"First language Catholic catechesis in Norway: Teaching (religion) for the diaspora". This was the title of the paper given by Anders Aschim at the conference Religion and spirituality as sites of learning in Åbo (Turku), Finland, 15 – 17 May 2023.
All Catholic children in Norway should in principle take part in faith education in Norwegian language. This may be a challenge for children and youth with limited command of Norwegian. In many places, education is also given in languages such as Polish, Lithuanian, Vietnamese or Tamil. However, many participants are fluid Norwegian speakers. Why do they still participate, and what do they learn - apart from the core of Catholic catechesis, a common faith and practice? Interestingly, this turns out to be an important arena for first language learning and practice.
The conference was hosted by Donner Institute for Research into Religion and Culture and the research project Learning from New Religion and Spirituality (LeNeRe). About 70 researchers from 13 different countries took part.