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DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.71.11.16
How to Cite:
Karamanov, O., Prokip, A., Tsiupryk, A., Ivashchenko, K., Koliada, T., & Dobryden, A. (2023). Youth religious education: from
the ideas of reformist pedagogy to modern times. Amazonia Investiga, 12(71), 188-198. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2023.71.11.16
Youth religious education: from the ideas of reformist pedagogy to
modern times
Релігійна освіта молоді: від ідей реформаторської педагогіки до сучасності
Received: September 28, 2023 Accepted: November 25, 2023
Written by:
Oleksiy Karamanov1
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0067-0747
Andrii Prokip2
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-3477-3872
Andrii Tsiupryk3
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2921-7778
Kateryna Ivashchenko4
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1133-9635
Tetiana Koliada5
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9202-1196
Alla Dobryden6
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0786-0161
Abstract
The purpose of the study is to investigate the state
of youth religious education, taking into account
the mutual influence of educational and religious
ideas in Galicia in the context of Reformed
pedagogy of the turn of the 20th century. To
achieve the goal, three scientific tasks were
solved, in particular: to study the main factors of
dissemination and interpretation of the ideas of
Reformed pedagogy in Galicia; to identify
fundamental aspects of the interaction of
educational and religious ideas; to consider the
nature of postulates of religious or Christian
pedagogy; to study the opinion of student youth
regarding their religious beliefs and influence on
worldview (225 students of various higher
education institutions of Ukraine aged from 19 to
22 participated in the survey).
1
Doctor of Sciences (Pedagogy), Professor at the Department of General Pedagogy and Pedagogy of Higher School, Head of the
Laboratory of Museum Pedagogy. Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: IAN-5627-2023
2
Ph.D. (History), Associate Professor, Leading researcher at the Lviv Historical Museum, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID:
JVO-5588-2024
3
Doctor of Sciences (Pedagogy), Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Psychology and Pedagogy. Lviv State
University of Life Safety, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID:GNZ-9934-2022
4
Ph.D. (Pedagogy), Associate Professor at the Department of Social Pedagogy and Social Work. Pavlo Tychyna Uman State
Pedagogical University, Ukraine.
5
Ph.D. (Pedagogy), Associate Professor at the Department of Social Pedagogy and Social Work. Pavlo Tychyna Uman State
Pedagogical University, Ukraine. WoS Researcher ID: ITU-8453-2023
6
Ph.D. (Pedagogy), Associate Professor at the Department of Educational Technologies and Pedagogical Creativity, Pavlo Tychyna
Uman State Pedagogical University, Ukraine.
Karamanov, O., Prokip, A., Tsiupryk, A., Ivashchenko, K., Koliada, T., Dobryden, A. / Volume 12 - Issue 71: 188-198
/ November, 2023
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Based on the analysis of the impact of the ideas
of reformative pedagogy illustrated by Galicia of
the early 20th century, the system of religious
education from the points of view of Ukrainian
and Polish pedagogues as well as religious
figures is discussed. Religious education is
emphasized to be a powerful means of
developing moral values of the individual, and a
significant factor of their social behavior. Facts
of interaction of educational and religious ideas
in the context of reformative pedagogy in the
theory and educational practice of Galicia are
stated.
Keywords: reformative pedagogy, religious
pedagogy, moral values of an individual, Galicia,
the early 20th century.
Introduction
Religious factor always holds an important place
in the development of any society leading to
revealing and analysis of various concepts of
faith, educational and spiritual values as well as
religious freedom (freedom of conscience).
While tracing various religious phenomena in the
history of pedagogical thinking and educational
practice, it is important to analyze the experience
of certain European regions, in which the
elements of religious education have undergone
through some transformation during the
reformation of the educational sphere without
referring to the basic canons of faith. Galicia of
the early 20th century (now the western regions
of Ukraine – Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk)
can serve as an example of such a region where
one can observe tolerant coexistence of different
ethnic groups as well as interesting educational
and religious interactions due to the active
dissemination of ideas and concepts of
reformative pedagogy.
