A Comparative Research on the Trend of Religious Education in Formal Schooling and Adoption of Agreed Syllabus in Multi-religious Societies

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This study intended to have the general insight over the nature of the religious or values education in developed and developing countries focusing on the relation between minority groups and mainstream culture. The case studies of eleven countries (USA, UK, Netherlands, South Korea, People's Republic of China, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey and Lebanon) were investigated and reported by fifteen researchers. Four general meetings were held during two years and field studies in the UK, People's Republic of China, Lebanon, and Turkey were conducted under this project.Difference between developed and developing countries was made clear in terms of the governmental attitudes of tolerance towards the religious minorities in reflecting their values in national or formal curriculum. An attempt was also made to establish the framework or categolization of the patterns of religious options accepted by the formal mainstream schooling system. We found that several factors such as the existence of established religion, political stability, Islamic elements, decentralization of education, and the level of economic development may play the crucial role in defining the governmental attitude towards the religions of minorities to be accepted in the formal curriculum and national school system.