New Perspectives

1Performative Religious Didactics 2.0

Hans Mendl

1.1Theses

1. The credo of all performative approaches in religious didactics is: One must experience religion in order to understand religion in all its dimensions. Purely discursive learning is not sufficient to become religiously competent; this thesis can be substantiated sociologically (in terms of the contextual framework of the learning subject), theologically (in terms of the subject matter) and in terms of learning theory (with regard to the claim of sustainable learning).

2. Models of competence orientation present a particular challenge for Religious Education (RE) because it is controversial to what extent pupils may be instructed in religious expression (expressive competence) and in participation in religious practices (participatory competence). This seems legitimate only if the teachers design performative teaching and learning processes in such a way that the respective speech acts are not perceived as intrusive.

3. Different models of the performative have been developed in both Protestant and Catholic Religious Pedagogy, which differ significantly in their hermeneutics and practical application. In view of the critical objections, it seems essential to develop a concept of the performative that safeguards freedom in religious education and intertwines the levels of discourse, experience and reflection, thus enabling participants to assign subjective meaning.

4. The critical objections to a performative concept refer to the peculiarities and limitations of the school system, the autonomy of the learners' beliefs and the dignity of religious practices. They highlight the failures of unsuccessful performative projects. Furthermore, it is questionable and contested how broadly or narrowly the concept of the performative should be understood, which ultimately represents an attempt to encompass very different tendencies in religious didactics: From a broad understanding, action-orientated forms of Religious Education (RE) are also included, while a narrow understanding focuses primarily on those in which the practice of lived religion directly or in transformed form finds its way into Religious Education.

5. In the discourse on the opportunities and limitations of performative forms of learning, a divergence between practical and theoretical Religious Pedagogy becomes apparent: While academic Religious Pedagogy tends to point out systemic and subject-related limitations, many teachers of religion at schools have little understanding of the objections raised and emphasise the need to promote pupils' expressive and participatory skills.

1.2Perspectives

1.2.1Experiencing Religion in Order to Understand Religion

"In which Catholic Religious Education (RE) will topics such as Mary, pilgrimages and sacramentals still play a major role?-If they do, it is likely due to regional factors, but overall a marginalisation of such topics can be observed"[1] (Schmidt-Kortenbusch, 2011, p. 159). Martin Schmidt-Kortenbusch is mistaken. For more than 20 years, both Catholic and Protestant Religious Education have been reflecting on how the lived practice of religion can not only be presented in the classroom, but also responsibly incorporated into the teaching process. A look into the real-world practice of Religious Education shows that lived religion in all its possible forms and variations (forms of prayer, blessing rituals, pilgrimage projects, meditative elements, etc.), is practised not only in primary schools and not only in southern Germany, but also in higher grades and across all regions. The fundamental belief of all performative approaches in religious didactics is: One must experience religion in order to understand religion. Exclusively discursive learning is not sufficient to develop religious competency. This thesis can be justified sociologically (in terms of the contextual framework of the learning subject), theologically (in terms of the subject matter) and in terms of learning theory (with regard to the claim of sustainable learning) (Mendl, 2021, p. 240).

Sociological: Today, only a minority of children and young people are religiously socialised. The break with tradition means that many manifestations (rites, prayers, liturgical forms, places of social and diaconal work) and elements of knowledge (festivals in the church year and their significance, central beliefs and prayer texts, biblical and church historical knowledge) are unfamiliar to children and young people. In order to understand the fields of a culturally shaped religion in their practical execution it is not sufficient to look at them from a distance. If the purpose of education in state schools is not only to enable an interpretation of the world, but also to offer a way of engaging with it (Benner, 2004, p. 15), the question arises as to how an expansion of experience can take place in the classroom itself, which then serves as the foundation for a deeper understanding. "The aim here is consistently to offer today's pupils their own religious experiences through the active appropriation and transformation of predetermined religious forms of expression (especially from the Judeo-Christian tradition)"[2] (Englert, 2002, p. 32). At the same time, this line of argument repeatedly leads to the assumption that a performative approach is designed to compensate for primary religious experiences that no longer exist. Such an objective would in fact be inappropriate, but it is not the aim at all: The aim of performative approaches is not to compensate, but to understand religion.

Theological: Religion is more than just knowledge of faith moulded into formulas. It is characterised by forms of social and communal practice. Anyone who wants to understand the form-bound peculiarity of revealed religion and the associated religious practice is dependent on a "scenic and gestural, bodily and spatial representation"[3] (Klie & Leonhard, 2003, p. 14); they must "taste and feel"[4] religion (Mendl 2019b). A purely demonstrative teaching method is not sufficient; religion reveals itself "in form" (ibid., p. 147), and this form cannot only be observed from the outside, it must also be experienced in an appropriate way. This goes far beyond the ritual-liturgical realm: The ethics and social structure of Christianity can be understood in a deeper way if one has experienced the social-charitable activities on site; one can better fathom the distinctive way of life of people who come together to form religious groups if one spends some time with them; the aura of a Romanesque or Gothic church interior as well as of a mosque or synagogue can best be experienced and understood through the real exposure to the space. And, of course, this also applies to the particularly controversial field of ritual and liturgical practices: "Taizé is a phenomenon that cannot really be put into words, you have to experience it"[5] (Mendl & Schiefer Ferrari, 2006, p. 92), at least in the form of a Taizé prayer; a blessing needs to be felt, the multidimensional dialogue structure of a psalm prayer experienced, a pilgrimage walked. As will be discussed below, it is necessary to explore when adopting a participant's perspective ("in religion") and when adopting an observer's perspective ("from" or "about religion") is appropriate.

Learning theory: Sustainable learning succeeds when different learning domains are intelligently interlinked. The aim is to avoid purely inert knowledge. Understanding and retention are enhanced when implicit and declarative knowledge elements are didactically linked. This also means that the aim is not to replace discursive learning, but to create a well-founded learning setting in which different forms of learning are combined. A struggle for the significance of action-orientated and body-related performative forms of learning ...