Bible Study in an Israeli Public School: Narrative, Identity, and Misalignment

• In Event: 69.050 - Schooling in Pluralistic Contexts

Abstract

The meeting place between state sponsored religion and secular citizenry in the public sphere raises many questions about individual rights, collective identity, and the multiple meanings of religion across cultural contexts. An important nexus for this encounter is the study of religious texts in state schools. How are religious texts taught and negotiated in a secular context? What meanings are constructed by their readers? What types of identities are reflected and constructed? What tensions emerge in this encounter? We explore these questions through analysis of data from Israeli primary school classrooms. Tensions emerge between an authority-driven interpretive model and open hermeneutic approaches to the biblical text. Further, a reified version of religious identity, disconnected from students’ lived experiences, is enacted.

Authors

• Aliza Segal, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Livat Eshchar-Netz, Ben Gurion University of the Negev