Conventional wisdom and antiquated stage development theories have had a negative effect on children's spirituality. This paper looks at an innovative spiritual practice (embodied prayer) that instead promotes children's agency and embodied engagement in multi-layered meaning making. It traces both the ways in which children respond to higher…

Informed by social and cultural perspectives, this article examines the religious literacies of sixteen Latter-day Saint young adults. Religious literacy for them was a deeply embedded religiosocial experience involving family, friends, and others associated with the faith (people); activities, events, and courses they participated in (programs);…

This article attempts to demonstrate similarities between the socioeconomic, cultural, and religious contexts of 18th-century England and 21st-century Canada. Revisiting the Sunday School movement in 18th-century England provides insights for the development of renewed Sunday School models in the current Canadian context of transnational…

As one means to assess their effectiveness in the formation and training of educational leaders for the United Methodist Church, professors of Christian education agreed to share their introductory course syllabi for analysis, interpretation, and public reporting. The analysis reveals points of strong overlap, very real differences, plus some…

The author believes that a deep sense of spirituality together with effective Christian education can be a powerful resource for equipping individuals and communities to play an active role in transforming their lives as well as oppressive systems that have impacted their communities. In her discussion of spirituality, womanist ethicist Emilie…

"Saved!" is the first Hollywood movie to focus on private religious education and is therefore a significant milestone in popular culture. The movie is critical of the school along the very dimensions of concern to Brighouse (2006): undermining personal autonomy, fostering social divisiveness, and promoting anti-democratic values. This article is…

Starting his work as endowed Hendrik Pierson Professor for Christian Education at VU University Amsterdam in 1993 the author focused on the relationship of education, pedagogy, and religion. However, his attention was rather exclusively directed to Protestant schools. The argument was that in academia at that time, even in the faculties of…

The vision statement of St. Saviour's Anglican Church in the Parish of Glen Osmon reads, "We aim to be a worshipping, caring, learning and serving Christian Community." These four aspects of Christian Community are essential and inter-related. The intention in the first part of this article is to explore the "learning" aspects…

Secular pluralism in contemporary culture and current theological divisions within churches have important implications for Christian education. This paper addresses the question of how religious commitments can be made and convictions held outside of polarizing and exclusionary understandings of truth, and without the presence of uncontested…

This article addresses three periods of evangelical Christian education development in the twentieth century. The early part of the century was a time of loss of influence and marginalization within the broader religious education movement. The middle part of the century saw an explosion of parachurch educational ministry efforts to assist the…

This study investigated the relationship between curriculum design and children's learning in church. Participants in this study included 12 six-year-old children attending two different Sabbath school classes in the same Midwestern Seventh-day Adventist church. A traditional curriculum guided instruction in Class 1. "GraceLink," a new curriculum,…

In every faith community, worship and education should be conceived and practiced as interdependent, interpenetrating dimensions of ecclesial life. Too often, however, worship and education are separated and compartmentalized to the detriment of both. This article explores a way to understand the inherent unity of worship and education and…

A sample of 334 undergraduates completed the Francis Scale of Attitude Toward Christianity and the Astley-Francis Open Worldview Scale, together with the short form Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. The data provide no support for the view that a positive attitude toward Christianity inhibits openness to other worldviews, although both…

Develops an educational philosophy for Christian religious education as it touches the AIDS crisis. Grounded in Thomas Groome's "shared Christian praxis" model and directed toward religious educators, the philosophy contains five components: present action, critical reflection, dialog, story, and vision. Examines each component, stating…

Explores the problems associated with being a church school teacher, stating that they are often overlooked, taken for granted, and given minimal help in carrying out their tasks. Reports on the interviews of 19 Presbyterian church school teachers and makes suggestions for future research. Suggests more support of church school teachers to make…