As perspectives from the Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky have made a substantial impact in the field of educational sciences, they have generated interest even in the field of religious education. To address some possible implications of Vygotskyan perspectives for religious education, this study focuses on Vygotsky’s notion of symbolic mediation, compared with perspectives from theological publications, interviews with religiously affiliated students as well as curricula and textbooks. Based on a comparison and discussion of these sources, the study argues that Vygotsky’s psychological perspective on symbolic mediation as key to human self-determination is not in conflict with theological and empirical approaches to religious symbols but that the latter display a wider variety of perspectives. It is argued that while religious education may benefit from Vygotskyan perspectives, a reflection is also needed on how to deal with the framing of religious symbols by varying theological positions and conflicting worldviews in different religious education settings.

俄罗斯心理学家列夫·维果茨基的观点对教育科学领域产生了重大影响，甚至在宗教教育领域也引起了人们的兴趣。为了解决维果茨基观点对宗教教育的一些可能的影响，本研究重点关注维果茨基的象征调解概念，与神学出版物、对宗教学生的访谈以及课程和教科书的观点进行比较。基于对这些来源的比较和讨论，该研究认为，维果茨基关于象征调解作为人类自决关键的心理学观点与宗教象征的神学和经验方法并不冲突，但后者表现出更广泛的观点。有人认为，虽然宗教教育可能受益于维果茨基的观点，但也需要反思如何处理不同宗教教育环境中不同神学立场和相互冲突的世界观对宗教符号的框架。