Cathy Byrne presents the secular principle as a guiding compass for religion in government schools in plural democracies. Using in-depth case studies, historical and contextual research from Australia, and comparisons with other developed nations, Religion in Secular Education provides a comprehensive, at times confronting, analysis of the ideologies, policies, pedagogies, and practices for state-school religion. In the context of rising demands for students to develop intercultural competence and interreligious literacy, and alongside increasing Christian evangelism in the public arena, this book highlights risks and implications as education develops religious identity – in individual children and in nation states. Byrne proposes a best practice framework for nations attempting to navigate towards socially inclusive outcomes and critical thinking in religions education policy.

R.L. Dabney (1820-1898) -- preacher, theologian, soldier, poet, and essayist -- strongly condemned the public education of his day. He saw with prophetic insight that State education could not help but be secularized since it was designed to please the people. As a result, he argued, public education would begin to teach its students not truth, but the values and virtues which were palatable to society at large. Although a century has passed since Dabney first wrote this essay, the questions that parents face haven't changed. Secular education still seeks to indoctrinate our children under the pretence of objectivity, and truth is still sacrificed for the sake of social "unity." We must acknowledge with Dabney that proper education is about heart and soul, not just propositions and facts. Only then will our children learn truth and be equipped to live out our faith.

A comprehensive source that demonstrates how 21st century Christianity can interrelate with current educational trends and aspirations The Wiley Handbook of Christianity and Education provides a resource for students and scholars interested in the most important issues, trends, and developments in the relationship between Christianity and education. It offers a historical understanding of these two intertwined subjects with a view to creating a context for the myriad issues that characterize—and challenge—the relationship between Christianity and education today. Presented in three parts, the book starts with thought-provoking essays covering major issues in Christian education such as the movement away from God in American education; the Christian paradigm based on love and character vs. academic industrial models of American education; why religion is good for society, offenders, and prisons; the resurgence of vocational exploration and its integrative potential for higher education; and more. It then looks at Christianity and education around the globe—faith-based schooling in a pluralistic democracy; religious expectations in the Latino home; church-based and community-centered higher education; etc. The third part examines how humanity is determining the relationship between Christianity and education with chapters covering the use of Christian paradigm of living and learning; enrollment, student demographic, and capacity trends in Christian schools after the introduction of private schools; empirical studies on the perceptions of intellectual diversity at elite universities in the US; and more. Provides the breadth and depth of knowledge necessary to gain a sophisticated and nuanced understanding of the complex relationship between Christianity and education and its place in contemporary society A long overdue assessment of the subject, one that takes into account the enormous changes in Christian education Presents a global consideration of the subject Examines Christian education across elementary, secondary, and post-secondary levels The Wiley Handbook of Christianity and Education will be of great interest to Christian educators in the academic world, the teaching profession, the ministry, and the college and graduate level student body.

Educational Philosophy for a Post-secular Age reinterprets post-secular insights for educational theory by recognising that the persistence of religion in contemporary life raises new questions about the place of religion in education. Two common assumptions are critically examined: first, that the better educated a society becomes, the more secular it becomes, and second, that religion can and should be separated from public education. For too long, religion has had an uneasy relationship with education, being seen either as a foreign invader, a problem to be solved, or as a mechanism by which to reinforce particular religious, cultural or national identities. In order to move educational theory beyond the debates about indoctrination and competing rights between parents, children and nation states, the argument undercuts rationalist conceptions of religion and education that tend to frame the debates in terms of competing truth claims or worldviews. Drawing on a diverse range of theological, philosophical and educational sources, this book demonstrates the continuing significance of the Christian mystical tradition to educational theory. It proposes an exploration of democratic education that brings together two apparently irreconcilable poles: the meaning of religion in education and contemporary life, and the need for a deliberative democratic process that is fit for the post-secular age. It argues that religious literacy can be served by democratic encounters in public religious education. Educational Philosophy for a Post-secular Age will be of interest to researchers, academics and postgraduate students in the fields of the philosophy of education, philosophy of religion, education policy, politics, anthropology and cultural theory. It will particularly appeal to those, of both secular and religious persuasions, interested in the place of religion in education and public life.

There are two constants in academic and theological discourse throughout history, they are the debate around secularization and the dialogue concerning the intersection of religion and education. Each age has had its debate about modernizing forces that drive concerns of impending secularization. In this publication this theme is approached from perspectives of teachers, of students, of policy makers and situated in a politico-historical context. Aware of the fact that in today’s plural societies one sacred canopy is non-existent anymore, cracks of the sacred canopy/canopies are described, as well as ‘the light that gets in’, the possible and challenging ways out are roughly sketched.

The current controversy over the teaching of values and the role of religion in our public schools is an important and much discussed topic. Stock-Morton's work represents not only a valuable historical investigation, but a useful resource for the review and consideration of our present-day dilemma. France is the only country which has attempted to teach an official secular morality and Stock-Morton's is the first study to describe and trace the development of that effort. During the nineteenth century, the impetus for a practical, secular moral teaching arose, primarily through the concern of those who sought the liberalization of French society and politics. The educational dilemma faced at that time arose from the opposition of the Catholic Church to liberal government. Gradually liberals and radical reached a consensus on the necessity of teaching ethics in the schools while eliminating the presence of the clergy. Their solution and its philosophical basis were anchored in the Enlightenment and the Revolution, but developed in the context of nineteenth-century political and philosophical change. In the 1880s, when the republicans were able to inaugurate universal, free, and secular education, secular ethics became a required course for all. The history of morale laique is significant at a time when our own country is rife with controversy over the role of religion and the teaching of values in the schools. Stock-Morton's thoughtful study represents an important contribution to the literature for those concerned with these significant issues.