PURPOSE The purpose of this study is to analyze the current status of religious education based upon the conventions of general education (liberal arts education) and to present suggestions for future improvement based on the study’s findings.
CONTENTS When compared to similar studies at secondary schools, studies on religious education conducted at institutes of higher education have been relatively neglected. Research on religious education in universities is usually limited to reports on the current status of general education as implemented by private universities and introductory research on prospects and tasks. This is because, unlike secondary education, higher education tends more towards implementing the founding ideology or educational goal of a given school. However, as societal interest in religious education at private universities increases, so too does attention to its strengths and weaknesses.
RESULTS This study carefully analyzes the problems faced by the current religious education systems used by universities and then presents detail-oriented alternatives. Furthermore, by examining the possibility of religious education as the essence of general education, this study becomes an opportunity to expand and deepen interest in religious education in the future and in discourse on academia.