在1980年代，世界上幾個保守政權，如英、美、新加坡和台灣 都試圖強調宗教教育以協助重建社會秩序。宗教應否和現代教育制度結合而對 社會秩序和價值社會化做出貢獻這個議題就有必要加以探究。英國在柴契爾主 政時曾特予加強，但宗教教育仍然不成功。在德國則比較穩定，但亦面臨世俗 化和德東的問題。在日、韓、台、美、法諸國則均未在公立學校施行宗教教育， 但多允許私立學校設有非強迫性的相關課程與活動。本研究分析了六國宗教教 育的異同並探究各國宗教情勢與宗教教育施行與否間的關係，指出德國兩大宗 教並立且以地方宗教組成為施行宗教教育之重要依據，此一條件在其他五國並 不存在。新加坡施行宗教教育已告失敗。於是社會內多宗教的現象可能是在各 國不施行宗教教育的重要條件。同時從涂爾幹有關道德教育的研究和理論，顯 示了現代教育不再依靠宗教來進行有關道德和倫理教育的特質。這是一個現代 社會如何培育並維持社會道德倫理的問題，也是社會學者應關切的社會秩序建 構和維持的問題。本文就這個問題也根據對六國的研究進行了討論。

　　　　　Several conservative regimes, such as in the UK, the USA, Singapore, and Taiwan have tried to enforce religious education in the public school system to improve social morality and reconstruct social order. The issue that whether religion should be introduced into the educational institution to reconstruct social order and improving the process of socialization of values is worth being reanalyzed. The differences and similarities of religious education and its relation with the religious composition of the society are analyzed comparatively. In sum, Germany, with two major religious forces, has institutionalized religious education in the public school system under the local government and religious authorities. In the rest of the countries in this study, there is no such religious condition. The failed experiment of Singapore shows that plural religious persuasions are likely to be a crucial factor which leads to the exclusion of religious education from the public school system. The rest of the countries studied do not practise religious education in the public school system and allow private schools to provide religious courses and activities under unforced conditions. In Durkheim's theory, moral education without religion or involvement of religious groups is not only necessary but also a crucial social arrangement in modern society. The theoretical and fundamental implications of this are tentatively discussed.