Showing papers on "Religious education published in 2002"

Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools

Abstract: Introduction: Beyond Dayton and Chicago I. History Wars 1. Ethnicity and the History Wars 2. Struggles over Race and Sectionalism 3. Social Studies Wars in New Deal America 4. The Cold War Assault on Textbooks 5. Black Activism, White Resistance, and Multiculturalism II. God in the Schools 6. Religious Education in Public Schools 7. School Prayer and the Conservative Revolution 8. The Battle for Sex Education Epilogue: Searching for Common Ground Abbreviations Notes Acknowledgments Index

Predictors of Religiosity Among Youth Aged 17-22: A Longitudinal Study of the National Survey of Children

Abstract: Predictors of youth religiosity were developedfrom eight domains: childhood training, religious schooling, cognitive ability, psychodynamic need, parenting style, role models, family life cycle, and background demographics. Data are from the National Survey of Children (NSC). Predictors were assessed when participants were 7-11 and 11-16 years of age. Religiosity was assessed whenparticipants were 17-22 years (N = 1,046). After identifying the best predictors within a domain, an across-domain regression analysis was conducted to determine the predictors' relative contributions. The best predictors of youth religiosity were ethnicity and peers' church attendance during high school. Other predictors were, in order of decreasing magnitude: residence in the south, gendet; religious schooling during childhood, maternal religiosity, church attendance during childhood, the importance mothers placed on childhood religious training, and an interaction variable identifying religious mother-s who were very supportive. These analyses attest to the primacy of religious role models in the development of youth religiosity. In this study, we seek to advance the general understanding of religious development by comparing the relative utility of identified predictors of religiosity in eight conceptual domains. We are not so much advancing a specific theory of religious development but attempting to focus researchers' attention on key factors in religious development (e.g., parent-child relationships) that cut across many theories of religious development. Youth are an interesting test case for the study of religious development. Comparisons of religiosity across the life span suggests that religiosity declines during high school and stabilizes (at least temporarily) at relatively low levels during late adolescence (Wilson and Sherkat 1994). However, there is considerable variability among youth. Ozorak's (1989) polarization hypothesis suggests that highly religious individuals become more religious during adolescence, and those low in religiosity become less religious during adolescence. Stabilized levels of religiosity among youth are especially interesting from a socialization perspective in that many youth may be experiencing religiosity as a voluntary behavior for the first time.

A meta-analysis of the effects of attending religious schools and religiosity on black and hispanic academic achievement

Abstract: Using meta-analysis, this study sought to determine the effects of religious schooling and personal religious commitment on African American and Hispanic students’ academic achievement. The results indicate that religious schooling and religious commitment each have a positive effect on academic achievement and school-related behavior. In the case of religious schooling, the effect sizes that emerged for religious schooling tended to be larger for older children. The effect sizes for religious schooling were evenlarger for school-related behavior thanthey were for academic achievement. The significance of these results is discussed.

Catholic Schools Enduring Presence in Urban America

Abstract: Paradoxically, because Catholic schools did not abandon education in urban society, the recent Supreme Court ruling on vouchers awakens interest in one of our nation’s best-kept urban secrets. Usin...

Human Rights and Religious Education: Some Postcolonial Perspectives

Abstract: This paper presents some provisional and outline considerations for religious education of a new ‘human rights culture’ in the UK and globally (in part deriving from the recent implementation of the Human Rights Act in the UK and other international human rights legislation). Principally, it is argued that religious education needs to take more account of the political implications of teaching and learning in the representation of religious traditions. The paper thus balances a Utopian agenda for religious education with the global and often dystopian realities of cultural conflict ‐ especially involving human rights in international context. It urges too that particular account be taken of postcoioniai criticism as a means of clarifying inherent power relations within and between religions and cultures.

Equal Access to State Funding: The Case of Muslim Schools in Britain.

