An adequate Education on religions is core topic for the development of religious identity in adolescents. This is what Daniel Moulin, researcher of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS), the research center in Humanities and social sciences of the University of Navarra.

This is set out in her work 'Giving voice to 'the silent minority': the experience of religious students in secondary school religious education lessons', published in 2011 in British Journal of Religious Education, and recently granted open access for being one of the most read articles in this journal.

From agreement with Dr. Moulin, the Education on religions has a clear benefit: a better understanding of the different beliefs present in the world. However, he states that there may be some "distortion" in the way some teachers explain certain religions.

As she notes, her research revealed that some members of the communities that took part in the study often felt that their tradition was stereotyped and simplified in the lessons. In that sense, they were missing a voice representative of their religion. 

Students' experiences

"However, many students are reluctant to disclose their religious identity on class because of the experiences of intolerance and prejudice they have experienced," she notes. "An adolescent who is forming his or her own identity may find it difficult that peers and teachers may view him or her differently because he or she professes a religion."

For Daniel Moulin, this is even more complex for some religions, such as Islam, whose vision can be distorted by acts of terrorism by radicals reported in the media.

The expert of the project 'Religion and Civil Society' of the ICS emphasizes that the sources of information of the teachers and their Degree of knowledge results core topic in the teaching. "We must deeply understand a religion to be able to talk about it," he recommends. In that regard, he recalls that having students who profess a religion share their experiences and insights enriches classes.