Youth Attitudes towards Religious Education in Poland

This monograph places young people at its core, treating them as the focus of research conducted by scholars in sociology, theology, pedagogy and psychology. These inquiries address religious education conceived as the sum of interventions aimed at cultivating an individual’s life skills within a religious framework. Religious education is orientated towards the development of personal awareness and competencies, as well as one’s engagement with the wider world. Its aim is to enable young people to interpret human existence independently and rationally, and to support their understanding of themselves and the world in light of their professed faith. A thorough and rigorous study of the current state of youth religious education in Poland may facilitate questions for future discussion concerning the objectives, content and forms of religious instruction. The research findings elucidate the reasons underpinning both participation in and withdrawal from religious education classes, and they offer reflections and recommendations for work in the field of youth religious education and for enhancing the competencies of religious education teachers.