The Portuguese policies of colonisation and Christianisation were closely linked. In 1549, the Portuguese monarchy adopted Catholicism as the official religion of the colonial administration and requested that the Society of Jesus establish the Catholic faith among the indigenous people in Brazil. The Jesuits established catechesis, founded the…

Imparting education by Christian missionaries to the locals of a non-literate society was not an end in itself, rather it was a means to an end. Evangelizing needed to go hand-in-hand with church planting and institutionalisation of the church establishment. To fulfil this mission, it was necessary to deploy locals but first equip them with the…

Inspired by Paul VI's Octogesima Adveniens regarding the Church's urgent response to social issues, in his speech to Jesuit alumni in Valencia in July 1973, Fr. Pedro Arrupe reflected on the concept of 'social justice' and its implications for Jesuit schools. He spoke about how Jesuit education could assist students to become 'men and women for…

Paulo Freire's educational theory is world widely acclaimed and recognised for its intrinsic humanism. Here I will present a lesser known face of Freire that I claim is as important as his humanist inspiration: his Catholic background. As a first step, I will present some aspects of Freire's religious experience. Then, I will highlight two aspects…

This paper is written from the perspective of an Anglican head teacher in the context of UK public educational policy in which managerialism is construed as the prevalent orthodoxy of reform. It seeks to bring the discipline of theology and the field of school leadership studies into closer dialogue around the theme of managerialism in a way that…

This paper gives an account of the thoughts of Cornelius Van Til on the contemporary Christian school movement. An account of the historical development of Christian compromise is given, followed by a critique of the compromise among contemporary Christian educators. Van Til claims that any educational position which falls short of being founded…

The situation of the Christian college in an age of heightened educational competition, economic stress, and cultural pluralism is discussed. It is suggested that the task confronting the Christian colleges today is the achievement of excellence in both piety, learning, and educational service. After considering the fundamentals of Christian…

Reports on an interview and mail questionnaire of a group of 65 new private Christian schools in Great Britain. Finds wide diversity among the schools and discusses why the schools were established. Describes the ways that a biblically based curriculum is developed and implemented. (CFR)