Section Education & Educational Research

MORAL EDUCATION BETWEEN IDEAL AND POPULISM

Lecturer Dr. Marin Drămnescu Lumina – The University of South-East Europe, Bucharest, Romania

Lecturer Dr. Ragîp Gokcel

ABSTRACT

The article presents the possible impact of populism on the two basic dimensions of

education: moral education and religious education. The current society is characterized

by a decline in moral and religious values on the personality formation of the trainee

and on the metaphysical- religious conception of the world and man. This phenomenon

causes a vulnerability of the educational system and the Church to the aggressiveness of

the manifestations of the populist phenomenon, a phenomenon on the rise in Eastern

Europe. A certain inertia specific to both educational and religious systems, combined

with some traditional and anti-Reformation attitudes, can be a fertile land for asserting a

populist corrosive speech with long-term adverse effects in their formative objectives.

Keywords: populism, moral education, religious education, ethics, moral values.

1. INTRODUCTION

In Romania, the educational ideal lies in the free, full and harmonious development of

human individuality, in the autonomous personality formation and in the assumption of

a system of values that are necessary for personal fulfillment and development, for

entrepreneurship development, for active citizen participation in society, for social

inclusion and employability [1].

The formation of an autonomous personality by assuming a system of values necessary

for personal development necessarily implies the existence beyond the normativity of

that system which is to be assumed. In other words, the moral consciousness appears as

a structure composed of cognitive, emotional, volitional and action-practical elements

and its obvious objectives lie in the formation of both moral conscience and moral

behavior [2].

The construction and operationalization of this system are the task of moral education.

2. ETHIC AND MORAL. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

Etymologically, the two concepts, ethics and morals have different sources of origin,

ethics in Greek, where ethos designates character, habit, tradition, ability, and morals of

Latin, moris meaning morals, too [3].

Unlike morals, ethics has a strong theoretical character. Morals requires a cohesive set

of goals and means with which these goals can be achieved. It also proposes a set of

moral values in the form of concepts with which classifications of human behaviors and

their effects: faithful, unfaithful, loyal, treacherous, good, bad, honest, efficient,

accurate, can be operated. On the other hand, morals also exposes a set of moral

imperatives or permissiveness, such as: must, necessary, compulsory, permitted, free

[3]. Thus, by the framework of morals are developed concepts and principles necessary

or possible for the theoretical reconfiguration of the society morals and also rules for

moral reasoning [3].

SGEM 2014 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts

While morals is manifested in the form of imperative and normative speeches, resulting

from the opposition between good and evil, understood as absolute or transcendent

values, ethics has a standardized speech , but non imperative resulting from good-evil

opposition, considered as relative values [3].

Morality or the quality of being moral involves manifested human action, measurable

and observable, more or less conscious, subjective, not imposed and responsible at the

same time. Morality is in opposition to immorality understood as the will to do evil,

injustice, deliberate violation of rules, of community conventions, corruption and

selfishness. On the other hand, morality opposes to the concept of amoral understood as

decision to be out of regulation, sequencing and harmonization of objectives and targets

in line with commonly agreed rules. From this point of view morality outlines and

emphasizes normality, desirable, acceptable and socially promoted in opposition to the

abnormality [3].

In a society considered to be normal, there are possible, and they are even manifested,

deviations from principles and rules. The acceptance of a rule requires a free

consciousness expressed by will and observable in the behavioral act. On a subjective

level, however, the same idea of rule refers to the conventional and the free will by

which one justifies the possibility of circumventing the compliance [3]. For describing

and understanding such situations, it was proposed the concept of constitutive rule [4]

which defines events, facts, situations that are not related only to the subject, but also to

various social institutions [3].

These rules are more than mere conventions, following the socio-cultural constructs

constantly budding with higher objective value. From this perspective, ethics senses the

way in which there are or there are not respected the components of the normative

systems, which can be understood as one of the morality modes [3].

