Upper secondary school philosophy students’

attitudes towards religious education in school

A study in Central FinlandOtto Tuomela

Philosophy major, University of Jyväskylä

otto.h.tuomela@jyu.fi

Outline

I. IntroductionII. PurposeIII. Research question and hypothesisIV. Related studiesV. Population and methods

No data has yet been analyzed.

IntroductionIt’s a common misconception that students of philosophy are atheists,

and even anti-religious.

Purpose

• To map students’ attitudes towards religion in education.

• To find out whether philosophical abstract and hypothetical thinking affects religious belief.

• To answer the conception if studying philosophy makes one prone to atheism.

Research question and hypothesis

• Q: How do Finnish upper secondary school students react towards religious education in school?

• H: Negatively.

• Religiousness is a private matter, and asking about it directly is commonly considered inconsiderate.

Related studies

• Abstract categorical and hypothetical thinking is instrumental to questioning the existence of deities (Cheyne, 2009).

• Philosophy teaches theories that promote atheism or at least question the existence of God (Jacovides 2007; Kail, 2007; Santaniello, 2007; Viney, 2008;).

Consideredthemselves religious

Didn't considerthemselves religious

Consideredthemselves atheists

According to the Finnish Youth Barometer of 2006, 45 percent of 15-19-year-olds consider themselves religious (Myllyniemi, 2006)

Very important

Important

Somewhat important

Not important at all

In the Finnish Youth Barometer of 2008, 72 percent of 15-29-year-olds think that religion as a school subject is only somewhat or not at all important (Myllyniemi, 2008)

Population and methods

• The research population cosists of students from four different elective courses of philosophy. So far, 58 students have participated.

• The data is collected with the following questionnaire (in Finnish). Questions 1-4 are rated on a scale of 1-6, question 5 is open-ended.

Questionnaire

Sex: f / m Age: Religion:1. Religious education in school is useful.2. Religious education in school is

important.3. Religious education in school is

interesting.4. Religion is to be taught in school.5. Please give a short explanation to your

answers.

References• Cheyne, J. A. (2009). Atheism rising. Skeptic, 15 (2), 33-37. • Helve, H., Hjelm, T., Myllyniemi, S., Paakkunainen, K., Wilska, T.-A.

(2006). Uskon asia Nuorisobarometri 2006 (The Youth Barometer). Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta, julkaisuja 34, 66, 124-125.

• Huttunen, T., Kareinen, H., Korpinen, S., Kuure, T., Ojakoski, M., Jokihaara, N., Tuuttila, L. (2008). Mitä kuuluu? Nuorisobarometri 2008 (The Youth Barometer). Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta, julkaisuja 39, 24.

• Jacovides, M. (2007). How is Descartes’ argument against scepticism better than Putnam’s? Philosophical Quarterly, 57 (229), 593-612.

• Kail, P.J.E. (2007). Understanding Hume’s natural history of religion. Philosophical Quarterly, 57 (227), 190-211.

• Santaniello, W. (2007). Review of Nietzsche’s philosophy of religion. Ars Disputandi, 7.

• Viney, W. (2008). Religion and science in Christendom: A history of intellectual warfare and accommodation. Midwest Quarterly, 49 (4), 343-357.

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