Religion, spirituality, or stress management? Mindfulness and meditation in Swedish textbooks for Religious Education and Physical Education and Health
British Journal of Religious Education January 27, 2026 Manon Hedenborg White, Torun Mattsson
Mindfulness and meditation are presented in contradictory ways in Swedish textbooks for Religious Education and Physical Education and Health. In RE textbooks, these practices appear in the context of Buddhism and contemporary spirituality, while in PEH textbooks they are framed as stress management tools. This split creates didactical challenges for teachers but also offers opportunities for synergy and curriculum cohesion across the two mandatory subjects. The study is exploratory and qualitative, analyzing how the concepts are situated and transformed in textbooks.