PEACE PEDAGOGY AS A FORM OF POST-SECULAR TRANSMISSION OF RELIGIOUS AND NATIONAL MEANINGS

Abstract

The article carries out a philosophical analysis of the foundations of peace pedagogy in the context of post-secular changes that determine the face of modern society. The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has become a test for traditional models of peace education, built mainly on secular principles, and has demonstrated their limitations in a situation of real armed aggression. As a result, there has been a need to turn to a wide range of symbolic resources – primarily religious and national-cultural, which form the deep moral guidelines of communities. Based on the postsecular approaches of Y. Habermas and C. Taylor, the article outlines the internal contradiction of modern peace pedagogy: its leading categories - forgiveness, solidarity, mercy, hope - have historically been formed within the framework of religious tradition, but in today's conditions they act as neutral, devoid of a clear genealogy of values. Separation from their own sources weakens their ideological and motivational power, turning them into declarative slogans. A comparative analysis of the educational practices in Germany, Poland, and Ukraine for the years 2022–2025 revealed three methods of religious meaning integration into peace education in post-secular contexts. The first approach appears as values without religious references to their sources. The second approach uses religious traditions openly to teach values. The third approach integrates both explicit religious references and implicit value teaching. The empirical basis of the study is an analysis of curricula, the results of teacher surveys, and statistical data from UNESCO and the Pew Research Center. The theoretical basis of the work is formed not only by the ideas of Y. Habermas and C. Taylor, but also by the concepts of J. Galtung, B. Reardon, M. Bajazh, H. Casanova, as well as the work of Ukrainian thinkers - S. Krymsky, M. Popovych, M. Boychenko, A. Karas. A significant emphasis is placed on the Ukrainian experience, where peace pedagogy in conditions of a protracted war cannot be identified with abstract pacifism. It is rather about the formation of the ability to empathize, responsible dialogue, moral stability and counteracting dehumanization. The result of the study was a three-dimensional model of postsecular peace pedagogy. It integrates the spiritual dimension - as an appeal to the semantic resources of religious traditions; the social dimension - as the development of democratic competencies and a culture of inclusion; and the cultural dimension - as the rooting of peace education in historical experience and national memory. It is argued that ignoring any of these dimensions leads either to the formalization of peace education, or to its isolation and exclusivity, or to a loss of connection with the cultural context of society.