Dimensions of hermeneutical research in religious education. Methodological foundations

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Claudia Gärtner
• Subject Area: Roman Catholic Theology ; Protestant Theology
• Term: since 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 463394514

Until the 1980s, studies in religious education were dominated by hermeneutical and historical research approaches. From the 1990s onwards, empirical methods were increasingly integrated and methodologically reflected upon, without a comparable methodological discussion taking place with regard to hermeneutical dimensions of religious education research. Thus, a corresponding desideratum regarding a research methodology of hermeneutical research in religious education can still be discerned today in research on religious education and hermeneutics. The network applied for is dedicated to this desideratum and aims at a methodological consolidation and further development of the hermeneutical dimensions of research in religious education. The network will bring together scholars from Protestant, Catholic and Islamic Religious Education, as this is a fundamental challenge for the entire field of religious education studies. A total of five working meetings of the network are planned, whereby six or seven guests in addition to the seven permanent members of the network will be invited to two working meetings to broaden and complement the horizon of the topic in an interdisciplinary way. Important reference sciences are the educational sciences, the theologies and other (subject specific) didactics.The network aims at:(1) a subject-specific foundation for research in religious education and hermeneutics by exploring and discussing their basic historical and semantic structures as well as quality criteria and developing possible methodological settings.(2) strengthening the interdisciplinary connectivity of research in religious education and hermeneutics, especially with regard to terminology and research methodology. (3) the publication of the results in the form of a handbook to be published at the end of 2024. The publication is intended to provide a basis for hermeneutical work in religious education studies, to give orientation and to increase its interdisciplinary legitimacy. In terms of research strategy, the handbook is intended to contribute to the development and strengthening of standards in religious education research, also with regard to third-party funding and evaluation.

• DFG Programme: Scientific Networks