Organizing denominational Religious Education at the local level

A bottom-up approach to the complexity of collaborative organizational practices at vocational schools

Abstract

In Germany, the implementation of interdenominational Religious Education mostly follows a top-down logic. However, it is worthwhile to consider a bottom-up approach, especially in the field of vocational schools, which is rich in variety and demanding in terms of school organization. By this, appropriate forms of Religious Education could be developed in orientation to local organizational practices at vocational schools. In this article such a bottom-up approach is outlined. It builds on qualitative-empirical findings from the StReBe school project. The empirical data which was collected in interviews with central school stakeholders as well as by participant observation. The findings point to interconnected challenges in the organisation of Religious Education at the local level. Additionally, they show the potential of interdenominational cooperation, insofar as it contributes to reduc­ing the organisational complexity of Religious Education in vocational schools.