Religious foundation of education

Transcription

1 Available online at Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 47 ( 2012 ) CY-ICER 2012 Religious foundation of education Seyed Aliakbar Rabinataj a *, Ramezan Mahdavi Azadboni b a University of MazandaranBabolsar, ,Iran b University of Mazandaran,Babolsar, ,Iran Abstract The significance and value of learning and education is an evident fact in all cultures and religions. In Holy Bible and Holy Quran knowledge and learning is encouraged repeatedly as the major value in human life. But learning and education in religion is based on some particular kind of human understanding. It seems that he current situation in which learning and education is rendering ignore many religious perceptions. The aim of this paper is to deal with the religious part of learning and education and it is considered as the undeniable and necessary part of knowledge and learning. The writer attempts to display how Biblical and Islamic teachings lie down the very basic foundation of learning and education. The main idea both in Islam and Christianity as the basis of learning and education comes in term of spiritual understanding of humanity which is weakened and somehow ignored in current situation. Keywords: : education, religion, God, Islam, Christianity 1. Introduction Where dose learning processes go? What destination has education? Is education and learning process value free? There are many such questions that could not be ignored without coasts. We always think that by learning and education we could make desired favorable changes in young generation and thus we would shape our society and cultures. Knowledge and learning is itself a value. But careful contemplation reveals that there are values that knowledge itself has to follow them. Knowledge is considered as weapon without proper guidance may lead to disaster. It is a light when handed over to a thief, help in robbery. It is essential that we value education and realize that it can open doors for our young people. Education and its role in aiding young people to become good citizens are at the centre of public debate in many countries. Our young people are losing their way and falling victim to drugs, violence, prison, unemployment, and poor education. The feeling of loneliness depression must be added to g and working together for a brighter future for our young people. The absence of holistic view in education is evident and any serious attempt to overcome such problem as mentioned above has to pay effective attention to religion. Educational values and purpose could not be achieved if the knowledge of the essence of human purpose on earth is excluded or sidelined from education curriculum. Campuses are not isolated from the wider societies. The prevailing values and * Seyed Aliakbar Rabinataj address: sm.raninatag@gmail.com Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and/or peer review under responsibility of Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Uzunboylu Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license. doi: /j.sbspro

2 630 Seyed Aliakbar Rabinataj and Ramezan Mahdavi Azadboni / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 47 ( 2012 ) philosophy in a country filters through her education system and as such directly affect younger generation. Religion by giving purpose and meaning to human life easily pave the educational way. Education is about transmitting the philosophy of life to the new generation and preparing them to take on the task in future. It is about linking generations together. "Education is a social process designed and organized to induct the rising generation into membership in a group, whether the group is a tribe, a community or a nation". (Collier, 1993,p.581)So, the sort of curriculum young people of a land is subjected to, depends wholly on the ideology of the land. "The aims and content of education are intimately connected with views about the kind of society we wish to live in".(white, 1993,p16) 2. Current Situation of Learning and Education The modern western society has developed by leaps and bounds in technological advancement and organized institutions. Life has become fast, competitive and complex. With the rapid rise of materialism, the concept of higher purpose of life is all but lost. As a result, societies are losing many values and norms.we are in an era dictated by the philosophy of moral relativism. In this moral maze spiritual bankruptcy should be considered serious challenge and danger for human being, its learning and education. There does not seem to be any absolute values and norms of life. Everything changes according to the needs and demands of people. While societies are creating needs, consumerism is influencing societies. This has given rise to global consumerism of an unparalleled strength. Human behavior is changing accordingly. The vacuum created by the weakening of religious influence in the West since scientific revolution must me overcame by well constructing the process of learning and education. While some intend to substitute science to religion and make other things such as science as an absolute alternative for religion some event in 20 century has proved and displayed that human life based merely on science is suffering from critical condition. Teaching young generation to become good citizens of a society without helping them acquire universal values put forward by religion is a common challenge for our century. History has witnessed the appalling brutalities carried out by people who are called as 'good citizens' of society. According to some thinkers such as Iqbal, the philosopher poet of the East, the exclusion of religion from public life gives rise to atrocities. Ignorance and excessive enthusiasm in any religion may lead to similar disaster in humanity as well. Therefore, religion here I mean the values which give direction human life beyond mundane life and the perspective according to which human life is not limited to this worldly universe and the nature of man is not confined to his bodily life too. 3. Learning and Education in Religion According to Christianity the first step of education is to have one's eyes opened and be turned from darkness to light. (Acts 26:18) It is not good that the soul be without knowledge. (Proverbs 19:2) Only in God's light can we see light. (Psalm 36:9)He says: Prov. 4:7 - "Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding." Prov. 2:3-5 - "Call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding..." The Bible says to fathers: Bring up your children "in the training and instruction of the Lord,"(Eph. 6:4) for He is the source of all knowledge and understanding. If parents neglect to instill Christian values in their children, then there will be major problems in family and society. Fathers and mothers have the duty to care for the souls in their family. The Bible says: "Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it." (Proverbs 22:6). According to bible God and the values related to Him are the basic part of learning, knowledge and education so learning and education