3. MORAL EDUCATION

The objectives of moral education are the formation of conscience and moral conduct

[5, 10]. The cognitive component informs the trainee about moral values, norms and

rules. The result of this type of knowledge is reflected in representations, concepts and

moral judgments, the latter related to teleological and normative judgments [2]. The

affective component is expressed by the tone and emotional experiences, emotions and

feelings generated by moral notions with which the trainee interacts. Subsequently, all

these, agglutinated under the form of convictions, will integrate the cognitive

component in the personality structure [2]. In this way, external cognitive demands by

their affective- volitional incorporation in internal necessity plan, are assumed and

belong to the trainee’s personality.

The moral conduct is formed through the acquisition of skills and behavioral habits and

by the operationalization of character traits. An essential role in forming skills is played

by social models which, by imitation, are taken, adapted, internalized and transformed

into own models.

By repeated, conscious and free integration of moral norms in the structure of

personality traits, the character traits are formed, these mediating between norms and

behaviors [3] in the form of a stabilized attitude towards behavior, towards self and

towards others. In this way the character shapes the moral profile of the trainee.

Section Education & Educational Research

The formation of moral personality is a lengthy process marked by the achievement of

specific objectives. Such formative-cognitive objectives aim at developing mental

structure, ensuring the reception and processing of moral knowledge (the comparative

analysis of a situation with moral meanings, the synthesis of moral elements of a group,

culture, etc.) while the affective objectives aim that emotional experience associated

with moral norms to generate stimulating, motivating and reiteration of compliance

effects. The psychomotor perspective envisages the formation, development and

operationalization of moral skills and habits (the unity among the said word and

immediate action, punctuality, respect for self and others). In the volitional and

character plan there are pursued, on the one hand, the development, concentration and

determination in achieving goals, and the development of the character traits

consistency, on the other hand.

4. RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

In the wider context of education, of the character formation of the trainee, religious

education occupies a definite place in reaction to a clear need of the human being.

Traditionally, school prepares the person formally and systematically, from an

intellectual, moral, civic, aesthetic, physical and ecological perspective. The religious

education nuances these formative aspects ensuring the instructive and formative

complementarity and continuity [6].

The knowledge and formation of the trainee’s personality must be understood from a

multifaceted perspective, taking into consideration the personal freedom, by which one

prefers a certain way or use of certain means according to the nature of the educative

objectives. From the point of view of religious education, the achievement of these

objectives can be achieved by at least three types of knowledge: knowledge through ...

characteristic to empirical, experiential life, ensuring a knowledge acquisition in stages,

knowledge from ... achievable by reference to a symbol, by which are revealed certain

ciphered meanings in things and facts and knowledge by... achieved through the direct

internal experience of a phenomenon or an external reality [6].

Following the same structure as in the case of moral education, in the case of religious

education, the informative objectives aim the acquisition of fundamental religious

concepts, of information on the history of religion, religious cults and practices. The

formative objectives of religious education are focused on the formation and

development of mental structures of reception and processing of religious knowledge, in

order to develop their own answers to the problems of life and existence. From this

point of view, religious education ensures the development of the trainee’s interrogative

and meditative potential [3]. The affective objectives refer to love, compassion and

tolerance, ensuring the development of general mood of harmony and respect.

Character-volitional objectives highlight the role of the models, the discrimination

between patterns and anti-patterns and the formation of their selection capacity. By

achieving psychomotor objectives are formed and developed, skills, abilities and habits,

necessary to a religious cult practice.

The common aspect between moral and religious education is given by the fusion

between the synthesis of humanist values and the system of beliefs, fusion that permits,

on the one hand, the knowledge of social morality and normality, and the revelation of

the sacred felt like an individual morality.

SGEM 2014 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts

The moral education ensures the trainee skills and abilities to resist evil, to refrain from

reprehensible acts, to fight various seductions as well. Through this type of education

moral conduct skills are also formed simultaneously with the explanation of the rules

that determine this behavior.

