18 Introduction of connections—that is, to others, to the community, to society as a whole and, finally, to the world itself as God’s created whole. Such a Biblically holistic approach recognises ‘the art of living together’ as, just like Prideaux (1940) stated, ‘an obvious and permanent need in all ages’ (p. 203). Theologically, this art is connected to God’s command to practice agapè, while holistically, it focuses on the importance of a sense of belonging (Valle Painter, 2013) in relation to a complex network of relationships. The present study relates this approach to society and the world as they exist today, not shying away from reality but studying how to live together in it. Or, as this dissertation’s title indicates, to be ‘faithfully connected’ with reality. This broad, Biblically holistic approach to citizenship education responds to the perceived needs of (especially) Western societies with regard to citizenship education. During the early years of the 21st century, the strengthening of citizenship through education was placed firmly on the political agenda practically everywhere in the West (Banks, 2008). For example, in the Netherlands, where the empirical part of this study was conducted at Driestar Christian University (DCU)—as a case study of faith-based teacher training in modern society (4)—the government first (in 2006) asked schools to educate students in ‘social integration’ and then (in 2021) specified that to mean ‘social cohesion’ (Kuiper, 2023) (5). A perceived lack of social cohesion raises an open question regarding (lost) connectedness to which religious education in particular should and can respond (Bertram-Troost & Miedema, 2022; de Bas & van Meir, 2023; van Gaans, 2024) (6). Following Prideaux’ example, I would like to define citizenship broadly as ‘the art of living together’, adding for today’s societal and political context the words ‘respecting fundamental differences in culture, ethnicity and basic life conceptions’. Citizenship education I would like to describe as ‘the art of creating social cohesion by inviting students 4 In Section 3 of this introduction and, later, in Chapter 5.1, Driestar Christian University will be described as a typical faith-based institute for teacher training in the modern context. 5 ‘Social cohesion’ is a broader term that includes knowledge of the democratic system, respect for otherness, attitude and the school culture. 6 ‘Bezieling’ (inspiration, animation) is an important term in this context. Bertram-Troost and Miedema spoke of ‘spirited’ education, while De Bas and Van Meir distinguished the ‘spirited citizen’ as one among four types of citizenship to which primary schools aspire. Whereas other schools opt for the adaptive citizen, the individualistic citizen, or the critical-democratic citizen, Christian schools often opt for the spirited citizen, in which consideration for the other, ethical behaviour, compassion and care for the environment are central (de Bas & van Meir, 2023, pp. 21-22).
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTk4NDMw