After the collapse of apartheid, South Africa adopted a new political regime in 1994 that promoted democratic values to build a socially cohesive nation out of a fractured past. The post-apartheid state changed its education policies to reflect this democratic framework that recognised, appreciated, and accommodated the diverse reality of the country’s population. More specifically, Religion Education was incorporated into the school curriculum that focussed on teaching and learning about “religion, religions, and religious diversity” (Chidester, 2003, p. 262). Religion Studies was a specialised subject for senior learners that formed part of the Religion Education curriculum. This paper will explore how the post-apartheid South African education policies recognise the value of Religion Studies and its role in creating inter-religious cooperation in the country’s schools and communities. I will explain the South African Schools Act and National Policy of Religion and Education as two key education policies that underpin the subject Religion Studies. However, while Religion Studies will be shown as aiming to build inter-religious cooperation, I will discuss that this is a challenging process considering that a strong Christian ethos is still promoted by some public schools in the country. I argue that Religion Studies has a transformative role in the South African classroom since it promotes the importance of values in transforming (inter-religious) relationships within schools and outside of them.

中文翻译：

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宗教间合作及其在南非学校和公共生活中的挑战

种族隔离制度崩溃之后，南非于1994年采用了新的政治制度，该制度提倡民主价值观，以从破碎的过去中建立起具有社会凝聚力的国家。种族隔离后的国家改变了教育政策，以反映这种民主框架，这种民主框架承认，赞赏并适应了该国人口的多样化现实。更具体地说，宗教教育被纳入学校课程，该课程侧重于“宗教，宗教和宗教多样性”的教与学（Chidester，2003年，第262页）。宗教研究是面向高级学习者的专门课程，是宗教教育课程的一部分。本文将探讨种族隔离后的南非教育政策如何认识到宗教研究的价值及其在该国学校和社区中建立宗教间合作的作用。我将解释《南非学校法》和《宗教与国家教育政策》，这是支撑“宗教研究”主题的两项关键教育政策。但是，虽然宗教研究将显示出建立宗教间合作的目的，但我将讨论这是一个具有挑战性的过程，因为该国一些公立学校仍在倡导强大的基督教精神。我认为宗教研究在南非课堂上具有变革性的作用，因为它促进了价值观在转变学校内部和外部的（宗教间）关系中的重要性。