Modern society, marked by religious and cultural diversity, presents new tasks and challenges to the educational system. One of them is intercultural education and its religious dimension, the latter becoming the topic of more methodical and intensive discussions with the beginning of the new millennium. The first part of this text discusses the issue of intercultural education. Awareness of the existence of diversity is not enough to promote a better coexistence. As many European documents point out, when it comes to the framework of intercultural education, it is necessary to contribute to greater knowledge, as well as to the development of correct attitudes and concrete skills necessary for a peaceful coexistence. Contemplations on the multiculturalism and intercultural education in a special way require a proper understanding of identities and differences in the educational and intercultural domain. One of the essential components of intercultural education is its religious dimension. After years of insufficient awareness, the last two decades have witnessed a rise in the awareness of the importance of promoting religious dimensions. More specifically, the importance of religious education that aims to “teach how to coexist” has increased on the level of relevant European documents. The second part, therefore, reflects on the roles of the religious dimension of intercultural education by taking into consideration the relevant and recent European documents, as well as European research in the field of religious education. The third part of the text critically presents the main models or dominant ways of promoting religious education. In considering the religious dimension of intercultural education, the importance of knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for the acquisition of intercultural, i.e., religious competence, is elaborated. In this part of the article, the consideration is particularly focused on religious education in the Republic of Croatia, which is realized through different versions of confessional religious education, but also through other subjects, interdisciplinary topics, and extracurricular activities. In the last, fourth part, the result of a critical analysis of the intercultural and interreligious dimension of confessional religious education in the Curriculum of Catholic Religious Education for primary schools and grammar schools in the Republic of Croatia are presented.

U prvome dijelu ovoga teksta razmatra se pitanje interkulturalnog obrazovanja usmjerenoga stjecanju znanja, stavova i vještina potrebnih za miran suživot. Promišljanje o interkulturalnome obrazovanju na poseban način zahtijeva ispravno razumijevanje identiteta i razlika u odgojnome i interkulturalnome području. Bitna sastavnica interkulturalnog obrazovanja je religijska dimenzija. U drugom se stoga dijelu promišlja o ulozi religijske dimenzije interkulturalnog obrazovanja na temelju relevantnih i recentnih europskih dokumenata te na temelju europskih istraživanja u području religijskog obrazovanja. U trećemu se dijelu kritički predstavljaju glavni modeli, odnosno dominantni načini promicanja religijskoga obrazovanja u Europi. Fokus je posebno usmjeren na religijsko obrazovanje u Republici Hrvatskoj, a koje se ostvaruje putem različitih inačica konfesionalnoga vjeronauka, ali i putem drugih predmeta, međupredmetnih tema i izvannastavnih aktivnosti. U posljednjem, četvrtom, dijelu predstavljaju se rezultati kritičke analize interkulturalne i međureligijske dimenzije konfesionalnoga vjeronauka u Kurikulumu Katoličkoga vjeronauka za osnovne škole i gimnazije u Republici Hrvatskoj.