Learning to live together in a pluralistic world would...

Learning to live together in a pluralistic world would necessitate emphasis upon a fourth skill, or, rather, a group of skills - namely, life skills. Such a group of skills is the backbone of pluralist education, which encompasses the education of the learner as an individual and as a member of society with a pluralistic and global outlook.

The concept of “learning to live together” has been eloquently referred to by Jacques Delors and others in their well-known work, Learning: The Treasure Within , as one of the four pillars of education along with the concepts of “learning to know,” “learning to do,” and “learning to be.” As basic prerequisite for future dialogue to promote pluralism, these four pillars can be rephrased as follows: learning to live together - democratically; learning to know - for the future; learning to do - usefully; learning to be - peacefully.

Effective religious studies education can be secured through its integration into all social and human sciences, as well as through curricular and extracurricular activities. It should be designed to lead, rather than follow, the practices and values of the pluralistic society by promoting high-level intellectual skills in the learner such as critical thinking, and problem-solving.

But there is a challenge: How do we reconcile this with those who believe that religious education goes against the separation of state and church, mosque or synagogue?

We live in a world characterized by growing and vital religious pluralism*,* religious skepticism, religious resurgence, and religious ambivalence, peopled by those who are deeply committed to a particular faith tradition and regard it as exclusive, people who are champions of ecumenical and inter-faith efforts, people who describe themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” and people who are avowedly secular.

We should draw a clear distinction between promoting pluralism and encouraging the development of “open” societies. Both, in the end, reinforce each other, but the proper sequencing is essential. The necessary first step, acceptance of diversity, must come from within a society; it cannot be imposed by outsiders. In this context, Jonathan Z. Smith believes that we need to develop a capacity to make familiar that which at first encounter seems strange.

Conversely, he feels that we need the ability to make strange what we have come to think of as all-too-familiar.