How often an individual reads or listens to scripture is one dimension of private spirituality rarely discussed in the literature. In this study, we use data from a random sample survey of 1009 American children (ages eight to 12) to explore children's engagement with the Christian Bible, their views of communicating with God, and their moral…

This article details new material on the methodological procedure and the resultant data reduction of an investigation of what happens when Bible stories are told to children in the home. The wider material is written up in a book currently being published by Jessica Kingsley (in 2009), entitled "A child sees God". In this title, the…

The essay considers the process of cultivating Christian spirituality in Catholic adolescents. It will integrate and document official Catholic Church teachings on the subject and also unofficial scholarly reflections. The expose briefly defines adolescent spirituality and situates the process of cultivating adolescent spirituality in Catholic…

Experience and community have always played a central role in the construction of knowledge. It is upon reflecting on everyday life experiences, and sharing these experiences and reflections with one's community, that knowledge is filtered and transformed into wisdom. The same acts of reflection and sharing are part of human's capacity to…

In this paper, reading is conceived as a spiritual gift that can help readers towards an understanding of being. The image of the well and the act of drawing water is employed to illustrate the relation of the spiritual and the aesthetic. The term "well-being" in relation to reading is used here to draw attention to the importance of ontology in…

This article details the Bible Story Project's (BSP) initial work in examining how children understand stories. It draws on the insights of both developmental thinking and experiential learning, with awareness of the growing need to release the authentic "voice of the child". The context is found in Year 5 children in two contrasting…