Author

Allan Wiebe

Date of Award

5-1961

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Abstract

The term "religious education", although traditionally referring to the teaching ministry of the Christian church, has now become so general as to include practically all religions that are propagated through instruction including Jewish, Mohammedan, Hindu and most other non-Christian religions, as well as Christian. Consequently, a trend has recently developed in the direction of the use of the more exclusive term "Christian education" although the two terms are used interchangeably in many Christian circles.

In this study the term "Christian education" is preferred and refers to the process by which individuals are confronted with and controlled by the Christian gospel. It is to be understood, however, that all instruction given in mission-controlled schools in the Congo, including the so-called secular and academic, is necessarily Christian inasmuch as the teaching of all subjects is based on a Christian philosophy of education. However, this study has been confined to include only the aspect of Christian education which concerns the actual religious instruction and related activities in the Congo Protestant primary schools.

In Congo, as in other countries, the emphasis in religious education in recent years has shifted from the theoretical, examplified by the memorization of the "catechism", to the more practical and social aspects of the Christian gospel. The success of the Christian education program is not measured by the number of church adherents but rather by the extent of the impact of the teachings on the individual pupil and the community.

Comments

Thesis submitted to the Department of Education.

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