The religious education of young people in
Galicia, who were members of various state
associations during the period of the spread of
reformist pedagogy (late nineteenth and early
twentieth centuries), was characterized by its
diversity, as they mainly represented Poles,
Ukrainians, and Jews. Obviously, the worldview
of these three peoples differed significantly, but
we can find many common points (mainly related
to the Catholic faith) related to the influence of
the ideas of reformist pedagogy. The main
approaches to understanding the basis of
religious education can be illustrated by the
educational and philosophical direction of
cultural pedagogy, which considered education
as a process of mastering the cultural heritage of
mankind and, at the same time, as a process of
personal self-improvement, emphasizing the
unity of the social and subjective orientation of
learning. Compared to the concept of naturalism,
cultural pedagogy recognized the dependence of
a person on the socio-cultural heritage and the
regularity of the process of mastering universal
values. Representatives of this trend (W. Dilthey,
E. Spranger) pointed to the right of the individual
to choose in the learning process those cultural
achievements that meet his or her cultural needs
and are significant for personal development. At
the same time, they emphasized the active role of
a person, which was manifested in his/her
experiences and creative activity. At the same
time, there was a religious trend (E. Ferster,
J. Maritain) that demanded that schools be
completely subordinated to moral and religious
education, combining Christian pedagogy with
both reformist and traditional ones. Education
was seen here as “self-affirmation for man” on
the way to God, to Christian brotherhood and
love (Chmaj, 1938, pp. 353).
In our study, we used the following methods:
problematic-historical, chronological,
personalistic-biographical, theoretical
generalization and comparison of historical facts,
events, pedagogical phenomena, systematization
and classification of historical and pedagogical
literature, as well as the method of questionnaire
in the format of an online survey.
Literature Review
Modern scholars specify that from the middle of
the 19th century till the beginning of the 20th
century educational institutions in this area,
reflecting the nature of development of the state
and society, aimed at building pupils’ values
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which together can be defined as traditional
spiritual values (Vorozhbit, 2013, pp. 95-100).
The issues stated above have been studied in
various aspects by Ukrainian and Polish scholars
such as W. Jamrózek (1994), A. Zakrzewska
(2012), M. Pluskota (2012), Yu. Scherbyak
(2012), V. Vorozhbit (2013), I. Strazhnikova
(2014), B. Savchuk, & Yu. Chopyk (2015),
K. Jurzysta (2017), particularly relating to social
religious influences on the history of education,
new educational context of religious doctrine,
and education as a unifying factor of religion and
culture, etc.
Modern works on the subject can be divided by
nationality. As a rule, the works of Polish
scholars touched upon general issues of religious
education in interwar Poland (which at that time
included Galicia), focusing on its humanistic
nature, the relationship with “pedagogy of
culture” and pedagogical personalism, etc.
At the same time, Ukrainian scholars emphasized
the evolution of the theory and practice of
religious education in Galicia and its role in
spiritual, educational, and didactic activities.
When analyzing the views of Ukrainian and
Polish educators in late nineteenth- and early
twentieth-century Galicia on religious education,
we should pay attention to several important
figures.
Analysing the role of religious upbringing in
human development, a famous Ukrainian
pedagogue father Yulian Dzerovych7 expressed
his thoughts on the duration of upbringing. He
believed that upbringing should last for such a
period “till a pupil realizes what their tasks
toward God, society, the people and themselves
are and what powers and means they have to
fully perform these responsibilities” (Dzerovych,
1905, pp. 43–45).
Revealing the educational role of the family,
church and state, he emphasized the upbringing
in the spirit of Christ’s faith and religion since “it
is the Christian upbringing that is most
appropriate for the temperament and character
of our people” (Dzerovych, 1938, pp. 195–196).
