Religious Education and the Values of Dialogue and Respect: Results of the REDCo Project.

This paper consists of three parts. First, the context of the public debate on religion and religious education in Europe is outlined. Second, the research project REDCo is presented. This project was carried out in the following countries: Estonia, Russia, Norway, Germany, the Netherlands, England, France and Spain. This huge European research programme consisted of many sub-projects in each of the countries mentioned. All the projects looked at religious education for students in the 14-16-year-old age group in various countries. Analyses of the concepts of religious education were combined with the concrete views of pupils: they were observed, interviewed, and asked for written answers in questionnaires, and their interaction was analysed. This provided the data for this paper: the views of young people in Europe on religious heterogeneity and religious education. For the most part, they agree with the idea that learning about different religions at school helps people to live together peacefully. Finally, the author gives an overview on future perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]