As one of the oldest surviving educational religious models in the history of Muslim education, Mahdara remains a poorly studied desert-based religious institution of traditional learning. In its Bedouin context, the Mahdara produced religious scholars no less competent in the mastery of religious Islamic sciences than graduates of other reputable…

The sacred contours of the nation's colleges and universities changed dramatically since their founding--new human architecture and vocabulary compelled radical reformation of curriculum, policy, and accommodation. But institutional histories and culture remain eloquent and powerful. New competences in religious literacy and convictional identity…

This article discusses the extent to which the charism and the philosophy of education of Venerable Cornelia Connelly founder of the Society of the Holy Child Jesus are being maintained in the twenty-first century in West Africa (Nigeria and Ghana). Using data gathered from Sisters and former students of Holy Child schools as evidence it seeks to…

This study investigated the perceptions of intellectual diversity at elite U.S. universities through the lens of the socially conservative Christian senior. Closely aligned with the principle of academic freedom, intellectual diversity is a foundational value putatively espoused by most if not all colleges and universities in the US. Although…

The recent critical turn toward post-secularism, particularly on behalf of theorists working from the perspective of Christian societies, has highlighted the difficulty of approaching the history of the Middle East through the binary of religion and secularism. This article argues that such terms are of little explanatory value in and of…

Like other adult education providers such as the Workers' Educational Association, the educational settlement movement was beset with political controversy during the 1920s. This article considers the relationship between the Educational Settlements Association (ESA) and its affiliated institutions, relating these to the competing political…

Faiths have long used education as a means to preserve and transmit cultural values from one generation to the next. However, they have also employed education to unite people of different cultures and proselytise others to their worldview. Over the last two centuries, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Latter-day Saint, LDS, or…

This article examines the westward imposition of specific kinds of land use by focusing on the Harmony Society's transformation of Posey County, Indiana. The German pietistic society carried their vision of proper land use from Europe to Pennsylvania and, in 1814, to what was then considered the West: Indiana Territory. During their decade in…

Children and young people have the inalienable right to be part of a learning community. Nobody can learn on his/her own. Education is always a communal enterprise. In this article the concept of the "spiritual learning community" is developed as a contemporary answer to the socioeducational issues raised by Martin Buber and John Dewey…

This article examines the establishment and early history of the first Boys' Club for African American boys--the Wissahickon Boys' Club--through the thoughts and actions of its Quaker founder, John Thompson Emlen. The purpose of this article is not only to document the founding of this historic organization but also to describe Emlen's conception…

Religious organisations have long relied on education to transmit cherished values, working within society to preserve their worldview. Therefore, when a religious education system is restructured, it can act as a barometer of change, revealing societal values and reflecting negotiated roles. Like other faiths, the Church of Jesus Christ of…

Most religious organizations exert their greatest effort in the religious education of children. This makes sense in terms of handing on the faith to the next generation. Historically, however, religious education of adults is the first endeavor of religious groups. Conducting education of children requires the previous religious education of…

The purpose of this article is to present an example of using research tools, involving multiple perspectives and situational analysis. Investigating the role of American missionaries in the spread of hegemony and colonization in the Kingdom of Hawaii between 1820 (the year the American missionaries arrived) and 1893 (the year Hawaiians lost their…

This article focuses on two women educator activists based in Birmingham, UK, in the first decades of the twentieth century: Geraldine Southall Cadbury (1865-1941) and Margaret Ann Backhouse (1887-1977). Motivated by a common belief in education as a force for progressive social change Cadbury and Backhouse were both Quakers who shared similar…

The major purpose of this article was to disclose the quality of education in the Muslim world and try to clarify the misperceptions in the West and in the Muslim world about Islamic education. It also tries to highlight the efforts of Islamic scholars in filling the gaps between them. Education in the Muslim world and Islamic education have…