Abstract: The decision to award government funding to four independent Muslim schools in Britain placed the spotlight on the issue of the public purse being used for private institutions, and also brought to an end the 15-year battle that Muslim communities waged in order to receive equality of treatment. This article provides an overview of this movement and highlights the issues surrounding equitable treatment of minority groups in society. There are presently around 100 independent Muslim schools in Britain today, a percentage of which have applied for voluntary-aided status and have aspired to fulfil government criteria. Up until 1998 they have always failed, often on spurious grounds which were not used to deny funding to other schools. The Conservative Government was confused in its thinking on the issue, declaring that it was uncomfortable providing finance for what would be an all-black (Asian) school, and that such institutions would be socially divisive (Swann report, 1985). These arguments lacked basis o...

The University Gets Religion: Religious Studies in American Higher Education

Abstract: In The University Gets Religion: Religious Studies in American Higher Education, historian D. G. Hart examines the rise of religion to its current place as one of the largest academic disciplines in contemporary higher education. Protestant ministers and faculty, arguing for the importance of religion to a truly "liberal" education, were especially influential in staffing departments and designing curricula to reflect their own assumptions about the value of religion not just for higher education but for American culture in general. But the success of mainstream Protestantism in fostering the academic study of religion has become the field's greatest burden. Religion scholars have distanced themselves from traditional Protestant orientations while looking for topics better suited to America's cultural diversity. As a result, religion is in the awkward position of being one of the largest scholarly disciplines while simultaneously lacking a solid academic justification. It may be time, Hart argues, for academics to stop trying to secure a religion-friendly university.

In Defence of Religious Schools and Colleges

Abstract: It is often argued that religious schools and colleges promote intolerance, divisiveness, and fanaticism and that they violate the principle of academic freedom. Some writers also suggest that economic support for religious schools by the state violates the principle of the separation of church and state. Elmer Thiessen provides a philosophical defence of religious schools and colleges against these and other standard objections. He concludes with a radical proposal: a pluralistic educational system will better prepare students for citizenship in pluralist liberal democracies than a monopolistic state-maintained school system. In placing his argument within the context of liberal-democratic values Thiessen gives concrete examples of objections to religious schools and offers practical suggestions that follow from the philosophical treatment of the problem. In Defence of Religious Schools and Colleges bridges the gap between philosophical argument and educational practice. It will be of interest not only to philosophers and educational theorists but also to practitioners in education. Academics, policy makers, political theorists, lay-people, teachers, administrators, and parents B those who object to religious schools and colleges and those who find themselves trying to answer the objections B will benefit from reading this book.

Working Women/Cloistered Men: A Family Development Approach to Marriage Arrangements among Ultra-orthodox Jews*

Abstract: INTRODUCTION Women's labor force participation has been increasing both in the United States (Wilkie, 1991) and elsewhere (Richter, 1994; Meleis and Bernal, 1995; Mehra et al., 1996) as they take additional responsibility for the support of children and other kin. An important issue in family research has been the problem of stress among married women in the work force due to multiple roles and possible conflicting demands of husbands, children and employers (Affleck, 1985; Barnett and Baruch, 1985; Presser, 1988; Hochschild and Machung, 1989; Potucheck, 1992; Agarwal, 1994). Recent research in family development has focussed on the dual-earner family in comparison with the traditional one-earner family with a male provider, assessing how the articulation between work and family demands is affected by the timing and sequence of stages in the family career (White, 1999). A less common but theoretically interesting variation is the family maintained by a woman with the husband present. Married women are not generally expected to take on the main financial support of the family unless the husband is disabled or temporarily unemployed (Voydanoff, 1987), in compulsory military service (Hogan, 1978), or in an occupation which requires long training such as law, academia and medicine (Fowlkes, 1980). This paper uses the family development approach to examine a cultural marriage variant in which the wife supports the family during an early stage of the marriage. A growing trend among ultraOrthodox Jews, who number approximately 360,000 in the United States (Goldstein, 1992), is for the husband to delay his entry into the job market, often for years, in order to participate in full-time religious study. Unlike the professional school, however, the educational program or "kollel" does not usually lead to an advanced professional degree or provide the students with any skills readily transferable to the workplace. The long involvement of the husband in education, the norm of child-bearing early in the marriage (Friedlander and Feldmann, 1993), large family size and traditional gender norms, place the main responsibility for working, child rearing and home management on the wife. In such multiple-role situations, working women from a variety of backgrounds have turned to networks of support (Lee and Keith, 1999; Jarrett and Burton, 1999; Weiss, 1999). This article examines the consequences of timing norms and the resultant economic and normative pressures on women as well as their use of support networks as coping strategies for handling these pressures. The subjects of this study are present and past kollel wives who are currently U.S. residents. The data are drawn from a larger study of women and kollel among three ultra Orthodox groups: Lubavitcher Hasidim, Aish HaTorah and Jews of the yeshiva world or the "Yeshivish." These groups differ in their organization, social structure, patterns of authority and. philosophical outlook, but share "an unswerving commitment to scrupulous Torah observance" and the view that, except for vocational training, all knowledge of importance lies in Torah (Jewish law) (Belcove-Shalin, 1995:15). The "Yeshivish" are the most committed to the ideal of a "society of scholars" and attempt to extend kollel as long as possible. In the United States this usually means up to seven or eight years. Lubavitcher Hasidim usually limit kollel to a year or two since their primary mission is outreach to secular Jews, although sometimes newly religious couples will remain in kollel longer, using it as an opportunity to "catch up" in religious education. Aish HaTorah, a relatively new movement founded in the 1960s, is made up almost exclusively of the newly religious and, like the Lubavitcher Hasidim, limits kollel to a few years after which students are expected to take on outreach activities. Previous Research A search of the literature on American kollel families reveals that there has been little scholarly attention to this topic. …

