Politics within Religious Studies in Sweden : What are we teaching our students?

Abstract: The aim of this study is to investigate, from a Swedish perspective, at what degree, religious studies teachers are incorporating political factors into their classroom instruction and also attempts to measure their personal tendencies. At the same time, it evaluates the students’ opinions about this subject, and attempts to use their perspectives to verify their teachers’ instructional practices. Furthermore, the present study seeks to identify the sociological aspects which have influenced the religious studies curriculum in Sweden which can be applied to other countries around the world. As a result, it was established that a significant correlation between the teachers’ knowledge and interest in the subject matter had a meaningful impact on the inclusion if sociological aspects of the religious studies course during classroom instruction. This was confirmed through the analysis of group interviews and individually completed questionnaires by both teachers and students in a semi-controlled setting.