These professors publish several remarkable works for learning the history of religions.

Her classroom is a veritable Ali Baba’s cave. No treasure is hidden there, but various objects that organize the life of worship of the three great monotheistic religions. Rabbi’s outfit, sacred water from Mecca, first communion dress… Welcome to “Jerusalem”, where Paula Cerda offers her “Théo cours” on the different faiths.

Here, three rules to follow: listening, tolerance and respect. It all started in 2020, after the assassination of Professor Samuel Paty, which brought the question of teaching religious culture in schools back to the heart of the debate. The principal of the private Saint-Joseph college in Arras (Pas-de-Calais), Betty Vanuxem, asked this physics teacher to provide classes for non-Catholic or non-believing middle school students, instead of catechism.

With a long career behind her, Paula Cerda accepted and set about her mission with her husband, Jean-Philippe, a French teacher in a public high school in Arras. Both of them graduated from a theology course at the Catholic University of Lille (North) – seven years of evening classes, no less!

Following in the footsteps of Pope Francis, who promotes interreligious dialogue, the two teachers imagine a fun and embodied teaching to tell the history of religions, but also the different festivals and traditions. Why do Muslims sacrifice a sheep on Eid al-Adha? Why do Christians put up a Christmas tree? What is the Jewish festival of Sukkot? To understand it, the students will enter the classroom under a tent that day, following in the footsteps of the Hebrews who spent forty years in the desert…

Valuable tools

These courses have made it possible to develop two volumes of activities for students and two self-published teaching guides intended for teachers, parents, chaplains, etc. “The students love them!” rejoices Paula, who now welcomes around twenty middle school students, compared to five the first year. And the initiative interests colleagues from all over France, who continue to contact them.

“This teaching allows us to show from a very young age what brings us together rather than what separates us,” insists Jean-Philippe. A strong message in a society where there is constant bickering over religions.