CURRICULUM FOR RELIGION, PHILOSOPHIES OF LIFE AND ETHICS (RLE1-01)

Basic skills are integrated in the competence aims for this course in areas where they contribute to the development of and are a part of basic subject competence. In Religion, Philosophies of life and Ethics (RLE), basic skills are understood as follows:

Being able to express oneself orally in RLE involves using spoken language to communicate and explain religions and philosophies of life, ethics and philosophy. Oral skills such as conversation, dialogue, storytelling skills and reports and expositions are means to experience wonder, reflect on ideas and learn argumentation. A great deal of emphasis is placed on storytelling as an oral form of expression in the subject.

Being able to express oneself in writing in RLE involves being able to express knowledge and viewpoints about religion and philosophies of life, ethics and philosophy. Writing clarifies thoughts, experiences and one's own views, and is helpful as a tool in interpreting, argumentation and communicating. Writing in RLE also involves encountering different kinds of written aesthetic forms of expression, and making use of these.

Being able to read in RLE involves experiencing and understanding written texts. Reading is used to gather information, interpret what one reads and reflect on this, and use facts and analytical skills when encountering stories and subject matter from traditional means of communication and in modern multimedia channels.

Numeracy in RLE involves being able to apply different ways of viewing historic time and ways of presenting yearly cycles, finding one's way through religious texts, encountering mathematical expressions and numerical symbolism, and interpreting and using statistics. Being able to recognise and use geometric patterns in aesthetic expression and architecture presupposes simple proficiency in calculating.

Being able to use digital tools in RLE is helpful to explore religion and philosophies of life to find different presentations and perspectives. An important skill is being able to use available digital material such as images, texts, music and film in a manner that unites creativity with a conscious use of source criticism. Digital media brings new possibilities for communication and dialogue about religion and philosophies of life. These media also create the opportunity for wider access to study material about current ethical questions.