Roman Catholic schools have been part of the state-funded system of education in England and Wales since the 1850s. Currently, Roman Catholic schools provide places for around 10% of students attending state-maintained primary and secondary schools. The present study employed data collected during the 1990s to compare a range of religious, social,…

This article reports on the development of scales for measuring moral values in three domains: anti-social behaviour, sex and relationships, and substance use. Students studying religion at A level in 25 schools were invited to respond to 32 Likert items that referred to a wide range of moral issues and behaviours, employing a 5-point response…

This study begins by examining the way in which, in both England and Wales, Religious Education has become implicated in political discussion regarding the role of education in promoting community cohesion. The relationship between taking Religious Education as an examination subject and attitude towards religious diversity (as an affective…

Some of the Gospel passages proposed for Disability Awareness Sunday raise challenges as well as opportunities for preachers. This paper reports findings from an educational exercise, drawing on insights from the SIFT approach to biblical hermeneutics, in which 23 Anglican clergy studied Mark 2: 1-12 and Mark 10: 46-52 in groups structured…

The Young People's Attitudes to Religious Diversity Project was established to compare the attitudes of students (13-to 15-years of age) educated within the state-maintained sector in church schools (Catholic, Anglican, joint Anglican and Catholic) and in schools without a religious foundation. Data provided by 5,402 students recruited from…

This article argues that the nation's commitment to young people involves proper concern for their physical health, their psychological health, and their spiritual health. In this context the notion of spiritual health is clarified by a critique of John Fisher's model of spiritual health. Fisher developed a relational model of spiritual health,…

Recognition that the United Kingdom has increasingly become a multi-cultural and multi-faith society has raised questions about the place of church schools or schools with a religious character within the state-maintained sector. The issue was given particular focus by the Runnymede Trusts report "Right to divide? Faith schools and community…

From the late 1960s independent Christian schools have emerged in England and Wales, initiated either by churches or by parents. Many of these new independent schools are linked through the Christian Schools Trust. The impact that these schools are exerting on their students may be of interest for the churches with which they are associated and of…

The present study begins by distinguishing between three kinds of "faith schools" (known as schools with a religious character) within England and Wales: faith schools that operate within the state-maintained sector and had their origin in voluntary church-related initiatives prior to the Education Act 1870; "traditional"…

Survey data provided by 361 headteachers regarding religious education provision at Key Stages one and two within schools in Wales are modelled to distinguish between three main approaches to religious education, characterised as concerned with spiritual development, world religions, and Christian nurture. No differences in emphasis on these three…

Tests two theories suggesting that declining scores on scales of attitude towards religion during secondary schooling may be an artifact either of the specific measuring instruments or of a more general adolescent discontent. Concludes that this decline in scores is due to actual attitudes towards religion. Includes an extensive bibliography.…

In a Christian adult study program, 29 men and 32 women completed personality questionnaires. Extraverts were more likely to enjoy group learning and discussion. Because much Christian spirituality emphasizes introversion, group adult education is a way of ministering to extraverts. However, teaching styles and methods to suit other personality…

Examines adolescent attitudes towards Christianity, science, creationism, and scientism among high school students (n=1584) between the ages of 14-16. Reports that the apparent independence of attitude towards science and attitude towards Christianity is transformed into a positive relationship after taking into account individual differences in…

The present study has built on three earlier studies reported by Francis and Burton (1994), Francis and Evans (1996), and Francis (2005) to test the hypothesis that there is a positive correlation between frequency of prayer and perceived purpose in life among 13-to 15-year-old young people who are within a community with high levels of church…

Paul Hirst's concept that education is an autonomous discipline to which the theologian cannot make a contribution, even in church-related schools, is reviewed and criticized. Hirst has not made a case for excluding theologians from educational debate or the church from operating educational institutions. (IS)