In Brussels' Catholic schools, the attitudes of certain students reflect a growing tendency to withdraw and assert their identity. Through “symbol workshops”, teachers are attempting to resolve these hardening attitudes by deconstructing religious stereotypes and encouraging the rebuilding of more thoughtful religious perceptions. For this purpose, they use objects associated with religious worship so that students can delve into the symbolic universe of the other, with the help of their five senses. In addition, by establishing connections between symbols, students are better equipped to distinguish the similarities and differences between beliefs. This article describes the approach (objectives, procedures, guiding principles) and, through the application of various concepts drawn from religious education, seeks to understand how these workshops facilitate the construction of more communicative identities in young people.
Geoffrey Legrand (Wed,) studied this question.