7 Yulian Dzerovych (1871–1943) – a priest of the Ukrainian
Greek Catholic Church, Galician pedagogue, church and
educational and cultural figure, patron, professor.
8 Zygmunt Bielawski (1877–1939) – a Polish pedagogue,
theorist of religious and moral upbringing, academic teacher.
During the period under review, it was obvious
to refer to the aim of religious upbringing, which
was seen in pupil’s personal spiritual and moral
perfection and maturity as well as their
independence. This can be reached only through
long but gradual development of internal innate
forces in mental, moral and aesthetic directions,
and giving the relevant matter to these forces
(Dzerovych, 1937, p. 25).
In Zygmunt Bielawski’s8 opinion, the aim of
religious upbringing was the development of
appropriate values, personal and social maturity
in pupils. According to the pedagogue, while
reaching it, pupils had to get a certain complete
specialization that would reveal and open them to
“the goodness and further development of the
society they live in” (Bielawski, 1934, p. 51).
According to the beliefs of a famous Polish
Galician catechist Jan Rozkwitalski9, new
pedagogical trends perfectly harmonized and
coordinated with religious doctrine and features
of the youth of that time. Main constituents of
this worldview were world knowledge, values
and the ideal of life (Roskwitalski, 1935,
pp. 418-419).
In her researchers, B. Żulińska came to a
conclusion that upbringing work should always
start from work on oneself: this requires creating
relevant features that make work with children
easier and lead to Christian love. Such features
are the ability to listen, punctuality, hospitality,
respect for the elderly, and respect for others’
work (Żulińska, 1928, pp. 129-130). So, the only
tool in people’s social relations is love, and its
highest ideal is God.
Jan Ciemńiewski considered religion to be the
most important feature of a character; the right
development of a character can’t happen without
religion because “without the revival of Christian
sprouts, without their inoculation a true culture
will not be produced; and humanity can return to
the original state of barbarism; only true and
sincere faith is a basis for rooted Christian life,
only it can keep us in moral balance and save the
world from total destruction” (Ciemńiewski,
1907, p. 4).
In literature of the interwar period the term
“school of religious life” was quite often used to
9 Jan Rozkwitalski (1885–1939) – a Catholic priest, Polish
pedagogue, catechist, theorist of religious and moral
upbringing.
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religious pedagogy. Such a school was meant to
become the final evolution in catechism and
contain two basic principles: of independence
and concentration. That is why teacher’s
educational activity in this school had to be based
on great love and respect for pupils, on the one
hand, and on thorough knowledge of didactics
and psychology, on the other hand (Roskwitalski,
1928, p. 132).
The aim of the research
The aim of the study is to investigate the state of
youth religious education, taking into account the
mutual influence of educational and religious
ideas in the theory and educational practice of
Galicia in the context of reformist pedagogy at
the turn of the 20th century.
Methodology
Among the numerous tendencies of reformative
pedagogy of the late 19th – early 20th century, a
religious and pedagogic tendency should be
singled out, the representatives of which tried to
reconcile traditional postulates of the religious
doctrine with the ideas of reformative changes
both in education and upbringing. From the
scholars’ point of view, this tendency focused
rather on church and religious cultural tradition
rather than political goals. It showed spiritual and
moral upbringing of children as a way of
understanding the meaning of human existence;
treated it in an integrative unity with aesthetic
and labor elements, based on faith and religious
feelings (Vorozhbit, 2013, pp. 95-100).
Considering the issues chosen to examine, for
main points worth attention are outlined below:
− firstly, the way the spread and interpretation
of the ides of reformative pedagogy in
Galicia took place;
− secondly, which most important aspects of
interactions of educational and religious
ideas can be highlighted;
− thirdly, the nature of postulates of religious
or Christian pedagogy
− to study the opinion of student youth
regarding their religious beliefs and
influence on worldview.
