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Otto Tuomela Philosophy major, University of Jyväskylä otto.h.tuomela@jyu.fi

Upper secondary school philosophy students’ attitudes towards religious education in school A study in Central Finland. Otto Tuomela Philosophy major, University of Jyväskylä otto.h.tuomela@jyu.fi. Outline. I. Introduction II. Purpose III. Research question and hypothesis

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Otto Tuomela Philosophy major, University of Jyväskylä otto.h.tuomela@jyu.fi

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  1. Upper secondary school philosophy students’ attitudes towards religious education in schoolA study in Central Finland Otto Tuomela Philosophy major, University of Jyväskylä otto.h.tuomela@jyu.fi

  2. Outline I. Introduction II. Purpose III. Research question and hypothesis IV. Related studies V. Population and methods No data has yet been analyzed.

  3. Introduction It’s a common misconception that students of philosophy are atheists, and even anti-religious.

  4. Purpose • To map students’ attitudes towards religion in education. • To find out whether philosophical abstract and hypothetical thinking affects religious belief. • To answer the conception if studying philosophy makes one prone to atheism.

  5. Research question and hypothesis • Q: How do Finnish upper secondary school students react towards religious education in school? • H: Negatively. • Religiousness is a private matter, and asking about it directly is commonly considered inconsiderate.

  6. Related studies • Abstract categorical and hypothetical thinking is instrumental to questioning the existence of deities (Cheyne, 2009). • Philosophy teaches theories that promote atheism or at least question the existence of God (Jacovides 2007; Kail, 2007; Santaniello, 2007; Viney, 2008;).

  7. According to the Finnish Youth Barometer of 2006, 45 percent of 15-19-year-olds consider themselves religious (Myllyniemi, 2006)

  8. In the Finnish Youth Barometer of 2008, 72 percent of 15-29-year-olds think that religion as a school subject is only somewhat or not at all important (Myllyniemi, 2008)

  9. Population and methods • The research population cosists of students from four different elective courses of philosophy. So far, 58 students have participated. • The data is collected with the following questionnaire (in Finnish). Questions 1-4 are rated on a scale of 1-6, question 5 is open-ended.

  10. Questionnaire Sex: f / m Age: Religion: • Religious education in school is useful. • Religious education in school is important. • Religious education in school is interesting. • Religion is to be taught in school. • Please give a short explanation to your answers.

  11. References • Cheyne, J. A. (2009). Atheism rising. Skeptic, 15 (2), 33-37. • Helve, H., Hjelm, T., Myllyniemi, S., Paakkunainen, K., Wilska, T.-A. (2006). Uskon asia Nuorisobarometri 2006 (The Youth Barometer). Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta, julkaisuja 34, 66, 124-125. • Huttunen, T., Kareinen, H., Korpinen, S., Kuure, T., Ojakoski, M., Jokihaara, N., Tuuttila, L. (2008). Mitä kuuluu? Nuorisobarometri 2008 (The Youth Barometer). Nuorisoasiain neuvottelukunta, julkaisuja 39, 24. • Jacovides, M. (2007). How is Descartes’ argument against scepticism better than Putnam’s? Philosophical Quarterly, 57 (229), 593-612. • Kail, P.J.E. (2007). Understanding Hume’s natural history of religion. Philosophical Quarterly, 57 (227), 190-211. • Santaniello, W. (2007). Review of Nietzsche’s philosophy of religion. Ars Disputandi, 7. • Viney, W. (2008). Religion and science in Christendom: A history of intellectual warfare and accommodation. Midwest Quarterly, 49 (4), 343-357.

  12. Thank you for listening! Please feel free to ask questions and offer suggestions concerning my research.

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