ABSTRACT

Through the lens of an anticolonial (as opposed to postcolonial) analytical framework, this conceptual paper examines decolonising efforts (and failures) in Religious Education (RE) as a school subject in post-independent sub-Saharan Africa. It critiques the missionary/European epistemological hegemony that continues to render RE a colonial rather than a postcolonial project. Beyond rhetoric of the impact of colonialism, the paper laments the perversity of a ‘colonial caged mentality’ affecting the conceptualisation of RE in what is supposed to be a postcolonial milieu in which Africans should design school curricula that suit their particular needs. It calls for the re-conceptualisation of RE de-linked from colonial/Eurocentric thought patterns and presents an ‘envisioned’ decolonised RE (post-confessional, inclusive and multi-faith) that speaks to the political and socio-cultural reality of a postcolonial environment in sub-Saharan Africa. The argument in this paper is that sub-Saharan Africa should yearn for a paradigm shift not only to ensure the decolonisation of the RE curriculum, but also crucially to challenge embedded colonial residues inherent in stakeholders ‘manning the gates’ ensuring that decolonised RE is supported and implemented effectively in the curriculum and schools.

摘要

通过反殖民（而不是后殖民）分析框架的视角，本概念文件研究了宗教教育（RE）作为独立后撒哈拉以南非洲的学校主体在非殖民化方面的努力（和失败）。它批评了传教士/欧洲的认识论霸权，这种霸权继续使RE成为殖民地而不是后殖民时期的项目。除了对殖民主义的影响进行夸夸其谈之外，该论文还对影响殖民地概念化的“殖民地笼养心态”的变态感叹。在这种环境中，非洲人应该设计适合自己特殊需求的学校课程。它呼吁对与殖民地/欧洲中心思想模式脱钩的RE进行重新概念化，并提出“设想”的非殖民化RE（（悔后，包容和多信仰），这说明了撒哈拉以南非洲后殖民环境的政治和社会文化现实。本文的论点是，撒哈拉以南非洲不仅应该确保范式的转变，而且不仅要确保可再生能源课程的非殖民化，而且还必须挑战利益相关者固有的内在殖民地残留物，“确保实现非殖民化的可再生能源”得到支持并在课程和学校中得到有效实施。