En ständigt pågående debatt
Religionsämnet i skolan från 1919 till 2013
The subject of religion in Swedish schools is the single most talked about topic in the curriculum. One explanation could be that it is the oldest subject in Swedish schools and the topic has undergone the biggest change through time. This process of change has been anything but undebated. The subject of religion within schools has met debates through almost its entire history, partly from the state and from the church, but also from the teachers and the students. Debates concerning the existence of Christianity in Swedish schools as well as the Swedish traditions constantly reoccur in today?s government debates and various media but in different versions. The focus of this essay is to tackle these historical debates through the last century. The essay starts with the training plan of 1919 and continues through the 20th century to the current curriculum in 2013. The aim of the essay is to examine how the changing role of the subject of religion is viewable through the ongoing debates in the 20th century as well as the beginning of the 21st century. The essay tries to understand contemporary debates in the light of the social and educational bureaucratic changes that have occurred over the past decade against a background of long historical changes.