World War II stands as a defining moment for American higher education. During the crisis of international relations that existed by the late 1930s, American thinkers of various stripes felt compelled to mobilize the country's intellectual and educational resources in defense of democracy, thus creating "a great ideological revival of democracy…

Cornel West presents a vision of a democratic struggle that is inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. He places heterosexism within the context of capitalism and connects it to other forms of oppression. (SK)

This essay examines Susan Moller Okin's writing on conflicts between religious freedom and sex equality, and her criticism of "political liberal" approaches to these conflicts, which I take to be a part of her lifelong critique of the public-private distinction. I argue that, while Okin ultimately accepted a version of the distinction, she was…

Responds to a pro-religious article by de Ruyter on Christian schools in a pluralistic society, suggesting that de Ruyter is unrealistic in many of his recommendations and conclusions and noting that while de Ruyter appears to be building a rather generous defense for the infusion of Christian schools in a democracy, the defense incorporates…

Discusses whether separate Christian schools are defensible in a pluralistic, liberal democracy, presenting the perspective of Christian parents and assuming that these parents want their children to attend separate Christian schools. The paper argues that Christian education and separate Christian schools can be compatible with civic education…

Responds to a pro-religious article on Christian schools in a pluralistic society (the Netherlands), examining religious education in North America and the education of religious teachers. The paper emphasizes the creation of two distinct school systems in the U.S. and Canada which evolved from Catholic perceptions that public education was not…

Replies to two authors who commented on an article about Christian schools in a pluralistic society. The paper focuses on four questions and comments from both of the commentaries related to spirituality and religious education. It also discusses the issue of educating for critical thinking and defends the original article's central ideas and…

The nature of education is to learn to think. Thinking demands the weighing of argument, analyzing and evaluating logic, and judging conclusions. These are God given tools to wrestle with big questions of life. A tolerant, pluralistic, truly democratic school system will create respectful, open forums in the classrooms for the worldviews of…