On the value of religious education

The purpose of the article is to underpin the value of religious education. The leading research method was the analysis of scientific research papers, which not only touch upon the justification of the value of religious education but also question it. Since the issue of the value of religious education is not in the focus of attention of modern domestic researchers, the authors of the article turned to the study of the works of foreign English-speaking authors. The article analyzes the situation with religious education in modern Russia, based on which it is concluded that it is currently available to a small percentage of students due to its presence exclusively in confessional-oriented schools, which make up a small number of all secondary schools in the country. At the same time, the orientation of our country's social and educational policy towards educating the younger generations in adherence to traditional spiritual and moral values in our opinion makes the necessity of including religious knowledge in the content of modern education urgent. Further in the article, the parallels with the development of religious education in England are drawn. Using the example of this country, the problems and dangers that arise when moving away from confessional teaching of religion to the study of world religions and various worldviews are detected and analyzed. At the same time, the paper contains the conditions under which familiarization of schoolchildren with the basics of traditional religions can be useful and safe. Moreover, the article argues that a confessional approach to religious education should be favored, focusing on immanent and instrumental value of religious education and refuting the arguments of its opponents.