Religious Education Values for the Urban Poor Children: The Case of the Masa Project

Abstract

Studies have shown that religion has a significant influence on human behaviour. Thus how one translates one’s religious belief to one’s daily affairs provide a significant dynamics to the family institution when it comes to managing the relationship of husband-wife and likewise the roles of the husband-father and wife-mother to their children. Thus the influence of religion on the urban poor families cannot be neglected. Our research is based on the religious education values of a group of urban poor families in Pulau Pinang. Through the case study of urban poor families with children aged between seven to 12 years old, situated in one of the mukim in Southwest District in Pulau Pinang, we investigate, through face-to-face interviews and by way of observation, the level of religiosity of the children to that of their parents. We contribute to the theoretical discussion around Islamic religious education by developing a framework linking together religious education values with the urban poor families. Our insights shed light on how in managing urban poverty, strategies that promote family engagement through commitment to religious education values can contribute towards a more efficient way in helping the urban poor families to strive towards poverty alleviation.