Public Religious Pedagogy Amidst Religious Pluralism: Qualitative Study Among Hindu and Muslim Educators in Salesian Institutions of Tamil Nadu, India

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

I found this a difficult essay to read due to complexity of the argument in which the specific contribution of Salesian pedagogy is sometimes lost. The qualitative research is clear as are the results drawn from it, but it is hard to see what difference this research makes to Salesian Institutions and to the wider educational community. 

Author Response

Comment 1: I found this a difficult essay to read due to complexity of the argument in which the specific contribution of Salesian pedagogy is sometimes lost.

Response: We do understand the impression created on the reviewer. It was important for the authors to situate the Salesian pedagogy as a case of public religious pedagogy, within the area of public practical theology. The wider scope was in this way to contribute to the discourse on public theology. For this reason, the Salesian pedagogy was presented in its essential elements, for the empirical verification.

Comment 2: The qualitative research is clear as are the results drawn from it, but it is hard to see what difference this research makes to Salesian Institutions and to the wider educational community.

Response: While thanking the reviewer for the appreciation of the qualitative research and the results emerging from it, it may be clarified that the qualitative research was an attempt to verify empirically the public nature of Salesian religious pedagogy.  While there is a growing conviction about the effectiveness of Salesian Pedagogy in the multireligious Indian context and the secular contexts round the globe, there has been no empirical verification of it. The results emerging from our empirical research focused on the lived experience of Salesian pedagogy among educators affiliated to Hindu and Muslim religious traditions, can further strengthen its public nature, and even facilitate its implementation and development by other interested educational institutions.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Given the reality of minority faith traditions in India, the survey sample is relatively small. However, the research survey and process can be replicated both among other faith traditions providing schools within India and in other countries. Further research will benefit the field of religious education and formation in our global reality.

I especially appreciated the use of quotes from persons in the survey. These made the stats come alive. I hope this study is replicated in other areas of the Salesian world.

Author Response

We would like to thank the reviewer for the trouble taken to read thorougly and comment on the paper.

Comment 1: Given the reality of minority faith traditions in India, the survey sample is relatively small. However, the research survey and process can be replicated both among other faith traditions providing schools within India and in other countries. Further research will benefit the field of religious education and formation in our global reality.

Response: While thanking the reviewer for this positive and encouraging comment, we would like to clarify that in the sample for the qualitative analysis the aim was more to represent (rather than the population) the phenomenon of Salesian Pedagogy as experienced by non-Christian educators working in Salesian educational institutions. This explains the sample being relatively small. Evidently, the intention is to replicate the research process in the wider Indian context and in the other countries as well. We hope to meet the wish of the reviewer, namely, engaging in a research process that can benefit the field of religious education and formation globally.

Comment 2: I especially appreciated the use of quotes from persons in the survey. These made the stats come alive. I hope this study is replicated in other areas of the Salesian world.

Response: While thanking the reviewer for the encouraging appreciation, we hope that the present publication is just the beginning of the research process that will gradually extend to the rest of the Salesian world engaged in the education of youth in multireligious and secular environments.