| Summary: | The aim of this study is to examine high school students’ perceptions of Christianity,Islam and their followers. This is performed with the purpose of raising awareness of students’ authentic understandings of religion – so that their perceptions, and perhaps prejudices, could actively and effectively be addressed during school hours.The data was collected through interviews in focus groups, where a total of 10 students were asked questions about their perceptions of Christianity and Islam. The results show that a majority of the students have a negative attitude towards traditional religious beliefs in general, and that most them, consequently, have strong preconceptions regarding both Christians and Muslims. However, the findings display that there are some evident differences between the ways students view Christian and Islamic faith. These dissimilarities mainly seem to revolve around the idea that Christians typically are born within “rational and modern societies” – and therefore “should know better” than to believe in God. In contrast, there is a strong notion that Muslims generally are born in “less fortunate societies”, and thus cannotbe held accountable for their “illogical” beliefs. The study concludes that there is an alarming need for schools to pay attention to, and thereafter challenge, students’religious preconceptions.
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