Religious education enforces mutual understanding in Jordan

Clerics, intellectuals and researchers convened yesterday to discuss different approaches to teaching religion in schools and universities in the region, stressing the importance of inter-religious education to promote tolerance and understanding. Held under the patronage of HRH Prince Hassan, the symposium, “An Introduction to Religious Education and Cultural Studies in West Asia and North Africa”, was organised by the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies (RIIFS) in cooperation with the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Father George Massouh, director of the Centre of Christian-Muslim Studies at the University of Balamand in Lebanon, noted that there is a difference between religious instruction and religious education, stressing that the latter has to do more with teaching varied aspects of religions: their beliefs, rituals and rites.