An An Impressive Export Success with Contemporary Significance? International Knowledge Transfer Exemplified by the Spanish Reception of the Würzburg Synod’s Resolution on Religious Education

Abstract

The Würzburg Synod’s Resolution on Religious Education has in many ways been groundbreaking for the (catholic) religious education debates in post-war Germany. The resolution positioned religious education between pedagogy and theology and distinguished school-based religious education from extracurricular catechesis. However, it is little known that the resolution also inspired international debates on sustainable models of religious education. This article aims to present and discuss the Spanish (and Italian) reception of this resolution starting in the 1970s. The focus is on Germany, Spain, and Italy – contexts that are paradigmatic for denominationally framed religious learning. These contexts provide an opportunity to reflect on the conditions under which a denominational framework can remain viable in the future.