Religious Education: a field of Applied Science of Religion

Abstract

The following article represents a synthesis effort on the narrative of Religious Education formation in the Brazilian official documents on Education. Thus, it intends to be a theoretical and pedagogical instrument for understanding this curricular component as a field of Applied Science of Religion. In order to achieve this goal, we divide the text into three parts. In the first part, the possible classifications of Religious Education, which would be the subarea of knowledge of the Science of Religion or the Applied Science of Religion and the curricular component that composes the subjects defined at the Brazilian Elementary School level. In the second part of this article some elements of the official documents are discussed, the Common National Curriculum Base (2017) and the National Curriculum Guidelines for Licenciature of Science in Religion (2018), which guarantee the provision of Religious Education in accordance with the Law and a reflective and secular model of education. At the end, we will present and discuss in the third part some epistemological and methodological assumptions of the Science of Religion that allow the theoretical and practical basis of Religious Education.