This paper takes up concepts from John Henry Newman's work to support contemporary educational personalism. Newman's ideas are developed in light of his sharp critique of the pragmatic educational model. This essay focuses on the transcendence assigned to the theological and philosophical foundations of Newman's pedagogical ideas, as well as on…

Children and adolescents need a vision of hope and success that will motivate them to take action. This discussion describes some ways of pondering the mandate in the Bible to care for the earth and for each other.

Since the publication of Pope Francis' landmark encyclical (2015), "Laudato Si," there has been a robust discussion among religious educators concerning the notion of ecological conversion. Drawing on this rich scholarship, this paper strives to move from the "what" of ecological conversion to the "how"; that is, how…

This paper examines Catholic RE curriculum documents from 2 jurisdictions to assess how well they present Jews and Judaism. It finds that their representations of Jews and Judaism rely on structures of thought, reinforced by normative Catholicism, that enable the conditions to reproduce supersessionist thinking and attitudes. Its conclusion argues…

Undergraduate, entry-level theology instruction at Catholic universities is expected to meet a wide range of learning outcomes. This article asserts that courses can and should be designed for learning outcomes not only in the cognitive domain, but in the affective domain as well, which in turn may impact personal choices and faith practices of…

Despite the Religious Education Association (REA)'s founding vision as an interfaith association, for most of its first fifty years it remained a largely Protestant organization. Under Herman Wornom's leadership as general secretary from 1952 to 1970, the REA began more fully to fulfill its aims of becoming more broadly inclusive. Through Wornom's…

Pope Francis incarnates a praxis of encounter in an age of polarization. For Francis, encounter entails displacement, dialog, and discernment. Relational pedagogy illuminates the fecundity of relationships between the teacher and student at the heart of education. Nel Noddings, preeminent proponent of relational pedagogy, grounds an ethics of care…

Faith-based engagement with digital culture calls communities of faith beyond an instrumental use of apps, gadgets, and platforms. Rather, engaging in digital culture calls for prophetic engagement that seeks to communicate truth and offer hope in and through digital communication. One salient area for such prophetic engagement is the reality of…

Young people living in conflict-ridden areas in the southern part of the Philippines, Mindanao, experience hostility from communities motivated by religious ideologies and political beliefs. With this premise, this study will uncover emerging themes on the way students form their views towards people who have a different faith based on three…

Inspired by the 2015 REA Atlanta conference theme, "The Power of Imagining: The Life Giving Possibilities of Education in Faith," this article proposes a postmodern reclamation of imagination as the human bridge to sacramentally encounter the Divine. It re-examines sacramental religious education retrieving imagination from material…

How do race and lived experiences of this construct impact student theological understandings? We embarked on a joint pedagogical venture spanning two continents about race and theology with groups of students whose encounters with race and its impacts on theology were markedly different--including students whose lives and education have been…

Adolescent religion is increasingly well researched but the youth rallies staged by many Christian groups remain understudied. This article adds to our understanding of these rallies through a case study of a large Catholic youth rally in Toronto. We identify the reported religious experiences of rally participants and compare them with the goals…

Drawing on perspectives from sociocultural theory, this article investigates how Christian denominations are represented in Norwegian textbooks of religious education and by young believers. The main finding is that textbooks and young adherents present religion in substantially different ways. While textbooks relate religion to global and…

This article examines how the field of religious education informs religiously based colleges and universities as they teach about their institutional missions. A discussion of the audiences, languages, and the temporal orientations of institutional mission education is intended to provide insights and parameters as mission offices chart their…

At the heart of the Christian experience lies the conviction that justice and freedom are essential to build communities where God's love is authentically experienced by all. Such conviction emerges as part of an intentional process of faith formation that begins at home and must be constantly nurtured throughout the life cycle. This article…