The 21st conference of EuFRES discussed topics of resilience and concepts of Christian hope with regards to catholic religious education in public schools. These topics were covered through talks by several invited scholars as well through presentations of all participating members (from nine different European countries).
Our life is shadowed by different kinds of crises.

Since the pandemic we experience war, a climate crisis, economic crises. Young people fear for their future, and this also impacts a growing number of young people with special (educational) needs. The simultaneous appearance of such challenges seem to be insurmountable obstacles, while they also offer perspectives of change and development. The ability to face and master crisis in general becomes crucial here, and the subject of religious education at schools plays a significant role. Resilience, characterized as mental strength to do good or to put up with difficulties, can also be understood as the human quality of to adjust creatively to new historical periods and cultural contexts, whilst preserving one’s identity and value system. Religious education, based on such principles of Christian ethics and an anthroplogy of personhood, can make significant impacts with regards to personal development and social awareness and responsibility of students.

How should a modern version of religious education, addressing various crises of nowadays, look like? Does religion serve as a source of resilience? Does religious education help overcoming crisis?

Prof. Zbigniew Formella focused on current socio-political challenges and the specific psychological impacts of crisis on young people. He highlighted anxieties, caused by experiences of war and the pandemic. Furthermore he pointed out that young people show so-called fears of missing out (i.e. fears of missing opportunities in general as well of not being able to participate in other’s experiences, which produces the drive to overuse social media in order to be in continuous touch with others.) Prof. Formella concluded his talk with the idea, that education marks a process of development and modification within individual and societal growth. Hence, the specific social contextof young people need to be reflected and interwoven within educational approaches of any kind.

Academic research indicates that the so-called Generation Z is searching for new ways to express spirituality. In her lecture „The contribution of religious education regarding Empowerment and christian hope in times of crises („Beitrag des Religionsunterrichts zu Empowerment und christliche Hoffnung in Zeiten von Krisen“)Prof. Claudia Gärtner aunderlined that religious education addresses this issue precisely. She describes resilience as key in times of crises to mitigate consequences, but not to eliminate the very reasons of such crises. Empowerment, as she states, implies a source to strengthen a personal character, personal agency and of support in a sense of solidarity (of both young people and society in general). Prof. Gärtner resumes that especially religious education enables young people to dream and thereby supports a visionary and needed sense of utopian thinking.

Further contributions by several participants from various European countries presented the culturally specific and different concepts of resilience. Heterogeneous perspectives of how religious education can be approached were presented. The discussion on topics of resilience and hope lead to new insights, but made also clear that (in light of different European perspectives and familiarities with those concepts), the discourse remains complex and concepts can not be taken for granted.
Optimism and hope as key features of resilience to support young people. Religious education serves as a source of resistance, a source for a modern Europe, rooted in the biblical and Christian traditions. Therefore, religious education marks a contribution to find hope for a better world. Seen from this angle it plays a significant role in and is indispensable for educational systems in all European countries.