Stephen Prothero's "Religious Literacy" makes a strong case that minimal religious literacy is an essential requirement for contemporary U. S. citizens. He argues further that high schools and colleges should offer required courses in the study of religion in order to help students reach that baseline literacy. Beyond the general recommendation…

Discusses the scant attention that education has paid to religion historically. Suggests perceiving Christianity in its historical development as ecclesiastical, social, and personal. Observes that religious education is independent of both theology and pedagogics. Demonstrates that the discourse between pedagogics and theology must be based on…

Explores prospects for self-government for the Native peoples of Canada. Reviews the historical background of the Native community's loss of political autonomy. Explains how missionary efforts and the ethnocentric views of Europeans disrupted the community's culture and individual families. Identifies education as the key to effective self-rule in…

Describes fifteenth-century Spain's tendencies that proved central to the Columbian enterprise: experience as a conquering and colonizing kingdom, interest in Atlantic expansion, and missionary inclination. Argues that Columbus's arrival in Spain came at the perfect time in Spanish history. Stresses Spain's long history of religious war, conquest,…

Suggests that, although secular education exists, it historically has been influenced by Christian beliefs. Argues that pedagogical theory, as moral, is not prepared for the economic orientation of contemporary culture. Explains that educational theory did not break with religion as the sciences did. Concludes that no pedagogy exists that avoids…

Argues Fukayama's assertion of "end of history" must be seen as attempt to establish new civil theology to guide political deliberations. Asserts Fukayama thesis is based on Hegelian view of ideas becoming real through human imagination and will. Claims end of era is not identical to end of history and that socialism will be reborn in…

Examined are ways in which beliefs and values arise in science education specifically, though not exclusively, involving Christian connections. The nature of science is discussed and one textbook's treatment of the Galileo Affair is considered. (Author/CW)

An attempt was made to describe the experience of Christian religious education for its participants. This research is both ethnographic and hermeneutic. Thick descriptions gathered from ethnographic methods like participant observation, in-depth interviews, and journal keeping served as text for analysis. Weekly visits of one to four hours were…

Reflects on the teaching of political philosophy. Reviews political philosophy throughout the ages and discusses the questions raised by philosophers. Finds the modern university to be conformist and argues writing is freer and more permanent than teaching. (NL)

Discusses Columbus's motivation for his explorations. Argues that his ideas of geography and navigation were not novel but based on ancient and medieval sources. Claims that Columbus was motivated by a belief that his destiny was to carry Christianity to pagans, thereby ushering in the end of the world and final judgment. (DK)

Asserts that western civilization's belief in the differentiation between object and subject impedes a true multicultural discourse. Praises the postmodernist approach, that self-evident reality is actually a politically constructed text, as being useful in identifying subjectivity. Argues for acknowledgment, rather than displacement of,…

Proposes a mode of religious education that accentuates the self-actualizing, humanistic aspects of religious thought while downplaying the exclusionary and confrontational pathologies. Maintains that the power of spiritual commitment, devoid of rancorous judgments, can be a force for positive global transformation. (MJP)

Attempts a redefinition of spirituality and an incorporation of this into art education. Argues that symbolic and spiritual consciousness plays a crucial role in the works of artists as disparate as William Blake and Frida Kahlo. Criticizes the preeminence of scientific theory as a modern belief system. (MJP)

Contends that teaching only about the 1933-1945 period of German persecution of Jews serves a very limited purpose. Argues that the foundations of anti-Semitic beliefs and practices have a long history and should be part of Holocaust education. Describes the origins, development, and key events in anti-Semitism in Europe. (CFR)

Maintains that the history of anti-Semitism has historical links to Christian theology. Asserts that Christianity provided ample fuel for the secular anti-Semitism preached by Hitler and the Nazi party. Contends that educators can draw important lessons on the value of education and the pedagogy of teaching history. (CFR)