In the Early Third Republic (c. 1880-1914), the role of Catholic educators was called into question by the convergence of two different calls for change within French society. As the government of the Third Republic sought to reform primary-school instruction, there were renewed debates in French society about the role of Catholic institutions.…

In the course of the institutionalisation of modern school systems, the originally confessional schooling sector was largely transformed into a system regulated by public law, a process which is interpreted as secularisation. In a historical-comparative analysis, the secularisation paths of the classical educational nations England and France are…

The effects of secularisation on society demand a rethinking of the identity and mission of Catholic schools in France. In 2013, the French bishops published a new directory which offers new approaches, described here, based on the three challenges facing Catholic education in France: linking social responsibility and evangelisation, setting up…

A strong current in contemporary Catholic thought -- the theology of interreligious or interfaith dialogue -- stresses the importance of dialogue and collaboration with followers of other world faiths. This article proposes that religious education in Catholic schools, particularly at post-primary level, needs to engage more with this theological…

Today, the term 'global' has become a pervasive description of universities that aim to alleviate their importance and reach. The global looks inherently big. By relating to a spherical shape it attributes size in two distinct ways: it signifies the comprehensive and extensive reach of a theme or issue as well as the spherical centrality of an…

In this article, the author outlines some of the defensive weapons with which schools fight to hold their institutional authority over knowledge in a changing educational landscape. If schools are gripped by a crisis of epistemic authority, what are their strategies of shoring up their jurisdiction? To explore this question, the author turns to…

This article traces the conflicts and compromises between the Catholic Church and the French state and the struggle for dominance in education between these two forces during the nineteenth century. It explores their varying relations up to the law of separation in 1905. It also poses the question as to why a country traditionally wedded to…

Nurses are expected to provide spiritual care to patients. Even though standards provided by accreditation organizations, national nursing organizations, and the national RN licensure examination outline the expectation that nurses are to offer spiritual care to patients, the provision of spiritual care is often limited owing to time constraints…

When preparing students for study abroad, understanding the religious dimension of the target country/culture is generally viewed as essential for cultural competency training. What is generally left unexamined is the civil religious culture that might be operative. This essay first provides an introduction to the concept as it was introduced by…

Divided into four parts, the article explores the relationship between literature and faith. The first part examines the connection between literature and the pursuit of truth and the second shows that literature can offer a challenging encounter with different beliefs. Part three examines some examples of the imagination at work in illuminating…

This book is divided into four parts. In Part One the author considers the natural factors which have influenced the various national systems of education. They comprise racial, linguistic, geographical and economic factors. In Part Two he considers the contribution of religious traditions to education, more particularly those of the Catholic and…

Historians have long presented France's "civilizing mission" within its colonies in secular terms ignoring women's presence as both actors and subjects. This is particularly true in Algeria where the colonial government's explicitly prohibited proselytism. This article emphasizes women's roles pursuing both secular and religious goals in…

The kindergarten was, in all countries but Germany, a foreign import. The most familiar aspect of its diffusion to American scholars is the spread of Froebel's teachings into England and the United States by emigrants who had left the German Confederation after the failure of the revolutions of 1848-49. Familiar as well are the propaganda efforts…

The Brothers of the Christian Schools, popularly known in the United States as Christian Brothers, have made numerous significant contributions to the development of Catholic education. Building and staffing schools, colleges, and orphanages, producing textbooks and catechetical materials, advocating for the poor, and creating new models of…

By the time of the July Revolution of 1830, the matter of training elementary school teachers had become important in French politics. But the literature on teacher training does not properly examine the linkage between training institutions and professionalism. The standard narrative of the development of primary education suggests that the July…