3 Seyed Aliakbar Rabinataj and Ramezan Mahdavi Azadboni / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 47 ( 2012 ) without being based on it must be looked down. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.(proverbs 9:10 ) According to Islam, human being has a meaning and purpose on earth and he is the vicegerent or, caliph (al- Qur'an 2:30) of God on earth. Man is created with the free will to choose between right and wrong. Two inherent but contrasting natures is imbedded within him, the ability to do good or evil (al-qur'an 91:8). This is an immense test for him. But man is also born in nature (fitra), the nature of submission to the will of his Creator. According to a avy burden on every human being. Thus, the main focus of education in Islam is child-centered and bent on preparing him for that greater role in the most effective way. Islam has, from its inception, recognized first order value for education and has enjoyed a long and rich intellectual tradition. Knowledge occupies a significant position within Islam, as evidenced by the more than 800 references to it in Islam's most revered book, the Quran. The importance of education is repeatedly emphasized in the Quran with frequent injunctions, such as "God will exalt those of you who believe and those who have knowledge to high degrees" (58:11), "O my Lord! Increase me in knowledge" (20:114),.Such verses provide a forceful stimulus for the Islamic community to strive for education and learning. According to Islamic perspective the mind of the child was believed to be "like a white clean paper, once anything is written on it, right or wrong, it will be difficult to erase it or superimpose new writing upon it" (Abdul Tibawi, 1972,p. 38). Learning and education in Islamic context is regarded as a process that involves the complete person, including the rational, spiritual, and social dimensions. The comprehensive and integrated approach to education in Islam is directed t -Attas,1979,p. 158). In Islamic educational theory knowledge is gained in order to actualize and perfect all dimensions of the human being and the goal of Islamic education is that people be able to live as he lived. Education does prepare humankind for happiness in this life, "its ultimate goal is the abode of permanence and all education points to the permanent world of eternity" (Nasr,1984,p. 7). To ascertain truth by reason alone is restrictive, according to Islam, because spiritual and temporal reality is two sides of the same sphere. Many Muslim educationists argue that favoring reason at the expense of spirituality interferes with balanced growth. Exclusive training of the intellect, for example, is inadequate in developing and refining elements of love, kindness, compassion, and selflessness, which have an altogether spiritual ambiance and can be engaged only by processes of spiritual training.education in Islam is twofold: acquiring intellectual knowledge (through the application of reason and logic) and developing spiritual knowledge (derived from divine revelation and spiritual experience). According to the worldview of Islam, provision in education must be made equally for both. Acquiring knowledge in Islam is not intended as an end but as a means to stimulate a more elevated moral and spiritual consciousness, leading to faith and righteous action. 4. Man in Holy Bible The point is that learning and education without values are blind so it lead to darkness while religion promise to direct toward real life and enhance the life of human being through learning and education. Religion gives true identity by virtue of which man is able to achieve real life an extended life in bodily and spiritual direction. As it was indicated in above there are many values in Holy Bible and Holy Quran that learning and education is not directing the real goal without being taught and practiced in public and society. But to perceive Biblical and Quraanic values truly it is necessary to understand how Holy Bible and Holy Quran perceive human beings. According to the Bible, God creates the universe out of nothing (ex nihilo) and not out of his own substance (ex Deo). This "nothing" has no ontological statute; it is not a primordial substance, because prior to creation, nothing existed except God. Creation ex nihilo is not an artifice of Judeo-Christian philosophy, but the only possibility compatible with the existence of a personal God as Ultimate Reality. The creation of humans follows the act of

