult times, just as I experienced it, so at school I was the only foreigner in the class, good.”(GD4, P19, L. 826–8)
“And I have seen young people here, especially the Muslim ones, those with a migrant background, who have their cultures and roots here, but on the other hand simply encounter or grow with the culture and carry this contradiction within them and are in a different state both linguistically and traditionally and culturally than in Turkey, where I was born and grew up. And I have seen that the young people here need support.”(GD3, P 12, L. 20–25)
“I also love doing a lot for society, this mediation between religions somehow, so doing my best to work with children so that our children are also integrated, that our children become proud as Austrians, and I work in this direction.”(GD1, P1, L. 49–52)
“Religious Education in general, regardless of which Religious Education it is, is very important for children’s development. And this world brings something spiritual to the lessons, and the children need that, they lose themselves in this time, in this material time or world.”(GD1, P6, L. 27–30)
4.2. Challenges of Religious Education in a Social Context
P6 (f): It’s about, we also have to adapt, it doesn’t matter where you’re from, or it’s easier for you because you grew up here, but we have to adapt to the Austrian system. It’s not, I can’t talk about Islam for example—it’s about the Austrian context, that’s what I wanted to say.
P5 (m): That’s why I also attended [a university course at the University of Vienna], for example. And also when I, Muslims in Europe that’s why I did the integration coach training, so that I also understand this society. […] There are a lot of questions. Well, I can say I can’t answer them. But if I recognize society here well, then I can answer something in this case.
P4 (m): That’s exactly what we actually do. We come from different countries, we have different traditions, different approaches to theology. And what we actually do in our work is to put what we have into the everyday life of Austrian society. […] There is this fatwa [authoritative legal opinion of a religious authority, authors note] in Egypt and Turkey and then we talk about whether it actually fits here or not. And then we say, no, the situation here is actually quite different. You have to think about something else. That’s why I don’t think a single question, from any direction, is unnecessary for me. Especially with the pupils. Every question asked in class is great. There are no unnecessary questions. There may sometimes be stupid questions, but no unnecessary questions. That’s something else.(GD 1, L. 228–63)
5. Concluding Remarks
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
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Interacting Effectively and Constructively with Others | Thinking Critically | Acting in a Socially Responsible Manner | Acting Democratically |
---|---|---|---|
Self-confidence | Multi-perspectivity | Solidarity | Participating |
Autonomy (personal initiative) | Understanding the present world | Respect for other human beings | Knowledge of or participation in civil society |
Responsibility | Questioning | Sense of belonging | |
Respect for different opinions or beliefs | Knowing about or respecting religions | ||
Self-awareness | Non-discrimination | ||
Intercultural skills | |||
Flexibility or adaptability |
Elements of Citizenship Education | Significance in Islamic Religious Education |
---|---|
Sense of belonging | Promotes a sense of belonging and reflects identity conflicts. |
Intercultural skills | Building bridges between Islamic tradition and local society. |
Respect for different opinions or beliefs | Strengthens the capacity for plurality by discussing different opinions. |
Self-awareness; Autonomy (personal initiative) | Promotes reflection on one’s own identity and religious orientation. |
Responsibility | Emphasizes responsibility for oneself and the community. |
Understanding the present world | Links Islamic content with social issues. |
Questioning | Stimulates critical thinking about religion and society and promotes an open learning culture and active questioning. |
Flexibility or adaptability | Contextualizes religious content for pluralistic societies. |
Multi-perspectivity | Shows theological and social perspectives. |
Non-discrimination | Reflects on experiences of discrimination and promotes diversity. |
Solidarity | Conveys social responsibility and a sense of community. |
Knowing about or respecting religions; Respect for other human beings | Promotes basic respect for others. |
Participating | Topics such as social participation and commitment. |
Acting in a socially responsible manner | Orientation for responsible behaviour. |
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Yağdı, Ş. Islamic Religious Education and Citizenship Education: An Empirical Study of Teachers’ Perspectives in Austria. Religions 2025, 16, 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040502
Yağdı Ş. Islamic Religious Education and Citizenship Education: An Empirical Study of Teachers’ Perspectives in Austria. Religions. 2025; 16(4):502. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040502
Chicago/Turabian StyleYağdı, Şenol. 2025. "Islamic Religious Education and Citizenship Education: An Empirical Study of Teachers’ Perspectives in Austria" Religions 16, no. 4: 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040502
APA StyleYağdı, Ş. (2025). Islamic Religious Education and Citizenship Education: An Empirical Study of Teachers’ Perspectives in Austria. Religions, 16(4), 502. https://doi.org/10.3390/rel16040502