The harmonisation of moral normativity with its concrete application is made by the

moral ideal. In the process of achieving that ideal, moral values are converted into moral

norms. In the social context, the moral norms are less restrictive than the religious

ones, but becoming beliefs, they are more active than the others [3].

Since the community, social environment as a whole, validates the compliance of the

trainee’s behaviour with moral norms, a stabilization of the trainee’s attitude occurs,

followed by the increase of character consistency and the conscious adherence,

deliberate on the values of that community. The moral norms are not only the attitude

towards other people, institutions and social values, but they are also fidelity to the

values which determine the existence of a climate of trust and peaceful coexistence [3].

5. RELIGIOUS POPULISM OR TRADITION PROTECTION?

The term religious populism is a challenge for the social sciences because there is still

no consensus, at least a majority one, meaning a precise definition of the concept of

populism in general. Similar to other fundamental concepts from political sciences such

as democracy or power, populism belongs to a conceptual category, frequently used in

academia and politics, despite its semantic imprecision [7]. The constitutive ambiguity

of populism [8] and its volatility over time and space, depending on various political,

social, cultural and economic factors [9], make it impossible to capture the term

populism in a comprehensive definition.

For these reasons we tried to define it as a political ideology, an anti-modernist reaction,

a socio-political expression of a certain social class, a certain mode of political

organization, a strategy of a campaign speech or a simple manipulation technique, a

category of political parties, a tool for the analysis of the representative democracy. It

was also assumed that it is the opposite of elitism or intellectualism or a label assigned

to a specific type of political behavior, etc.

Certainly, the populism remains around the intrinsic and immediate validity [10] and the

binding and unquestionable [11] supremacy of the people’s will. In the populist vision,

this popular will becomes the single source of legitimacy under which decisions can be

made fast, immediate and do not require justification.

The populist leaders are (...) charismatic, with authoritarian and paternal accents. They

claim to have the key to solving all problems. The semi-presidential regime established

by the Romanian Constitution assigns extended responsibilities to the presidential

office. This is why in the collective imaginary the president is often identified with the

Savior able to solve the problems of society [12].

After 1989, the religious revival and the success of populist politics went hand in hand,

the two, both religion and populism, being among the winning ideologies of the post-

communist regimes [13]. The success of populism as a political movement is partly due

to the mobilization of rural populations where religion has a great influence. It can be

assumed that there are three major elements linking populism with religion: both focus

on the concept of nation, the primacy of the patriarchal family and the valuing of the

primary role of the people and his will [14]. In this context, most events with national

Section Education & Educational Research

character are attended by religious leaders and also by more or less charismatic leaders

belonging to populist forces. On the other hand, in the social issues that relate to the

family (the proliferation of abortion, divorce, the rights of sexual minorities, etc.) [14],

the traditionalist speech, either with religious or populist connotations, is present and

mobilizing. Noteworthy are the points of view and the attitudes of both in education, in

the problems of national history or family interpretation.

The risk of transforming the religious speech into populist speech derives from the

common belief of religious, populist and obviously, political leaders who consider

themselves the voice of the majority. But, speaking for the majority necessarily implies

being against a minority or at least affecting the rights of the latter. After Stavrakakis,

the Church often positions in opposition to the modernizing forces of a society, being

more consistently anchored in tradition and conservatism [3]. From this position of the

Church, assumed as being in the good faith, the populists can benefit from credibility by

association and similarity of message.

There are voices [14] which state that a common, very influential element both for the

Church and for populism is the martyrdom. From this perspective, the Church has

always been subject to various attacks by various political regimes, being sacrificed or

subjected to various pressures. It is obvious that there are forces that fight against the

Church for the Dechristianisation or the Islamisation of Europe. The reaction of

opposition manifested by the Church in these situations is normal.

The manifestation of populist forces in a similar way entails the expansion of the

populist concept upon religious speech. The martyrdom of the populists lies in their

fight against those in power. They claim that they are not deliberately understood by the

political elite and that they are affected just like people when faced with the complex

results of the modernization policies, for instance.