Wide interpretation of religious themes within
various pedagogical concepts enables the
reference to relevant concepts, i.e. “moral
upbringing”, “religious upbringing”, “spiritual
upbringing”, etc. One should notice that these
concepts are of complementary nature since they
may be identified with pedagogical ethics, moral
and spiritual values, cultural values and ideals.
Accordingly, local pedagogues developed the
postulates of religious or Christian pedagogy, so
that there was an embodiment of the true
Christian spirit among people. Religion was a
powerful means of forming the individual’s
worldview and moral values; it also served as a
significant factor of the individual’s social
behavior.
The ideas of religious upbringing were embodied
in the views of Ukrainian and Polish pedagogues
and religious figures who emphasized the
necessity of citizens’ awareness of traditional
concepts of faith and belief in the possibility to
be both passionate Christians and thinking,
independent persons at the same time.
Among the cross-cutting issues raised by
pedagogues and religious figures one can
distinguish:
− the search for the aim of religious
upbringing and its role in person’s life;
− the analysis of historical development of
religious and moral pedagogy;
− the latest forms and methods of teaching
religion in schools;
− the role of creativity in religious upbringing;
− the worldview and character formation with
the help of religion.
During February–May 2023, in order to
determine the level of awareness of pedagogical
students of Ukrainian higher education
institution regarding the issues of youth religious
education in the context of the ideas of reformist
pedagogy, an anonymous online survey was
conducted, which contained 8 questions with
suggested answer options and the opportunity to
express own attitude to the problem.
225 students of various higher education
institutions of Ukraine, aged from 19 to 22, took
part in the survey.
Results and Discussion
We take into account key moments of scholar’s
thought on perfection, independence and
development of child’s innate forces, which
proves their knowledge of reformative shifts in
education of that time.
For example, the fact of a textbook by
Zygmunt Bielawski “Religious and Moral
Pedagogy (Catechetics)” revealing some
psychological aspects of religious upbringing
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alongside outlining the historical development of
religious and moral pedagogy, as well as the
proposal of forms and methods of teaching
religion may serve as a proof.
When studying the peculiarities of the
development of reformative pedagogy of early
20th century, contemporaries remarked that new
pedagogical trends must decisively influence the
formation of the worldview and character of the
youth. As a result, this will assist to bridge the
gap between formal school and young people’s
private lives when “school education will
become the basis that will impact the psyche of a
young person, penetrate into their essence and
thus will form this person as an individual”
(Roskwitalski, 1935, pp. 418-419).
In particular, world knowledge was determined
by the use of the principle of independence in
religious cognition. The mentioned factor, which
was derived from the church tradition, facilitated
a certain revival of religious methods and
opportunity for the youth to master religious
doctrine independently (Karamanov, 2004, p. 9).
The next constituent was values that the pupil
experienced in the process of religious cognition.
This means that a young person experiences a
certain value, and in the process of cognition
receives what becomes a part of their new own
“me”. As a result, cognitive value becomes a new
source of life. This constituent with its principles
is close to the tendency of pedagogy of culture,
which relates to religious pedagogy, since in
pedagogy of culture, as well as in humanistic
pedagogy, culture makes a basis as a world of
spirit and values in forming humanistic
development of the world and human (Jurzysta,
2017, p. 15).
The third constituent is the ideal of life that
means creating a true life ideal based on deep
faith in the Bible. The personality of catechist
had to play an important role here (Roskwitalski,
1935, pp. 420-433).
The views mentioned above can be compared
with the ideas of philosophic and pedagogical
stance of personalism, which puts a human being
in the centre of research interests as a personality
and interprets religion as a personal connection
of a human with God (Pluskota, 2012, p. 65).
10 Barbara Zulińska (1881–1962) – a Catholic pedagogue,
academic teacher, founder of children’s medical camps in
Galicia.
