From being on the margins of scholarly debate for much of the past century and a half, religion is being recognized once again as an area of concern for scholars, politicians, and public policy makers, and thus, the role of religious and spiritual education has taken on a new importance. Apart from its socio-political ramifications, the place of religiousness and spirituality in the make-up of individuals has been given renewed prominence through updated brain science, and neuroscientists regularly refer to elements of this brain science in terms such as spiritual intelligence and even mystical consciousness. This book explores many of the new directions being taken in the field of religious and spiritual education, as new developments challenge the priorities of formal education, and open up new avenues for incorporating religion and spirituality into the modern curriculum. It asks whether the educational aims of teachers should be focused on specifically personal development, or whether religious education should be used to develop understanding of more global and social issues such as citizenship, conflict, and ethics. The book also addresses neuroscientific insights, which suggest a need to engage with cognition and emotion in order to create a rich learning environment, something to which a particularly contested subject area like religion and spirituality is well-placed to contribute. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Beliefs & Values.

Society is a complex phenomenon, characterized by constant change, often entailing conflict. This is seen in our own times where philosophies and movements of individualism, pluralism and globalization intersect and often collide. Still, even in this fast-moving and highly materialist world, religion and spirituality remain crucial aspects of human and social living, and therefore must be among the many focusses of the modern school. Teachers of Religious and Spiritual Education (RSE) are therefore expected to support students’ religious and spiritual understanding as well as their overall development. How can they best meet this challenge? This book is comprised of various interdisciplinary research findings drawn from international scholarship. The findings are of a different order from each other but all have in common an element of surprise, sufficient to impel reflection and re-thinking of many of the assumptions that normally underpin RSE. The book therefore constitutes a contribution to ongoing understanding of the role played by religious and spiritual education and of the proper interface between RSE and the modern school, contemporary curricula and the teacher of today. Contributions by Robert Crotty, Ola Erik Domaas, Michael Fricke, Liam Gearon, Adrian-Mario Gellel, Eija Hanhimaki, Laura Hirsto, Tapani Innanen, Terence Lovat, Klaas Macha, Emanuel P. Magro, Adil Mamodaly, Fritz Oser, Ulrich Riegel, Inkeri Rissanen, Sturla Sagberg, Kirsi Tirri, Theo van der Zee, Karen Wenell

Spirituality and Education introduces the basic contours of current debate in a form accessible to both classroom teachers across the curriculum range, and to school managers. It covers all key areas, including: * problems of defining spirituality * government legislation and supporting documentation * relevant empirical research * the social dimension of spirituality * secular and religious manifestations of spirituality in contemporary society * theories of childhood spiritual development * contemporary approaches to spiritual education, including collective worship and cross-curricular teaching. A variety of different perspectives and approaches will be offered, and readers are encouraged to be reflective through a number of tasks which relate all issues raised directly back to their own specific circumstances. The author includes questions, quotes and lists of further reading.

This book explores the meaning and identity of religious education within the cultural context of today.

In the era of globalization debate has turned to the vital need for a thorough understanding of its impact on the spirituality and health of the youth of today. Spiritual Education in a Divided World recognises the urgent need for effective research in this area. This exceptional volume takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackle the key questions. Bringing together leading international experts, including Zygmunt and Mary Grey, the book combines research and training issues with practical professional experiences. The first section examines how globalized patterns of economics, conflict and consumerism are affecting the spirituality and imagination of children, young people and their families. In the second and third sections, practical responses from research and from professional experience are presented and critically evaluated. Readers in professions across teaching, youth work, social work, chaplaincy, nursing, mental health, as well as those concerned with community economics and environmental issues, will find in this volume an exciting, diverse and coherent collection of essays which offers wider perspectives on their work. This book was previously published as a special issue of The International Journal of Children’s Spirituality.

Major social changes, especially as a result the more multicultural nature of society, have raised important issues about the teaching of religion and the rational basis of different religious faiths. Challenges for Religious Education addresses and critically examines these changes and asks where religious education and Faith Schools fit within secular society and indeed whether there is still a place for them at all. Analysing what religious education could look like if it were considered from a wider ‘world views’ perspective that doesn’t focus on a particular set of religious beliefs, this book considers the ‘reasonableness’ of holding a faith and therefore in teaching it; the ongoing tensions between faith and reason; arguments for and against the study of religious education; whether modern secular thought is itself an ideology; and the philosophical standpoints on the relationship between faith and reason. Linking faith and reason with the issue of whether religious education is truly necessary in a modern world, Challenges for Religious Education is a crucial read for anyone interested in the future of religious education teaching in a secular society.

This book covers theoretical aspects of Catholic Religious Education in schools and examines them from multiple theoretical and contextual perspectives. It captures the contemporary academic and educational developments in the field of Religious Education while discussing in detail the challenges that Religious Educators face in different European, Asian, African, Australian, American and Latin American countries. The edited collection investigates how to pass on a Catholic heritage as a “living tradition” in diversely populated schools and communities. In this way it explores and asserts the proper identity of Catholic Religious Education in dialogue with Catechetics and with the wider discipline of Religious Education. As the different articles of this publication demonstrate - through a series of interesting and critical points of view - Catholic Religious Education is confronted with many challenges from the risk of marginalization to the confusion produced by a religious indifferentism leading to a strictly comparative or neutral method in the study of religions. It is essential to take into account in our research perspectives that Catholic Religious Education is not only a subject but also a mission in the light of the diakonia of truth in the midst of humanity H.E. Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski, Prefect, Congregation for Catholic Education, Holy See, Vatican City Religious education teachers cannot by themselves overcome the ills of society, but religious education...can help to create better citizens of the world as some authors argue throughout this collection. could not ask more from such timely and provocative collection. It is a gift to the profession and to Catholic Religious Education. Prof. Gloria Durka, Fordham University, New York, NY, USA

Segments of society are drawing upon their faith and spirituality to develop strategies to mend social relationships and fragmented communities. The Contemporary Perspectives on Spirituality in Education book series will feature volumes geared towards understanding and exploring the role of spirituality in addressing challenge, conflict, and marginalization within education in the U.S. and internationally.

This book discusses the relationship between faith, formation and education. Rooted in a variety of discourses, the book offers original insights into the education and formation of the human person, both theoretical and practical. Issues are considered within a context of contemporary tensions generated by an increasingly pluralist society with antipathy to religious faith, and debated from interdenominational Christian perspectives. Including chapters by an international team of experts, the volume demonstrates how Christian faith holds significance for educational practice and human development. It argues against the common assumption that there can be a neutral approach to education, whilst at the same time advocating a critical dimension to faith education. It brings fresh thinking about faith and formation, which demands attention given the fast-changing political, educational and socio-cultural forces of today. It will appeal to students and researchers involved in Christian educational practice.

The book examines ancient religious traditions and modernity in a globalized Asia that is as much in need of a moral compass as it is economic development. Religious education has been an aspect of many societies over time and irrespective of culture. Yet as globalization advances local values are challenged every day by internationalized discourses and global perspectives. It is this context that provides the rationale for this edited book. It seeks to understand what forms religious education takes in Asian contexts and what role it continues to play. On the one hand, the societies which are the subject of this book reflect ancient religious traditions but on the other they are responsible for a significant portion of the world’s economic development. The book will appeal to researchers interested in the current state of religious education in Asia, policymakers with responsibility for religious education and teachers who practice religious education on a daily basis.