From the desire to protect traditions, the religious speech can sometimes be anti–

intellectual. Its corroboration with the constant anti-intellectual message, found in the

populist discourse, may create confusions and may result in the same label for both. One

of the striking common characteristics of religious and populist rhetoric is the fear of

losing the traditional character (Christian or national) [2].

The populist contamination of religious discourse can occur through unilateral

interpretation of the general functions of religion which, according to Bryan Wilson, has

five functions [15]: a) maintains cohesion and social control; b) explains the physical

universe specifically; c) specifically legitimates the purposes and procedures of society;

d) gives identity to individuals and groups; e) provides forms of expression, regulation

and relief of emotions (rituals, ceremonies, confessions, etc) .

If in the traditional organization of a society, religion could impose moral norms, the

prohibitions and restrictions by which it manifested its social control, in post-modern

society, these functions tend to be solved by technical solutions [2]. This fact has as

immediate effect a mitigation of the impact of religious values on the society direction

and on the metaphysical- religious conception of the world and man, minimizing the

regulatory potential of religious phenomena.

SGEM 2014 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts

Fig. 1 The influence of populism on the trainees’ moral and religious formation

EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

MORAL

EDUCATION RELIGIOUS

EDUCATION

Formation of

conscience and

moral conduct

The formation of

conscience and

religious conduct.

Completes and

continues the moral,

intellectual, civic,

aesthetic and ecological

training

COGNITIVE

OBJECTIVES

AFFECTIVE

OBJECTIVES

CHARACTER-

VOLITIONAL

OBJECTIVES

PSYCHOMOTOR

OBJECTIVES

COGNITIVE

OBJECTIVES

AFFECTIVE

OBJECTIVES

CHARACTER-

VOLITIONAL

OBJECTIVES

PSYCHOMOTOR

OBJECTIVES

Populist perspective

Values, norms and rules in

agreement with the populist

message

Moods, affective

experiences,emotions and

feelings in agreement with

the populist message

Populist models

The distortion of the

capacity of discrimination

between models and anti-

models patterns

Formation and development

of skills, abilities and habits

manifested in a populist

manner

SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Populism, populist movements, populist

discourse

Section Education & Educational Research

6.CONCLUSIONS

At European level, there is a well articulated motivation that argues the need for

knowledge of the religious fact in public education. It aims to combat religious

illiteracy; to get answers to the challenges brought by the democratic and religious

pluralism, to counteract the confusion resulted from the collapse of the great

ideologies; to educate for community life and for its morality [2].

A certain inertia specific to both educational and religious systems, combined with

some traditional and anti-Reformation attitudes, can be a fertile land for asserting a

populist corrosive speech with long-term adverse effects in their formative objectives.

The drift towards populism becomes possible if we consider the types of speech

promoted in the two types of education: moral and religious. On the one hand a purely

technical, pedagogized, neutral speech which retrieves and articulates concepts from

psychology, philosophy, anthropology with concepts from pedagogy. On the other hand

there is a speech-sensitive to the integration of the two educations in the system of

interactions among different social factors. It is a speech in which its author is involved,

derived from implicit assumptions about the couple community-society; a speech that

requires adhesion and reveals a balanced optimism. This type of speech, essentially

humanistic, where religious education is understood as an element of support or a

complementary factor for spiritual, moral and civic elevation, allows certain openings

for the specificities of populist speech.

Thus, in this context, the statements, understandings, explanations and the message,

conveyed with reference to personality structure and development, acquire

characteristics and value-emotional connotations from the part of the teacher, according

to interwar model [2].

The trainee, as the subject of the present time, of a postmodern society that integrates

him, is revealed and exposed religious values that he was disconnected from or did not

have access to, in a manner either traditional or tributary to an interwar model. This

aspect weakens the whole formative process (moral, civic and religious) to populist

manifestations either in speech or actionable.

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SGEM 2014 International Multidisciplinary Scientific Conferences on Social Sciences and Arts

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