Controlling the Education of Children in a Liberal Multicultural State – Religious Education in Israel: A Case Study
31(4) Children's Legal Rights Journal 49 (2011)
25 Pages Posted: 10 Jun 2012
Date Written: 2011
Abstract
This article addresses the challenges of the control over the education of children through the lens of the multicultural discourse, using religious education in Israel as a case study. The article argues that state treatment of controversies involving the scope and content of the roles of parents and state in controlling children’s education in a liberal multicultural state ought to be guided by flexibility and based upon respect. It claims that under the circumstances of the multicultural condition, the pluralist approach furthering respect as the underpinning value guiding the state’s treatment is preferable to the liberal approach furthering autonomy, as it preserves cultural group’s members’ identity while maintaining the state’s fundamental values. The article therefore provides a list of considerations that should be factored into the specific context of the controversies regarding children’s education. This analysis allows for the adoption of a differentiated and balanced policy, based on a legally, socially, culturally, historically and politically well-informed decision.
Keywords: Religious Education, Israel, Multiculturalism
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