Elucidation of Formalist Religious Education and its Criticism on the Basis of Rationalist Trend

Formalism and rationalism as two impressive trends in the cultural and social views and thoughts are much discussed in the history of Islamic thought; education is also one of such cultural categories which are influenced by these intellectual trends. The question that is set forth here is whether the Islamic formalist trend has the ability to present a thorough educational theory for religious education. To answer this question, the present article examines the impact of Islamic formalist trend in educational arena in such fields as the goals, principles, concepts, and methods of education, and then proceeds to criticize this educational trend from the viewpoint of Islamic rationalism.