Religious Upbringing Reconsidered

Abstract: There is, on the face of it, a logical difficulty as well as a practical one about ascribing to parents both a right to give their children a religious upbringing and a duty to avoid indoctrinating them. Curiously, this logical difficulty was largely overlooked in the debate on religious upbringing and parental rights between Terence McLaughlin, Eamonn Callan and Peter Gardner in the 1980s. In this paper I set out the terms of the logical problem and propose a solution to it.

Classification and Framing of the Curriculum in Evangelical Christian and Muslim Schools in England and The Netherlands

Abstract: This article examines some of the ways that Muslim and evangelical Christian schools in England and The Netherlands deal with religious education. Various schools take different views about how aspects of religious belief should be taught and how Christian or Muslim belief should be related to the wider curriculum of the school. While some of the schools have attempted to integrate, for example, evangelical Christianity throughout the whole of the curriculum, others have been content to have the religious teaching as a separate component of the curriculum. This paper uses the work of Basil Bernstein to describe and understand the nature of the religious curriculum in these schools. Through a series of case studies of schools and curricula it examines the nature of the curricula and their possible effects on children.

Another Look at Character Education in Christian Schools.

Abstract: A review of the literature and meta-analytic research into the effectiveness of character/moral education programs reveals that Christian educators should be wary of implementing such curricula. A brief history of character education demonstrates how the field has evolved. Problems associated with programming rationale, faulty methodology, and the lack of appropriate research may leave educators questioning the validity of character education interventions. Recommendations for practice in Christian education contexts are provided.

Intercultural Relations and Religious Authorities: Muslims in the European Union

Abstract: The permanent presence of Islam and Muslims in the countries of the European Union implies many different forms of intercultural relations at different levels of society, as for instance, between Muslims and other religious or philosophical groups, within the framework of social and health care, in city life and within the sector of education. Furthermore, the relations between Muslim religious authorities and society at large may be seen as forms of intercultural relations. All these types of intercultural relations are influenced by the images fostered by various groups and individuals about the "Others". The chapters comprising of this volume each contribute to the elucidation of some aspects of these processes of intercultural relations. They have been grouped into four main categories: - the image-formation about Islam and Muslims and its impact on their position in the countries of the European Union, especially in the press, in schoolbooks and in local politics; - the intercultural relations between Muslims and other groups and institutions in the countries concerned, as stereotypes and prejudices can exercise a detrimental effect upon intercultural relations within many different sectors of society; - religion and education, and especially the Islamic Religious Education as well as the religiousness of Muslim and non-Muslim pupils; - the religious authorities of the Muslim communities in the countries of the European Union and their contribution to the formation of a "European Islam". In this context special attention is paid to the role Muslim religious authorities play in the discussions concerning political participation by Muslims in the West.

