Construction of a Quality-Assuring System for Higher Education about Religious Culture

这一研究项目旨在为宗教研究领域的高等教育建立质量保障体系(“宗教文化教育”一词被创造出来，以区别于基于神学的教育)。特别是，它计划一方面以临时的学科基准标准为基础，开发一个大学间评价系统(“书协--文部”系统)。另一方面，它试图建立一个宗教研究专业的大学教师交流中心，为他们提供实用的教学方法和材料，该项目由7个工作组实施，每个工作组由来自20多所大学的宗教研究专业的负责人组成，其中包括国立和私立大学。它的主要成就是：对本科课程中的宗教文化教育进行实况调查；侧重于学生和企业对合格的宗教文化专家“宗教文化专家”的需求分析；建立了“宗教文化专家”的校际评估系统；建立了一个在线教材信息交换中心。为了使公众能够了解这些结果，该项目每季度出版一次通讯，并举办了几次国际研讨会、讲座和讲习班。

This research project aimed to establish a quality-assuring system for higher education in the field of religious studies (the term "education about religious culture" has been coined to name religious studies-based education as distinguished from theology-based education). In particular, it planned, on the one hand, to develop an inter-college evaluation system ("shukyo-bunkashi" system) based upon provisional, subject benchmark standards. On the other hand, it attempted to build a clearinghouse for college teachers in religious studies programs, which provides them with practical teaching methods and materials.The project was carried out by seven working groups, each of which was comprised of the leading members of religious studies programs from more than twenty universities, including both national and private. Its major achievements are : a fact-finding survey of education about religious culture in undergraduate curricula ; needs analyses focusing on students' and corporate expectations for a "shukyo-bunkashi", a qualified specialist in religious culture; the foundation of the inter-college evaluation system of "shukyo-bunkashi" ; the launching of an on-line clearinghouse for teaching materials.In order to make the results publicly accessible, the project has issued quarterly newsletters as well as held several international symposia, lectures and workshops.