Religio-cultural perspectives and their contributions to the historical development of education and the civilization of nations

Abstract

This treatise ruminates on the religio-cultural perspectives of education which undoubtedly consist the summit and fulcrum of education. This perspective of education, which is usually neglected and denigrated by some educationists, occupies a central place in the life and being of humanity because culture and religion are of the essence of man. These two all-essential elements of man’s social environment are definitive of the personality and identity of man as a member of a given human society. Hence, they constitute the foundations of formal, semi-formal and informal education. The main objective of this treatise is to deductively demonstrate that culture has been crucial to the historical development of education globally. The methods adopted in this study is the expository analytic and the hermeneutical methods. With the aid of the expository method, this study reveals that education, culture and religion are intrinsically related and they essentially impact the social life of man. The research demonstrates that cultural and religious beliefs of peoples or nations have inexorably shaped their philosophies and conceptualization of education. Based on the findings of this critical analysis, the study concludes that the history and development of education cannot be plausibly recounted and substantiated if the contributions of major world cultures and mainstream religions are not considered. Therefore, the researcher recommends that curriculum studies and planning must necessarily integrate cultural and religious factors in order to make such studies existentially and pragmatically relevant to the social ethos, needs and historical challenges of the society.