Why Should States Fund Denominational Schools

Abstract: It is generally accepted that liberal states should fund public schools for compulsory education. But whether states should also finance denominational schools is controversial. Does such funding not compromise the principle of liberal neutrality? In this article we evaluate two opposing views on this question. Both views give different interpretations of liberal neutrality and both have contrasting views on the relation between education and conceptions of the good. Arguing that neither view is convincing, we defend an alternative view, which holds that the liberal state under certain conditions should fund denominational schools.

Working Paper 36, Christian Confessionalism and Phenomenological Religious Education:

Abstract: IT IS NOW over thirty years since the publication of the Schools' Council, Working Paper 36: Religious Education in the Secondary School. It is widely regarded as one of the most influential documents on British religious education in the post-war era. The aim of this paper is to reassess and re-evaluate Working Paper 36's central arguments: (1) its critique of Christian confessionalism in education; (2) its advocacy of a phenomenological approach to religious education; and (3) its strategy for developing tolerance among adherents of different religions or none. I conclude that the central arguments of Working Paper 36 are much less robust than is believed by many contemporary commentators on religious education.

Writing Church‐sponsored Religious Education Textbooks

Abstract: This paper reports on and analyses some aspects of the development by the Catholic Archdiocese in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia of a series of religious education textbooks to be used in all Catholic schools in the Archdiocese. It surveys research and literature on textbooks in the contemporary classroom to show that they are still used as key tools in teaching and learning. The author then analyses some local issues that were in the background to the decision to produce textbooks, explains and justifies the choice of content for the middle secondary books, which are intended for use by 14 and 15 year olds, and discusses three themes from the literature which have affected the presentation of the books. Finally, a brief indication of an ongoing evaluation plan is presented. Because this project is very new ‐ the first books have only been used for one year and later levels are still being written ‐ the purpose of this paper is largely descriptive, and historical in that it sets the development of the ser...

Conceptual Changes in Religious Concepts of Elementary Schoolchildren: The case of the house where God lives

Abstract: The present paper was part of a larger project, which investigated the process of knowledge acquisition in Christian religion. The concept of God in particular is a core construct in any religion and it has been involved in a number of changes in the history of religions. Some of those changes were observed in the children's constructions of the house that God lives in. Among children's drawings we found changes which imply, in terms of Thagard (1992) not only belief revision, but also a conceptual change. However, hierarchy reinterpretation, in which the concept of God changes from the part of the cosmos to the creator (ontologically different from the creatures) we did not observe among the primary school children. The development of the different hierarchies we constructed on the basis of children's drawings seems to follow the developmental changes, which took place in the history of Greek religions. Finally, there were some implications for Religious Education.

An analysis of Religious Educaton Coordinators' perceptions of their role in Catholic Secondary Schools in the Archdiocese of Melbourne

Abstract: This thesis analysed Religious Education Coordinators' perceptions of their role in Catholic secondary schools of the Archdiocese of Melbourne from 1970 - 2000. The theoretical framework for the study, which was reported on in this thesis, was drawn from Catholic Church documents on religious education at both international and national levels, and from the work of researchers within the field of religious education. In particular the study investigated the diversity of language used to describe religious education and religious education theory and analysed the significance that this has had in the development of an understanding of the role of the Religious Education Coordinator. It was argued that there were significant factors in the development of the role of the Religious Education Coordinator that included changes in the understanding of the nature and purpose of religious education during the second half of the twentieth century. In addition there were historical factors peculiar to the Archdiocese of Melbourne that played an important part in the understanding of the RECs role. Quantitative data in the form of annual survey material (1988-1999) from the Catholic Education Office Melbourne provided a framework for the empirical component of the research. The empirical component involved the interviewing of Religious Education Coordinators from a deliberately selected sample that covered the range of skills and experiences deemed necessary in the research. The purpose was to ascertain from the perspective of the Religious Education Coordinators themselves how they analysed their role. Grounded theory methodology was used as the basis for the inductive analysis of the data that emerged from the in-depth interviews. Theory that was generated on the role of the Religious Education Coordinator includes: the importance of an understanding of the theoretical dimensions of religious education and the role of the Religious Education Coordinator; an elaboration of the role of the Religious Education Coordinator in the school context and the necessary skills and attributes that are required to meet the challenges in the role; and the complexity of the challenges that are faced by the Religious Education Coordinator.

