Investigation Into Social Environment Of Moral Education

Moral education has attracted wide attention of government and society since the reform and opening up policy, especially joining the World Trade Organization. In the West, moral education and religious education are closely linked each other. Religious education is an important force to be reckoned with Western moral education. While in China, due to the constraints of Confucianism and the legal principles "education is independent of religion", religious education has not been paid adequate attention. However, the influence of religious education which is carried out by religious organizations through its activities on college students’moral education is increasing, and the situation is complex.In response to these phenomena, this study commenced around the following questions:1)What kind of religious activity factor attract college students to participate? What do college students experience participating in religious activities? 2) What kind of impact dose participating in religious activities produce for college students? What could we learn from the positive side? What measures can we take to deal with the negative side? 3) In the context of globalization, how to guide the religious activity to exert its function of moral education in positive direction? What does moral education in schools can learn from religious education? Further more, what kind of intervention and guidance should the relevant departments take?Based on the "Therapy theory" of Existentialism, this study mainly uses the anthropological research methods in order to understand all aspects of religious activities outside school and true spiritual experience of college student participants. In this study, the author used the method of fully participatory survey (also known as role-playing) and non-structured interviews, and then to "go jump out of the first sink" to do the research. The study lasted for two and half years, mainly study on the activities of the main gathering point of "Three-autonomous Church" (including the Protestant and Catholic churches) and Family Church in city of Nanjing.42 college students or college graduates in the city involved in the religious activities were interviewed, among which 9 were interviewed in depth.The results showed that the Christian activities attract college students and graduates to participate in the following aspects:1)The combined effects of a variety of physical environments-vision, hearing, smell, touch, taste, etc.2)Good interpersonal atmosphere and support system created by clergy, parishioners, and other religious investigators.3) Multi-channel education through Bible, hymns, Christianity-related products, sharing and testimony of brothers and sisters. As a result, the student participants’physical, psychological and spiritual need could be met. In addition, student participants’cognition, emotion and behavior could also be affected. The results of affection depend on the culture of the organization.In order to make use of religious education as one way of moral education, we should make clear the faith status of the person concerned. Based on interviews and participatory experience, this study suggests that the development of individual Christian faith would go through four stages to achieve maturity. The four stages are: 1) Stage of awareness of Christianity.2) Stage of cognizing Christianity.3) Stage of believing in Christianity.4) Stage of having faith in Christianity. According to the level of understanding of the Christian belief and the level of the degree of Christian belief, participants could be divided into four kinds:1) Insensitive ones.2) Indulger.3) "Researcher".4) Genuine believer. With the explicit classification, school education could implement interventions timely and effectively according to the situation of the student concerned. It is helpful in guiding students to treat religious activities properly and deal with the relationship between religion and social life well. Thus, the effect of moral education implemented by religious education could be of sound progress.It is rational to pay attention to religious education in this new historical period of moral education reform. Missionary religious education exists outside the formal education system, and is becoming a force which should not be underestimated. Since the state has not forbidden it by law, we should clarify the negative factors and explore the positive ones in it. Its multi-perspective, all-round education pathways, its rich variety of activities form and content, its good interpersonal environment and atmosphere, its participatory education model (participants are not only educated, but also the contributor of educational resources), its combination of theory and practice, its idea of "cultivating people" are all which moral education can learn from. As long as we do a reasonable clarification and appropriate guidance, religious education can become a resource for moral education. We can strive to make religious education an effective complement to moral education.Based on the findings above, the paper suggests that religious acts within the scope permitted by law should be respected; while religious behavior that is not permitted by law should be intervened and regulated timely. The relevant authorities should supervise and manage the non-registered religious organizations and their activities. In addition, the school could also organize liberal courses on religious, so that the students could understand religion and deal with religious issues correctly. This can also help developing the college students’international awareness.