Background: This paper challenges the dominant story of Protestant and Catholic conflict by illustrating the critical role that mission schools played in creating denominational consensus in the West. Focus: Protestant and Catholic missionaries cast aside their differences as they worked toward common goals to "civilize," Christianize,…

The paper presents a critical evaluation of the Literature of the Troubles Project which was aimed at using literature in an educational context to help cement the process of peace and reconciliation between Northern Ireland's divided communities. The Project, funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, ran from September 2007 to August 2009. Its…

A meta-analysis was undertaken, including 41 studies to determine the influence of Catholic and Protestant schools. The analysis examined studies undertaken at both the elementary and secondary school level. The results indicate that both Catholic and Protestant school students do better than their counterparts in public schools. In addition,…

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) was an ecumenical council of Catholic bishops from around the world. The bishops made changes both in the internal life of the Church (e.g., the sacraments and daily practices of Catholics) and in the approach that the Church took toward other religions and toward the secular world. These changes transformed…

United States Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, writing for a plurality of the Court in "Mitchell v. Helms" in 2000, advanced the idea that state constitutional prohibitions against public funding of religious schools were manifestations of anti-Catholic bigotry in the late 19th century. Thomas's reading of history and law led him to believe…

In segregated societies such as Northern Ireland, schools may become sites of risk rather than sites of learning. This is particularly likely to be the case in interface areas, which are demarcated by peace-lines and other symbolic boundaries. Drawing on maps and focus group discussions with teenagers from interface areas in North Belfast, the…

Background: Northern Ireland is a province that remains deeply divided between Protestants and Catholics and maintains a segregated system of schools. Purpose: The research builds on a series of studies conducted in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s to monitor the attitude toward Christianity of males and females educated in Protestant and Catholic…

This study draws together two research traditions: John Greer's pioneering research among pupils in Protestant and Catholic schools in Northern Ireland and Leslie J. Francis's research concerning teenage religion and values in England and Wales. A sample of 1,585 13- to 15-year-old male pupils attending Catholic schools (n = 712) and Protestant…

The voucher system in Denmark combines unrestricted generous subsidies with substantial autonomy of private schools as to schedule and teaching methods. This has produced a private school sector with a wide variety of school types. This paper uses data on eight cohorts of students (over 510,000 individuals) to compare educational attainment in…

Discusses the periodic friction between Catholics and Protestants over the American school since the 1840s. (Author/RK)

An important concern within contemporary Western societies is how religious adherents view and engage religious diversity. This study attempts to further understandings regarding religious diversity in contemporary society through the accounts of American Christian religious exemplars whose religious identification spans the conservative…

Examines two parallel secondary school systems in Northern Ireland popularly described as "Catholic" or "Protestant" in effectiveness terms. A value-added approach to measurement of 16-year olds' performance on public examinations casts doubt on previous findings concerning the alleged superior performance of…

Four typical arrangements for relating faith to schooling were developed in Canada during the nineteenth century. All resulted from compromises between the assimilating traditions of Christian Constantinianism and Enlightenment liberalism. These arrangements only reluctantly accommodate the religious diversity within society. Although scholars…

Protestant and Catholic missionary organizations contributed to the development of American schooling. On the Protestant side, the American Home Missionary Society and the American Sunday School Union provided missionaries who frequently became active in school activities. More importantly, these agencies, typical of the evangelical alliance of…

This article reports recent research into aspects of the differences between Protestant and Catholic schools in Northern Ireland, namely, whether the two systems vary in terms of the balance of subjects in examination passes and the qualifications of leavers. Differences are presented and discussed. (CT)