The following essay will illustrate the planning, implementation and evaluation of a teaching unit concerned with the interpretation of the cross in a 12th grade of a Hamburg grammar school. Previous teaching experiences in this learning group have revealed that the pupils connote the cross positively, although their religious socialisation has to be considered rather low. The teaching unit, which is undertaken based on the interpretation of a poster of the initiative "Brot für die Welt" ("Bread for the World"), confirms that the teenagers perceive the cross as a symbol for faith, trust and hope. Instead of employing the traditional categories of theology or dogmatics for their interpretations of the cross, the pupils use terms from their own living environment and world of thought. The cross is not just any symbol for them, but rather summarises the pupils' personal attitudes. Thus, a number of consequences can be drawn from this teaching unit for religious education in general: The teacher should be interested in the diversity of the pupils' interpretations. Classes of religious education should be linked with the pupils' lives. The creation of a theology for teenagers is highly important. It is the main task of such a theology to show how theological tradition is relevant for the teenagers' current vital questions.

Enthalten in:
Glaube und Lernen; 2012/1 Theologie interdisziplinär und praktisch (2012)

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Serie / Reihe: Glaube und Lernen

Personen: Butt, Christian Freudenberger-Lötz, Petra

Schlagwörter: Empirische Untersuchung Religionsunterricht Theologia crucis