In this regard, it can be noted that religious
instinct is an important element in the structure
of human consciousness, which is manifested in
the search for happiness, the pursuit of perfection
and better life, etc.
During the period under study, issues of the role
of creativity in religious upbringing, which was
crucial for the formation of a harmonious
personality, became of great importance.
According to the views of a Polish teacher
Barbara Żulińska10, creativity is “a divine spark,
the flowering of thought that should develop
Catholic doctrine” (Żulińska, 1930,
pp. 466-467).
In particular, she defined such terms of
development of creativity in pedagogue’s
activity:
− an inner state that does not allow to
implement things incompatible with the
principles of faith and Christian ethics into
the teaching process;
− the ability to justify one’s opinions;
− the respect towards pupils striving to show
their creative abilities;
− the increase of one’s own independence;
− the creation of methods of upbringing,
which are most derived from pupils’ needs;
− the desire for continuous self-improvement
– “a creative person is a person of an idea,
and therefore a person who can love”;
− the formation of the ability to focus and
concentrate (Żulińska, 1930, pp. 467-468).
According to the apt statement of the author, the
things psychology and pedagogics teach are long
known from the Gospel but teachers do not fully
use Christ’s teaching for pedagogical goals
(Żulińska, 1930, p. 469).
In this respect, Jan Ciemńiewski’s11 views
deserve attention; his scientific interests focused
on the issue of cognition and character training
from a religious point of view. Outlining the
concept of “a character”, the author determined
two different meanings:
− a character is an inner side of a person, their
individual constitution, which distinguishes
the individuality of each of us; in such a
sense each human must have a character
since everyone has a certain inner
individuality;
11 Jan Ciemniewski (1866–1947) – a Catholic priest, Doctor
of Philosophy and Theology, pedagogue; during the interwar
period he educated the youth of Lviv grammar school.
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− having a character means “establishing a
certain order and ethical rules in one’s life,
a harmony with the right to follow the voice
of conscience and reason because people
with a character make conscience of the
people” (Ciemńiewski, 1903, pp. 8-9).
The researcher believed that degeneration of
human characters was the result of disregard for
the laws of nature, the reason for which was the
withdrawal from religion and transformation of
the religious doctrine into pure formalism. He
saw the way out of this state in the adaptation of
the word of God to the needs of the new man, and
following the example of pedagogy and
psychology, in the search for “new ways of
introducing the eternal truths of faith to people”
(Ciemńiewski, 1907, p. 5). Therefore,
J. Ciemńiewski in his views advocated the
opportunity for all to be independent, creative,
active individuals, and at the same time ardent
followers of Christianity.
Scholars’ thoughts on the importance of practical
application of the method of labour school in
religion that should fully cultivate feelings and
mental independence of man may serve as an
important proof of educational and religious
interactions in a pedagogical thought of that
period.
The aim of this method was to evoke an intensive
religious life and raise religious and ethical
character. According to this, religious knowledge
should not remain just knowledge but have to be
implemented in real life on the grounds of
Christian and Catholic ethics (Roskwitalski,
1928, pp. 70-71).
One can state that in Roskwitalski’s views an
attempt to adjust new reformative pedagogics to
religion was traced at the same time opening a
way to new religious pedagogics. The key
element of this pedagogics was spiritual aspect of
the existence of a human. The inner activity of
man and man’s ability to productively use their
own opportunities were recognized as the main
characteristics of the existence.
It should be noted that in educational institutions
of Galicia, religious subjects were of paramount
importance, being one of the main. Being
focused on cultivating principles of faith, they
contributed to the formation of a holistic
religious worldview aimed at keeping a human
being from moral decline (Ministry of Religious
Denominations and Public Enlightenment, 1926,
pp. 106-107).
