Religious Studies 1 and Globalization

Abstract

The research is rooted in philosophy of education and it argues that the Zimbabwean Ordinary Level Religious Studies syllabus is inadequate and insensitive to the virtue of religious respect in the globalized world. Firstly, ordinary level Religious Studies is based on either the synoptic gospels or a combination of Luke and Acts which are only part of the scriptures of one religion namely Christianity. Secondly, the syllabus is designed for a multifaith society as reflected in schools yet other religions like African Traditional Religions (ATR), Islam, Buddhism, Baha’i and atheists among others, are excluded from the syllabus. Thirdly, the virtue of respect for other religions remains elusive to the syllabus because there is no comparative analysis from other religions to give an appreciation of interfaith dialogue. Fourthly, the syllabus does not give flexibility and open-mindedness that is needed in the globalized world because the method used requires the pupils to be descriptive rather than analytical. As such the research will attempt to critique the syllabus and give recommendations on how to improve the syllabus