Religious Education and religious diversity in Brazil: challenges for education

This article deals with Religious Education as a school subject. It includes a brief historical overview based on the Brazilian constitutions, emphasizing the discussions and polemics concerning the inclusion of Religious Education or not in the schools. The text presents data about diversity regarding religiosity in Brazil and relevant aspects to be considered in a kind of education that takes into account the religious plurality in the country. It reflects on the possibility of educating human beings for alterity and for tolerance. It concludes that religious education in the school may be one of the spaces for tolerance through a dialogue in which there is respect and sensibility to accept the presence of different religious traditions within the classroom.