Journeying as religious education: the shaman, the hero, the pilgrim, and the labyrinth walker

Abstract: In this article the author looks at the image of journey and its archeform, quest, and finds two spiritual concepts: that of movement to the center followed by a return, and the concomitant understanding that all that has arisen and reached maturity must return to renew itself. Four journeys, the shamanic journey of soul, the hero's journey of spirit, the pilgrimage of community, and the allegorical journey of the labyrinth, are viewed from this persepctive. These journeys are formulated into a context of myth, ritual, symbol, and story which places them at the heart of religious education as bearers of religious tradition and meaning.

Issues in Religious Education

Abstract: Part 1: The Nature of Religious Education Within the School Curriculum 1. The Statutory Requirement for Religious Education 1988 - 2000: Religious, Political and Social Influences 2. A Rationale for Religious Education 3. Religious Education in Church Schools 4. Commitment and Indoctrination: A Dilemma for RE? 5. Assessing Achievement in Religious Education from Early Years to A-Level 6. Inspecting Religious Education: Can Inspections Improve Religious Education? 7. Religious Education in the European Context Part 2: Religious Education in the Classroom Development Through Religious Education? 9. Ethnography and Religious Education 10. Not 'Either - Or', More a Case of 'Both - And': Towards an Inclusive Gender Strategy for Religious Education 11. Education for All: Religious Education and Pupils with Special Needs: A Dialogue 12. The Birth of a New Religious Studies at Post-16 Part 3: Religious Education and the Wider Curriculum 13. The Contribution of Religious Education to Whole School Initiatives 14. Is Religious Education and Ethical and Moral Debate a Contradiction? 15. Embodying the Spirit - Realising RE's Potential in the Spiritual Dimension of the Curriculum 16. Religious Education and Collective Worship: Bedfellows or Just Good Friends? 17. World Religions: The Boundaries of Belief and Unbelief

Conceptions of the Study of Jewish Texts in Teachers Professional Development.

Abstract: The proliferation of the study of Jewish texts in settings of teachers professional development poses a challenge for teacher educators. What is the study of these texts to provide for teachers?

World Religions and the Northern Ireland Curriculum

Abstract: The aim of this article is to assess the arguments for and against the inclusion of a study of world religions within the religious education provision of schools in Northern Ireland. The point of departure for our discussion is the Inter-Faith Forum's recent claim that exclusively Christian content may be in breach of equality and human rights legislation. It is concluded that there should be teaching about world religions but that multi-faith religious education of the form espoused in England and Wales, whereby a wide range of religions is covered, is inappropriate to the Northern Irish educational and cultural context.

Pastoral counselling: An American perspective

Abstract: While pastoral counselling is a function of pastoral ministry in religious communities, it is also a specialised ministry requiring professional training that extends well beyond a pastoral/ theological education for ministry, as well as beyond the confines of religious communities. This article is an American perspective on Certified Pastoral Counsellors as mental health care providers for individuals, couples, and families, generally on a fee-for-service basis, with many qualifying for reimbursement by private and federal third party payers. It demonstrates that pastoral counselling as practised in the USA is spiritually integrated counselling and psychotherapy, requiring graduate academic and clinical work in these disciplines as well as graduate education in religious studies. It offers an American perspective on this specialised ministry of mental and relational health and discusses its identity and function, methodology, supervision requirements, and the clinical use of religious resources, includin...

The Development of a Christian Ideology of Inclusive Education.

Abstract: Inclusive education, as the ideal in which every student is fully included in the regular classroom, regardless of abilities, has become the educational model for a number of Christian schools in the Reformed Christian tradition. This article traces the development of these Christian schools in Canada and the United States, focusing on the changing parental expectations, the schools' sphere of influence in the family and community, and the church's responsibility to its youth. The ideal of inclusion becomes an ideology when it proposes to be the template for all. The development of God's gifts in every child needs to be focused on the individual child's needs in the present and the future rather than an inclusive modified sameness of curriculum for all.

The idea of a Catholic university

Abstract: Drawing on theology and the history of philosophy, O'Brien shows how religious truth relates to the work of the Catholic university. He concludes with a practical consideration of how the ideal relates to the actual life of the curriculum.