Ética, religión y espiritualidad en educación social

In this article we present a reflection on respect for freedom of belief in the framework of socio-educational action. This right, recognised in Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, poses a particularly important challenge to plural societies, in which religion is undergoing processes of transformation. There is a clear awareness of the need for care workers to be given competences related to respect for freedom of belief, as religiosity and spi-rituality are two aspects that can form part of educational action. There is a clear need for social workers to make a heart-felt analysis of their own religious and spiritual beliefs in order to avoid biased views. Finally, based on the code of ethics of social educators, we comment on the recommendations contained in a guide recently published by the Go-vernment of Catalonia on the subject of respect for diversity of beliefs in social services. This guide helps to establish the possibilities and limits of including the spiritual or religious dimension in professional practice.