4 632 Seyed Aliakbar Rabinataj and Ramezan Mahdavi Azadboni / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 47 ( 2012 ) creating the physical universe, as is mentioned in the Genesis account:the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2,7). Unlike the physical world, the human being has a physical dimension (the body) and a spiritual one (the soul). Both are created by God at the same time, so the human being is not a pre-existent celestial soul fallen into a material body. Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground." (Genesis 1,26-27).Of course he fact that humans were created in the image and likeness of God does not imply that God has a physical nature. While God's image is imprinted on humans and remains in them as their personal character, the "likeness" is defined as a way of being. It corresponds to a free will relationship of obedience to the creator. While the image is an ontological fact of human nature, the likeness is an attribute that has to be built up through exercising the relationship with God. Man does not have the nature of God, but only qualities resembling his. Therefore, "the breath of life" (Genesis 2,7), which God has transmitted to humans, is not a essence but the act of life giving, which marked the beginning of experiencing self-consciousness. According to Christianity, human personhood has real and unique value. Both body and soul define human personhood and neither of them is intrinsically bad or illusory. The command says: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbour as yourself" (Luke 10,27). Nor do the elements of psycho-mental life have anything bad in themselves, reason for which Christianity demands the renewal of mind (Romans 12,2), discernment between good and bad feelings (Galatians 5,16-23) and using the will for good purposes (Titus 3,8). Nowhere in the Holy Scripture is it taught that they should be annihilated in order to grasp a higher impersonal Ultimate Reality. In Christianity like Islamic perspective, mankind the sense of the "I" itself is not the cause of problems but its wrong usage, which generates bad products, such as egoism. Without personhood and self-consciousness, in other words without the quality that makes one person different from another, the idea of personal communion with God, the very reason humans were created, is absurd. In conclusion, Christianity brings a major novelty in defining human nature. Humans are created as personal beings by a personal God, but without having the same essence with him. Personhood holds nothing wrong in itself, but is the premise for grounding a personal relationship with the creator. heart is depicted as something that can think and understand (Matthew 9,4; 13,15), be troubled (John 14,1; Romans 9,2), rejoice (Ephesians 5,19), make decisions (2 Corinthians 9,7) and also participate in salvation by expressing faith (Romans 10,9-10). There is no d perception is the base of biblical values that could not be ignored in learning and education unless in some extent the destruction of public life and society is expected. 4.Man in Holy Quran On the basis of particular kind of human understanding, Islam presents particular kind of values. Islam plays a significant role in satisfying our physical as well as spiritual needs. It teaches us, a code of behaviour, and conservation of social values and gives us a meaning for our existence. The Islamic educational system as Biblical teachings does not acquire conceptions about life, death and the Universe from the materialistic and secular world, and must purify its curriculum from any materialistic ideas that contradict basic facts in Islam. The Quran presents the creation and fall in a way similar to the Biblical tradition. Humans and angels were created to worship Allah (Quran 51,56). Allah created Adam and commanded that he be worshiped by all angels. Satan (Iblis) opposed this

5 Seyed Aliakbar Rabinataj and Ramezan Mahdavi Azadboni / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 47 ( 2012 ) command and only then was he banished from heaven: And surely, We created you (your father Adam) and then gave you shape (the noble shape of a human being), then We told the angels, "Prostrate to Adam";, and they prostrated, except Iblis (Satan), he refused to be of those who prostrate. Allah said: "What prevented you Iblis, that you did not prostrate, when I commanded you?" Iblis said: "I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from clay. Allah said: "O, Iblis, get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced." (Quran 7,11-13) After this episode Iblis planned to deceive humans and make them disobedient to God, which he accomplished in a similar way to the biblical account (see Quran 7,20-21). However, in Islam there is no such thing as original sin. Although Adam and Eve sinned, they repented and were forgiven, so that their sin had no repercussions for the rest of the human race. In their present condition, humans are exhorted not to repeat the mistake of Adam, and also warned that the devil attempts to cheat them by all means (Quran 7,27). However, all people sin because of the passion to which they are subjected by Satan and because they are careless about the demands of the Quran. For each individual are appointed two angels who record all sins and good deeds that are performed during his or her life, and these records will be revealed at the final judgment. Behold doings] learn and note them, one sitting on the right and one on the left. Not a word does he utter but there is a sentinel by him, ready to note it. (Quran 50,17-19) 5.Concluding Remarks In learning and education in particular in outcome based education we display our deep concern over young generation. Desired change is expected to take place within young people. Any educational system -as what was common in traditional educational system - loading huge information onto young generation, is degraded. In this paper it was displayed that while learning and education is a significant value but there are other values that must be taken into consideration in learning and education. Religious teaching such as Biblical and Quranic teachings are included values related to the purpose and meaning of life and perception of human beings that could not be ignored in learning and education. Any learning and education that are not included such values suffer from lack of favorite and perfect outcome and change. To have an outcome based education, this paper suggest, we must invite religion and values it suggests in learning and education. Therefore, reconstruction of curriculum for the inclusion of religious teachings and its value is necessary for education. Religious values must be a real part of education from school. References Holly Bible Holly Quran Abdullah, Abdul-Rahman Salih, Educational Theory: A Qur'anic Outlook. Makkah, Saudi Arabia: Umm al-qura University Press Collier's Encyclopedia, P. F. Collier, Inc., 1993 AL-Attas, Syed Muhammad AL-Naquib Aims and Objectives of Islamic Education. Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: Hodder and Stoughton Nasr, Seyy ed Hossein "The Islamic Philosophers' Views on Education." Muslim Education Quarterly 2 (4):5 16 White, John, London Education Studies Kogan, Education and the Good Life 1993.