Launched in September 2020, “RELIEN: Enterprise and Religion” is a cross-border European network addressing the challenges posed by religious cohabitation in our societies. It is led by a consortium of universities, organisations active in the field of employment as well as by a local authority and association from France, Germany and Switzerland. Due to this cross-border cooperation initiative, employees and future employees of companies will be able to benefit from truly innovative tri-national training on interreligious and intercultural dialogue as well as labour law and religion. This effort is a consolidation of disciplinary approaches and a rare combination of different fields of expertise.
Get to know the Interreg V Upper Rhine Programme
The goal of the project is to develop a series of training courses on interreligious dialogue, knowledge of the religion of the other and the status of religious convictions in the enterprise. Its target groups, on the one hand, are employees of different enterprises and on the other hand, are potential employees on the edges of social and religious marginalisation. The training courses are aimed at facilitating the integration of the aforementioned target groups into the cross-border labour market through the provision of knowledge that is often avoided or little mentioned by trainers or employers who, for various reasons, do not wish to discuss religious beliefs. This new project is largely related to the Interreligio project (2017-2019), which enabled an original set-up of academic research and reflections. It led to the creation of various academic degrees, such as university diplomas and master programmes in the framework of three universities of the Upper Rhine area. It also contributed to the emergence of a new university discipline or sub-discipline: interreligious studies. This recognition was sanctioned by the respective ministries of higher education (France, Switzerland, FRG-Baden Württemberg) and by the universities which ultimately created these degrees. The expertise accumulated during the previous project will be used for the new project. This recognition was acknowledged by the respective ministries of higher education (France, Switzerland, FRG-Baden Württemberg) and by the universities, which ultimately created these degrees. The expertise accumulated during the previous project will be used for the new project RELIEN.
In order to achieve the project objectives, it is necessary to develop a reflection process on the content of the training provided. It is also important to establish innovative and flexible training mechanisms and to mobilise partners in order to create a network capable of responding effectively, with relevant pedagogical tools, to all social demands and expectations in the field of training in interreligious and intercultural dialogue, knowledge of different religions and the norms governing religious expressions in the Upper Rhine area, aimed at the corporate world (employees and future employees).
A special effort will be undertaken to reach out to hard-to-reach groups such as teachers in non-contractual schools, catechists in free churches and religion teachers in Koranic schools. The aim is to effectively fight against all forms of fundamentalism and the spread of radical ideologies that jeopardise living together and religious peace. To train the teachers in the areas such as the interreligious dimension of religions, knowledge of other religions, the neutrality/secularity of the state and equality in religious matters promotes the dissemination of an interpretation of religion in line with the values commonly accepted in the Upper Rhine region. It contributes to the creation of inclusive measures for the students of these trainers by optimising their ability to adapt to the labour market.
In the case of reaching out to both target groups (employees and future employees), the approach implies both the development of pedagogical tools and the creation of a network favouring contacts with companies and religious trainers of hard-to-reach audiences. All participants in the training courses – employees and future employees – will benefit from a distance learning platform developed jointly by the partner universities. The aim of these training courses is to create a climate of good understanding in companies and to facilitate the employment of migrants and religiously marginalised populations in the Upper Rhine area by offering them a recognised and valuable skill-set that will enable their further inclusion and cross-border mobility.