During the interwar period the role of religious
pedagogy constantly grew in Galicia, which
particularly was caused by encyclicals by Pope
Pius XI “That Divine Teacher” dated 31/12/1929
and “Chaste Wedlock” dated 31/12/1930 as well
as by the operation of the organization Generalny
Instytut Akcji Katolickiej formed in 1930
(Jamrózek, 1994, p. 102). The encyclicals
facilitated the increase of the influence of
Christian religion on building the worldview and
character of young people.
In general, the spread of the reformative ideas of
education and upbringing in Galicia stimulated
the discussion among local pedagogues of
various national groups concerning the role and
meaning of religion in the life of both a society
and each citizen in particular. In its turn, this
provoked the formation of the postulates of
religious or Christian pedagogy that aimed at
embodiment of the true Christian spirit, building
the worldview and moral values of a person and
appropriate social behaviour.
Ukrainian and Polish pedagogues of Galicia saw
religious education and upbringing as a source of
full human development, pointing out that the
educational goals formulated here contribute to
the full formation of man. Such a system is
definitely a bearer of the humanization of the
social life since it “looks” at everything form the
point of view of love to God and neighbour, and
therefore is free from hatred, which is often
shared by people, social groups, nations or states
(Zakrzewska, 2012, p. 49).
Based on the survey conducted to determine the
level of awareness of students of pedagogical
specialities of higher education institutions of
Ukraine with the problems of religious education
of young people in the context of the ideas of
reformist pedagogy, we obtained the following
results.
78.3% identified themselves as religious people,
8.7% identified themselves as non-religious
people, and 13% could not clearly define this
question for themselves (Fig. 1).
52.2% of respondents positively assess the
influence of religious education on young people
in society, 17.4% are very positive, 26.1% are
neutral, and 4.3% are negative (Fig. 2).
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Fig. 1. Results of a survey of students about their religiosity.
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
Fig. 2. Assessment of the impact of religious education on youth in society.
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
Most of the surveyed students show a certain
passivity to the question “How often do you take
part in various religious events or practices
(worship, prayers, religious gatherings, singing,
etc.?)” – 43.5% do it extremely rarely (once a
month or less), at the same time 39.1% take part
in such events once a week, 8.7% – constantly
and 8.7% – never (Fig. 3).
Such a passivity can be explained by the
rhythmic and saturated pace of life, active
involvement in educational activities, and
participation in various attractions in non-formal
education institutions.
The answer to the question “Are you familiar
with the currents of reformist pedagogy, in
particular, the idea of free personal education,
pragmatism, labor school, experimental
pedagogy and psychology, the project method,
etc.?” is interesting, because students
demonstrate a fairly high level of awareness
(62.2% said “yes” against 37.8% – “no”), due to
actual knowledge of the educational material
(Fig. 4).
Fig. 3. How often do you participate in various religious activities or practices (worship, prayers, religious
gatherings, singing, etc.?)
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
78,3%
8,7%
13%
Believers Unbelievers
Not decided
52,2%
17,4%
26,1%
4,3%
Positively Very positive
Neutral Negatively
43,5%
39,1%
8,7%
8,7%Extremely rarely (once a month
or less)
Once a week
Constantly
Never
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Fig. 4. Are you familiar with the currents of reformist pedagogy, in particular, the idea of free personality
education, pragmatism, labor school, experimental pedagogy and psychology, project method, etc.?
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
This is confirmed by the answers to the question
“Which of the ideas of reformist pedagogy, in
your opinion, can be useful for the religious
education of young people?”. More than 50% of
students chose “taking into account the needs and
interests of students during education”, “civic
education” and the idea of free personality
education. Definitions for “learning through
activity” and “active teacher-student interaction”
were somewhat less useful (Fig. 5).
Fig. 5. Which of the ideas of reformist pedagogy, in your opinion, can be useful for the religious education
of young people?
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
To the question “Which of the ideas of religious
education in the context of reformist pedagogy
can be applied in the process of youth religious
education?” the majority of respondents noted
“the search for the purpose of religious education
and its role in life” (56.5%), “the formation of
worldview and character with the help of
religion” (52.2%), “the newest forms and
methods of teaching religion at school” (52.2%).
