Browsing by Author "Mwesigwa, Fred Sheldon"

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A FRAGILE AND DIVISIVE UNITY OVER RELIGIOUS EDUCATION CURRICULUM IN UGANDA
(Bishop Stuart University, 2023) Mwesigwa, Fred Sheldon
Although Uganda is legally defined as a secular state, it is one of the most ‘religious’ nations in the world in terms of its rich religious though mostly volatile history and current record numbers of religious adherents compared to those who describe themselves as atheists or agnostics. The introduction of Islam, Anglican and Roman Catholic religious belief systems in Uganda ushered in an era of competition for converts which inevitably led to conflicts, including religious wars. Formal Education, mainly through missionary education, centered on promoting denominational identity and despite government efforts to legislate on the need for religious education to address the first national goal of education of ‘promoting national unity and harmony’, the Christian Religious Education (CRE) and the Islamic Religious Education (IRE) curriculum have largely remained catechetical and not dialogical, which compounds the already existing tensions between members of different religious denominations as illustrated by interviews done in schools. There is a need to review the curriculum to address the gaps cited in this article that seeks to address the multi-religious composition of schools and society to safeguard against religious tension and conflict which are proving to be endemic
Religious Pluralism and Conflict as Issues in Religious Education in Uganda
(University of Leeds, 2005-05) Mwesigwa, Fred Sheldon
This study investigates the complications raised in teaching a confessional Religious Education in a multi-religious context pertaining in Ugandan religiously founded public schools, government and private founded schools. The thesis contends that the introduction of Islam, Anglican and Roman Catholic Christian religious traditions in Uganda not only presented alternative religious systems to the existing African traditional religion but ushered in an era of competition for converts that subsequently led to religious conflict.The thesis also submits the view that the missionary aim of formal education in Uganda led to the creation, not only of a denominational, but a divisive educational system. While the study commends the colonial government and the first independent government's efforts towards establishing a nondenominational educational system, it suggests that their failure to address the controversial questions raised by the nature of RE at the time was a missed opportunity.The study probes the current syllabuses, aims and content of CRE and IRE for secondary and primary schools and suggests that their main intention of promoting spiritual growth of students is inappropriate for implementation in the multi-religious schools.The thesis questions the government's proposed exclusion of RE from the education curriculum and its replacement with Moral Education. It suggests that while Moral Education could be a subject on its own, Religious Education needs to be maintained but re-designed to address the multi-religious context. It presents a multi-faith RE as the ideal format of teaching about religion
TEACHING RELIGION IN A SECULAR SWEDISH SCHOOL SYSTEM
(Bishop Stuart University, 2023-06) Mwesigwa, Fred Sheldon
Following my two-month research as an international Ugandan researcher in Sweden, I present an argument that the introduction of a non-confessional Religious Education in Sweden in 1919 and an objective and neutral education since 1962 had a key intention of de-linking teaching of religion from religious foundation bodies, in particular, the dominant Church of Sweden (Lutheran) and rendering it educational instead of confessional. In this paper, I will argue that, despite the subsequent birth of a secular Swedish society and the onset of a multicultural society, there was - and there continues to be a justification for the teaching of religion in schools. In my interview with two experts on Religious Education from the National Agency of Education, two teachers of Religious Education and eight students, they all responded positively to the question of the continued teaching of religion in secular Swedish society. However, in the paper, I will argue that there was or there is an inability of the curriculum and the teachers in some respects to do justice to the integrity of different religions. Based on earlier research and interviews, I’ll argue that despite the good intentions of having a neutral and objective multi-faith Religious Education (RE) curriculum in place, some text-books and teachers’ approaches raise questions on fairness to all religions. In particular, the interviews indicate that there are signs of “Immigrophobia” among some students, teachers and sections of the community. Notwithstanding, I will argue that since the findings reveal an overwhelming support for multi-faith RE by a secular population and being mindful of the increased multi-cultural society and signs of Immigrophobia6 , it is imperative that a careful choice of text books, especially on religions, other than Christianity, is done and special attention given to RE teachers to address the concept of fairness to all religions