Heutagogy--also known as self-determined learning--empowers individuals to take charge of their personal growth by fostering proactive approaches to self-development. In a Christian context, self-enacted spiritual growth can operate within a range of personal, denominational, and/or hermeneutical understandings of discipleship. Moreover,…

This phenomenological study examines lived experiences and perceptions of Christian parents of young children to investigate their approaches to faith activity and nurture and the extent to which this includes authenticity of welcome for young children in the modern-day church. Online survey data was analysed thematically through the lens of…

The Adult Religious Education and Faith Development project (AREFD) was launched in 2018 at the Mater Dei Centre for Catholic Education, DCU. As part of the study, the research team consulted variety of people involved in AREFD across a range of contexts. The purpose of these consultations was to harness their 'lived wisdom', showcasing the wide…

The devastating impacts of climate change on daily life are becoming more and more apparent. These challenging times call for religious educators in all contexts to help faith communities bring the lens of climate justice to all aspects of faith formation. In this article, the Religious Education Association (REA) 2024 program chairs share…

We make two interventions in two evolving scholarly literatures. First, we show how fractal metaphors escape a recurring dichotomy in Christian pedagogical scholarship, the either/or of alienation from one's object of study versus union with it in "an act of love." Second, we try to replace recent interdisciplinary work's emphasis on…

Faith development in college students constitutes an important topic in higher education research, and Modern Orthodox Jewish college students are a small but particularly under-studied group of college-goers. Using a qualitative phenomenological approach, this study explored how Modern Orthodox Jewish college students understood their religious…

Since 1981, James Fowler's stage model of faith development has provided researchers with a framework for understanding the ways in which people develop belief systems over the course of their lives. Despite its helpfulness, there are several notable areas of critique that can be levelled against the model, including its lack of parsimony, heavy…

The REA Annual Meeting 2023 theme is organized around the question, "Whose children are they?" as a way to explore diverse and intersecting ways that we take and/or assign responsibilities for children's religious education. In this essay, the Program Chair reflects on personal and scholarly experiences and questions that have framed and…

This article examines to what extent any engagement with the themes of the Satan, demonic evil, and spiritual warfare appear in the scholarship and teaching within Christian higher education institutions. A review of the course descriptions from 104 of the 115 governing members of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities was conducted…

The following paper gives an abbreviated account of the argument in the recent book 'Challenges for Religious Education: is there a disconnection between faith and reason?' In paying particular attention to the perceived opposition between the systematic development of religious faith, on the one hand, and, on the other, the central educational…

The purpose of this project is to develop a holistic parent education program that establishes the parent's faith identity and empowers their spiritual practice that will lead to the child's spiritual formation. In the twelve-week program, parent-participants establish their own identity in faith to check and strengthen their competencies in their…

Though the promotion of spiritual 'development' is statutory in state-maintained schools in England and Wales, it is neither clear what spirituality is nor how schools might educate in this area. In the literature, one finds an array of divergent conceptions of spirituality and spiritual education. There is, indeed, lack of agreement regarding…

Introducing students to the similarities and connections among the Hebrew Bible, New Testament, and Qur'an is a means to introduce students to a shared source of humanity, beauty, wisdom, and solace. This article outlines a literature class that uses comparatist strategies to introduce these three foundational religious texts as literary works.…

Increasing rates of teacher attrition have exacerbated the shortage of teachers in regions of the United States. In response, some scholars have proposed initiatives that promote the professionalization of teaching, hoping to attract and retain new teachers through greater classroom autonomy and stronger professional development. Others have…

Spirituality is impossible to define, but numerous, common themes can be discerned. I suggest a model of spirituality based upon the oeuvre of Julia Kristeva, the Bulgarian/French philosopher, semiologist, and psychoanalyst. She is an atheist who has a great respect for belief. Her therapeutic work reveals compassion and a desire for the creation…