Position, Positioning, and Positionality in Religious Education when Teaching about Religions One Does Not Belong To

Abstract

Based on two classroom observations, this article examines how (self- and external) positioning occurs in Islamic and Protestant religious education when teaching about ‘other’ religions. Particularly when it comes to topics that are perceived as sensitive, practices of generalised objectification and distancing can be observed in the form of recourse to supposedly neutral external perspectives and harmonisation. Finally, implications for both school practice and university didactics are formulated.