Religious education (RE) in secondary schools in the Netherlands is challenged to redefine the educational aims. Concerning this debate, the preference for a cognitive approach is remarkably dominant, not only among scholars but among RE teachers as well. This appeal for a cognitive turn is based upon two hypotheses: first on the presumption of…

Being a religious educator in Western Europe, especially in the highly secularised Netherlands, is a complicated job. There are concepts to be taught to a generation that is mostly religiously analphabetic. Religion is subject to many discussions that foremost include the media's coverage of extremist versions of religion. It has become more…

Background: In the Netherlands, most of the academic curricula for teacher training in religious education (RE) focus on shortfalls of students, like a lack of knowledge about the plurality of worldviews and the diversity in interpretations of the Christian tradition. In our research project, the focus is not on the students, but on the university…

Notwithstanding dramatically low levels of professed religiosity in Western Europe, the religious school sector continues to thrive. One explanation for this paradox is that nowadays parents choose religious schools primarily for their higher academic reputation. Empirical evidence for this presumed denominational advantage is mixed. We examine…

This document presents Volume V of the bound journal, "American Journal of Education." The journal was established to enter into a range of education-related discussion and investigation. Among the topics covered by the articles in this volume are: John Kingsbury and the Young Ladies' High School in Providence, Rhode Island; ventilation…