Protestant Education of Responsibility Theory A Contribution to Reeevelopment of a religious pedagogical Reflection Dimension

Recent publications in the field of general pedagogy in Germany show a remarkable revival of religion as an integral topic of educational scholarship. However, this increasing attentiveness has not led to promoting interdisciplinary dialogue with Religious Pedagogy. The existing abundance of theories of religious education does not seem to have any recognizable influence whatsoever on the pedagogical debates about the question of the pedagogical relevance of religion. This alarming invisibility of Religious Pedagogy in educational scholarship can be understood as an unintended side effect of its strategy of specialization. The intrinsic modern concentration on religious aspects of training at the beginning of the nineteenth century enabled Religious Pedagogy to become the established academic discipline that it is today. Without a doubt, specialization guarantees a high degree of expertise, but it also narrows the view, which again makes interdisciplinary cooperation rather unlikely. The author therefore pleads for a broader perspective in research that includes the entire spectrum of educational scholarship, whereby both pedagogical as well as theological responsibility are to be perceived. A corresponding theoretical framework is developed in a constructive and critical dialogue with Karl Ernst Nipkow's widely-referenced observations regarding the ecclesial responsibility for education.