Stimulating Inquisitiveness: Teachers at Orthodox Protestant Schools about their Roles in Religious Socialization

Previous research showed that strong religious communities wish for cohesion and cooperation between pedagogical environments in religious socialization. This explorative and descriptive study examines what Dutch orthodox Protestant primary school teachers perceive to be their role in comparison with others, such as parents. We extensively interviewed 16 teachers. Their professional ideals show that being an agent in religious socialization matters to them. Teachers experience cooperation with other agents with the purpose of children becoming committed Christians. However, they perceive their roles to differ in five ways. Stimulating inquisitiveness could be seen as exemplary for the teacher’s role.