Promoting Peaceful Coexistence and Common Citizenship

[ 87 ] — PANEL DISCUSSION THREE — The current trend all over the world is that educational institutions, including colleges, universities (many are not religiously affiliated) and even certain seminaries, are actively looking for ways to respond to the issues of edu- cation in a religiously multi-faceted world. They seek to entrench a transformational process through which stu- dents could be educated to become global citizens with an understanding of the diversity of religious traditions and with strategies of pluralism that engage diversity in creative and productive ways. Obviously, interreligious education is increasingly essential for equipping people to be citizens of the world. Therefore, from a societal as well as a pedagogical point of view, all academic institutions irrespective of their theo- logical affiliation or inclination should be obliged to foster a religious dimension to citizenship. I think that we are not doing enough about interreligious education, over and above teaching seminary students about world religions. Previously in Nigeria, when we studied history and civics in primary and secondary schools, a basic knowledge of at least Christianity and Islam were taught. But today, as his- tory is no longer taught, interreligious education has become more difficult. This may, to an extent, be responsible for a surge in religious violence more rampant now in Nigeria. All religious groups, in Nigeria in particular and the globe in general, must make concerted efforts towards persuad- ing governments to include interreligious education in the schools’ curricula. Observations in the academic arena have sadly drawn attention to the Church seeming to have taken less of an interest in addressing the needs of the multireligious communities in which it now finds itself. As mainstream culture begins to recognize a growing need for interreligious understanding and endeavour, the Church must follow suit, otherwise it runs the risk of falling behind. Unless it actively invites interreligious inquiry and education, the Church will be forced to follow secular society and spend years catching up with the educational initiatives created there. One place to begin this inquiry is in seminaries and church schools. The Church must begin by educating its educators. Our seminaries and religious schools must incor- porate interfaith learning, dialogue and exchange in their theological training techniques. The Church will, in this way, be granting its leaders permission to explore inter- religious avenues. In so doing, it will also be sanctioning similar exploration within its constituency so that it both encourages interfaith dialogue and teaches people appro- priate forms of exploration. When our Christian clergy and laity are comfortable with the art of dialogue they will make their parishes safe havens for interreligious inquiry. The Church has the ability to accept and respond to the changing religious landscape in the world. Whether and how it does this will shape the future of interreligious education. One of the integral parts of interreligious education is citizenship education. Needless to say, citizenship as a sub- ject appears to be diminishing in importance and impact in schools, despite a number of private, non-governmen- tal and public, governmental initiatives over a long period, globally. This development has been a blot on the landscape of public life for too long, with unfortunate consequences for the future of our educational, socio-cultural, economic, techno-scientific and democratic processes. However, hope is not lost if we are determined to redis- cover, redevelop and redeploy the benefits of citizenship education which strategically include: v For students — an entitlement in schools that will empower them to participate in society effectively as active, informed, critical and responsible citizens. v For teachers — advice and guidance in making existing citizenship provision coherent, both in intellectual and curriculum terms, as part of stronger, coordinated approaches to citizenship education in schools. v For schools — a firm base to coordinate existing teaching and activities, to relate positively to the local community and to develop effective citizenship education in the curriculum for all students. v For society — an active and politically-literate citizenry convinced that they can influence government and community affairs at all levels. Citizenship has a clear conceptual core that relates to the induction of upcoming generations into the legal, moral or religious and political arena of public life. It introduces students to society and its constituent elements, and shows how they, as individuals, relate to the whole. Besides general understanding, citizenship education should foster respect for law, justice, democracy and nurture common good at the same time as encouraging independence of thought. It should develop the skills of reflection, enquiry and debate. There are three related ideals that are mutually depend- ent, but each needing a somewhat different place and treatment in the curriculum. These are: social and moral/