This article is an autoethnography of the author's journey toward the reconciliation of her spirituality with the academy. She depicts the origin of her crisis in the academy, and why the climax of the crisis was critical to her reconciliation. Drawing on Cynthia Dillard's notion of an endarkened feminist epistemology, she identifies the Black…

The author shares the results of her research with focus groups of Christian, Jewish, Muslim, and atheist students who discussed their religious and spiritual beliefs with her and with each other. She offers these students' words in order to encourage other educators to consider hosting similarly structured conversations and to think about the…

The diversity of African Pentecostalism, its early colonial and missionary history and its current characteristics are described and analysed. Reference is made to methods of training and forms of leadership, and suggestions are made about the reasons for its growth and persistence. (Contains 19 notes.)

Despite 15 years of sporadic efforts, religion today in Bosnia and Herzegovina is more of a hindrance than a help to promoting peaceful coexistence among the region's various ethnic and religious groups. Polarization and extremism make religions other than one's own even more distant, strange and threatening. Physical interaction that existed…

In her seminal essay on white privilege, McIntosh (1988) began a discussion on privilege that has taken hold in areas outside her original intent. In this chapter, the author discusses privilege as it pertains not only to race and gender but to religion, especially the Christian faith. The author incorporates the current state of religious flux in…

This paper aims to clarify three current misconceptions about the Islamic faith and issues of human rights and women's rights in the West. The first misconception is that Muslims are terrorists because they believe in Jihad. It is factually the case that Islamic teachings stress the value of peace and prosperity for all human beings. The second…

In spite of the renaissance of the religious worldview, practical experience provides evidence that the level of morality and spiritual life in society is not rising. Quite the contrary, in fact: people are witnessing the extensive spread of various forms of deviant behavior, especially among young people. In the sociology of religion a great deal…

This essay explores poetics and politics among Latino Catholics in Fresno, California, who draw on a tradition of storytelling and religious ritual to mitigate the hardships that result from their marginal social assignment. Storytelling and ritual allow them to recognize where faith and daily life intersect, exposing the tensions--including those…

Although Islam is the fastest growing religion in America, very little research has been conducted on the lived experiences of Muslim-Americans. In this pilot study, the first of its kind, the process of religious identity formation among Bangladeshi-American Muslim adolescents is explored. Sixteen participants (6 males) completed semistructured…

The movement to strengthen and expand the role of religious groups in social services has had a significant effect on sex education in this country. In part because of the government support they receive, religious conservatives have come to dominate the public discourse on faith and sexuality. This obscures the fact that other, more progressive…

This paper compares children's books that were written for Muslim, Jewish and Christian children. The speech and behavior of the characters, the settings, themes, prayers, and references to G-d and scripture, make present to the reader ideologies on which the books are based. The books share characteristics of the importance of community, family…

This paper considers a case of sexual abuse allegedly perpetrated by a rabbi within an Orthodox Jewish community. The material is drawn from public records and interviews conducted with the family of the reported victim and others involved in the matter. Consideration is given to judicial procedures unique to the traditional Jewish community and…

Islam, as one of the most important religions of the world, has particular and significant educational views. The purpose of this article is to extract and interpret Islam's view of education. Using classic texts and the author's scholarship, Islamic education is defined as a form of religious education drawing humans near to God and God's…

This study examined the role of religiosity among adolescents' and adults' alcohol use in Trinidad. A stratified random sample design of 369 adolescents and 210 adult parents belonging to the various religious groups in Trinidad was employed. Participants were randomly selected from various educational districts across Trinidad. Adolescent…

In this article the author describes how the Blair governments have sought to increase the number of schools controlled by churches and other religious groups despite a mass of evidence about the dangers of faith-based education and in the face of widespread professional, political and public concerns. (Contains 4 notes.)