The humanist movement of the Northern Renaissance--often called "Christian humanism" or "Erasmian humanism" (after its most famous member, Desiderius Erasmus)--had a lasting impact on many areas of European intellectual and cultural life. This paper reviews the contribution of Erasmus and his circle to the theory and practice…

Despite 15 years of sporadic efforts, religion today in Bosnia and Herzegovina is more of a hindrance than a help to promoting peaceful coexistence among the region's various ethnic and religious groups. Polarization and extremism make religions other than one's own even more distant, strange and threatening. Physical interaction that existed…

This article looks at the long-term consequences of a political campaign that was influential in Britain between 1988 and 1992, the Christian Schools Campaign. The campaign was a response to the need for funding of a group of small independent Christian schools. The article brings up to date the direct outcomes of the campaign in two areas. The…

Catholic universities have a particular role to play in social development and cultural progress. Through their encounter with the Gospel, they have the opportunity to provide transformational experiences for students, faculty, and staff. One powerful means of such development and progress is to promote the engagement of students and staff with…

This paper considers the educational policy of the Church Missionary Society in Egypt in the above-mentioned period in an attempt to understand the mission's social impact in the light of, and in spite of, its lack of converts. It examines the Mission's goals for evangelizing among Muslim girls and the influence of the CMS on the development of…

Sociologists have long sought to understand the relationship between collective experiences and individual commitments. This article examines the short-term mission as an institutionalized religious experience, assessing its prevalence, predictors and impact on the religious trajectories of the youth who participate in them. Religiously devout…

Researchers have been studying the conditions that matter in supporting the successful transition and persistence of students to the collegiate environment for more than three decades (Astin, 1997; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005; Kuh, Kinzie, Schuh, Whitt & Associates, 2005; Upcraft, Gardner & Associates, 1989). As first suggested by Sanford (1962,…

This article discusses the almost identical syllabuses of the Christian and Muslim religious education programmes of the Syrian Arab Republic. Content analysis of the students' textbooks and teachers' guides (in Arabic) reveals common themes of citizenship education and national unity. Classroom observations in Damascus also highlight how…

In her seminal essay on white privilege, McIntosh (1988) began a discussion on privilege that has taken hold in areas outside her original intent. In this chapter, the author discusses privilege as it pertains not only to race and gender but to religion, especially the Christian faith. The author incorporates the current state of religious flux in…

"Meditation and the Classroom" inventively articulates how educators can use meditation to educate the whole student. Notably, a number of universities have initiated contemplative studies options and others have opened contemplative spaces. This represents an attempt to address the inner life. It is also a sign of a new era, one in…

Kafka is a writer of strong religious complex. In "The Trail," he illustrates his religious thoughts by probing into the alienation of modern human beings from the God and also shows his pursuit and befuddlement of beliefs. This paper analyzes the crimes and punishment in "The Trail" through three parts, the accusation of…

The essay interprets Delilah Montoya's artworks in the context of so-called feminist theology, drawing from its ideas about desire, natality, and self-divination. After discussing the theme of desire and the quest for women's religious agency in some of Montoya's earlier works, the essay focuses on the photo-installation "La Guadalupana",…

This paper will address the question of Islamic fatalism. Survey data will be used to assess Samuel P. Huntington's controversial "Clash of Civilizations" thesis and its emphasis on fatalism as an inherent characteristic of Islamic religion. The concept of fatalism is expanded and theorized as a function of both structural and…

This study builds on previous research regarding parent-child religious conversations to explore the transactional processes of these conversations. It employs qualitative analyses of interviews with highly religious parents and adolescents representing the Abrahamic faiths (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) from New England and Northern California.…

The word gospel means "good news," and gospel music is the good news of the message of Jesus of Nazareth in song. African American gospel is a style that is growing in popularity. The number of twenty-four-hour gospel radio stations in the United States is increasing, and sales of gospel music recordings are on the rise. Gospel music…