a critique of the existing classifications of approaches to religious education: an alternative classification

the major purpose of the present this study is to reviews the classifications of approaches to religious education, and introducing an alternative classification of religious educator theory. to this end, approaches to islamic education which have been categorized typologically and are associated with the cognitive context of iranian intellectuals have been studied. in line with this goal, the theoretical-analytic method of inquiry has been employed. based on the results of the present study, two new major approaches, namely duty-oriented and achievement-oriented were subjected to scrutiny. finally, the duty-oriented approach whose fundamentals proved adaptable – compared to those of the achievement-oriented one – to the islamic perspective was accepted as a legitimate and valid approach for the educator in religious education. according to this insight, the basis is performance of duty according to the principles on education way by educator, and failure to achieve optimal results does not mean that the educator’s educational efforts have been ineffective.