The former British Labour Government acknowledged that religious practices play an important role in the development of children's identities [DCFS. (2009). "Your child, your schools, our future: building a 21st century schools system." London: HMSO; DfES (2007). "Curriculum review: Diversity and citizenship." London: HMSO].…

In this study, preservice teachers' demographic variables such as race, innercity program experiences, religious affiliation, and cross-cultural friendships are examined to see if they influence the preservice teachers' beliefs on issues of diversity. The data are from a Personal Beliefs About Diversity Scale and a Professional Beliefs About…

The REDCo project addressed the question of how study of religions and values in schools could contribute to either dialogue or tension in Europe. Researchers in the humanities and social sciences co-operated in order to gain better insight into how European citizens of different religious, cultural and political backgrounds could enter into…

The Belief Diversity Scale (BDS) was administered to 89 male Canadian offenders of different religious backgrounds. The BDS is a 33-item, six-subscale instrument designed to quantitatively measure the religious attitudes, beliefs, and ideologies of Middle Eastern extremists on risk areas described in the literature. Results indicated that the…

Starting his work as endowed Hendrik Pierson Professor for Christian Education at VU University Amsterdam in 1993 the author focused on the relationship of education, pedagogy, and religion. However, his attention was rather exclusively directed to Protestant schools. The argument was that in academia at that time, even in the faculties of…

This paper seeks to understand different religions and cultures by comparing and contrasting the similarities, differences, and opinions found within two religious/cultural groups. This case study uses the Social Learning Theory of communication to illustrate how perceptions of others are formed in a community with a growing Muslim population. It…

In a quantitative survey of religious attitudes and practices in a multi-religious sample of 369 school pupils aged between 13 and 15 in London, the practice of bowing to parents was found widespread in 22% of adolescents spanning several religious affiliations and ethnicities--especially Buddhists, Hindus and those of Indian, African and…

The author shares the results of her research with focus groups of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and atheist students who discussed their religious and spiritual beliefs with her and with each other. She offers these students' words in order to encourage other educators to consider hosting similarly structured conversations and to think about the…

The author observes that now many religious educators are grappling with the realization that forming persons in faith today necessitates teaching them "to be religious interreligiously." Yet, there is one inter-religious relationship that is absolutely fundamental to Christianity: its relationship with Judaism in both the past and present. The…

This study compared the perceptions of the mission identity and mission-driven campus activities of faculty (n = 305) and staff (n = 584) at a large urban Catholic university. Moreover, it compared employees who were self identified as Catholic (n = 375), Christian (n = 204), other faiths (n = 161), or no religious preference (n = 159).…

Purpose: This paper aims to identify the preferences towards sex education and information from a religiously diverse sample of young people. The research builds on growing evidence towards religious affiliation having a strong influence on sexual attitudes and behaviour. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 3,007 young people aged 15-18…

A questionnaire to assess views about spiritual development was completed by 112 of the 174 head teachers of church primary schools in Wales. The findings indicated that despite the seemingly ambiguous nature of the term "spiritual development", head teachers had clear views about its meaning. While most head teachers emphasised the need…

Evangelical Christians are an enduring and growing presence in the field of English language teaching worldwide and in the TESOL organization in particular. Yet to date, hardly any empirical research has been done on this population of teachers or on the links between English teaching, religious beliefs, and missionary work. This article reports…

A meta-program theory is proposed to overcome the limitations and improve the use of program theory as an approach to faith-based program evaluation. The essentials for understanding religious organizations, their various programs, and faith and spirituality are discussed to support a rationale for developing a faith-based program theory that…

In 2003 a campaign took place against a new model of sex education in South Australia. This campaign, organized primarily by Christian Right groups, included community forums, a letter-writing campaign, extensive media coverage and a parliamentary debate. This paper analyses the language, arguments and strategies used by those who opposed the…