Religious Education in Finland: Promoting Intelligent Belief?

This article discusses current dilemmas in religious education in Finland. Different interpretations of confessional religious education are presented in the context of the Lutheran tradition. Pedagogical applications of religious education advocated by Michael Grimmitt are explored as plausible approaches in promoting the religious understanding of students. The article presents some suggestions to enrich Grimmitt's pedagogy with a more argumentative approach, which unites both reason and feeling. Such an intelligent approach is arguably in accord with the pedagogical interpretation of confessional religious education.