Slightly fewer respondents chose “the role of
creativity in religious education” (39.1%), and
“analysis of the historical development of
religious and moral pedagogy” (34.7%) (Fig. 6).
Fig. 6. Which of the ideas of religious education in the context of reformist pedagogy can be applied in the
process of religious education of youth?
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
62,2%
37,8% Yes No
51%
49%
taking into account the needs and
interests of students during education
"learning through activity" and
"active interaction between teacher
and student".
56,5% 52,2% 52,2%
39,1% 34,7%
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
search for the purpose
of religious education
and its role in life
formation of worldview
and character with the
help of religion
the latest forms and
methods of teaching
religion at school
the role of creativity in
religious education analysis of the historical
development of
religious and moral
pedagogy
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A certain resonance among students was caused
by the question “Do you agree with the opinion
that today’s youth are more or less receptive to
religious education compared to previous
generations?”, to which the majority answered
that they have less acceptance (60.9%), the rest
could not decide with an answer (34.8%), and
only 4.3% answered that they have more
acceptance (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7. Can we agree with the opinion that today’s youth are more or less receptive to religious education
compared to previous generations?
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
At the same time, young people are aware of the
prospects. The absolute majority (60.9%) gave
an affirmative answer to the question “Do you
think that religious education should be a
mandatory part of education in society?”, 21.7%
could not decide, and 17.4% denied it (Fig. 8).
Fig. 8. Do you think that religious education should be a mandatory part of education in society?
Source: Authors’ calculations based on the survey results.
So, the results of the survey testify to the
students’ awareness of the phenomenon of
reformist pedagogy of the late 19th and early
20th centuries and its main ideas related to the
young people’s religious education, in particular,
in the context of taking into account the needs
and interests of youth during education, the
formation of a worldview and the free education.
Against the background of less acceptance of
religious education in modern conditions, the
majority of students consider themselves
religious people and advocate the inclusion of
religion as a mandatory component of public
education.
Conclusions
On the basis of the conducted scientific research,
it is possible to determine the following aspects
of the interaction of educational and religious
ideas in the context of reformative pedagogy:
− the formation of moral behaviour,
worldview and character of the youth, after
all, these things are always universal for both
educational and religious influences;
− the focus on spiritual aspects of the existence
of a person;
− the desire for creativity and constant self-
improvement.
These ideas are actively accepted by the modern
students, who are mostly familiar with the
historical currents of reformist pedagogy, which
advocated global changes in the field of
educational policy, free access to education, and
individual freedom. In the context of religious
education, these ideas were harmoniously
combined with the postulates of faith and free
60,9%
34,8%
4,3%
less perception
were able to decide
more perception
60,9%
21,7%
17,4%
Yes Not decided No
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/ November 2023
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personal education, the need to adhere to
appropriate norms of behavior and the formation
of a broad worldview, deep respect for
established traditions and customs with activity
and responsibility for one's own behavior.
On the example of the comparative analysis of
religious traditions of Galicia of the early 20th
century with its cultural phenomena and
educational transformations, openness to new
reformative changes (which clearly showed the
progressive changes in the field of schooling),
one can notice, on the one hand, deep respect for
religious customs, formation of spiritual and
moral values, and on the other hand, the focus on
the activeness and independence of a human
together with discipline and faith in God, which
generally corresponded to the postulates of
reformative pedagogics that emphasized the
importance of realization and discovery of
human forces and opportunities, humanistic
treatment to a child, formation of child’s
individual and innate abilities.
The results of the research are of direct interest
for modern educational practice, as they not only
reflect an actual historical and pedagogical
problem on the example of one region, but also
indicate that religious education of young people
can be an important part of general education,
which can help young people to fully develop
their potential, to realize themselves in modern
society and to see the prospects for their own
development.
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