The development of humanistic psychology has stimulated research that supports the importance of life esteem, or the way people view meaning and purpose in their lives. The Life Esteem survey is a self-report questionnaire designed to measure the four components of life esteem (framework, perspective, commitment, quality) and to assess the…

Parish religious education programs for children and young people are examined with emphasis on how these programs are administered and operated, how students evaluate them, and what organizational and program factors are characteristic of particularly effective programs. Nominations for effective programs were solicited from 83 dioceses, and 258…

The religious beliefs of ordinants in three different types of theological colleges and of postgraduate trainee teachers in a secular university education department in Great Britain were assessed, using a four-dimensional model which makes possible comparisons between levels of belief, agnosticism, dogmatic acceptance of belief, and dogmatic…

Although undergraduate admission has undergone intense market analysis, those same techniques have not been utilized at professional schools. A correlation analysis was performed at New Jersey's Drew University Theological School that located a surprise variable, in this case characteristics of undergraduate schools attended, significant to the…

Considers the role of lay vocation (here broadly defined as the servanthood of nonordained persons within and without the church) in everyday life and religious education. Discusses the relationship between lay vocation and the holiness movement, a perfectionist doctrine that arose in U.S. Protestantism in the late 19th century. (MJP)

Maintains that spirituality, by reason of its very nature and essence, is antithetical to the goals of state education. Argues that efforts to define spirituality as separate from religion are disingenuous and driven by a specific political agenda. Discusses the conflicting goals of spirituality and secular institutionalization. (MJP)

Argues against the limited definition of spiritual education as strictly concerned with the mystical and transcendental. Maintains that a broader application of spiritual education can and should be offered. Asserts that this application needs to be developed in terms of curricular objectives and assessment. (MJP)

Maintains that interreligious learning takes place most beneficially among people who are reasonably secure in their own relationship with God and also are comfortable with the mystery of that relationship. Argues that people with little tolerance for mystery and ambiguity will become uncomfortable with other religious experiences. (MJP)

Observes the philosophical and methodological aspects of Religious Studies. Considers the limitations of approaching religious thought and experience from a rationalist-scientific perspective. Includes a historical overview of the phenomenology of religious education with brief summations of leading theorists. (MJP)

Provides a personal perspective on the three-year Catholic-Jewish Colloquium through anecdotes of sharing and personal growth. Discusses this process in terms of a constant attempt to fit together the pieces of a puzzle. Includes a copy of a poem by Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. (MJP)

Documents and analyzes the emergence of an informal training network that grew out of the Great Awakening religious revival in colonial America. Dissatisfied with traditional instruction in divinity schools, many evangelical clergyman used their apprenticeships as an opportunity to study with ministers more sympathetic to their religious…

Formulates a pedagogical position that articulates religious experience as complementary to formal-rational thought. Recent postmodernist criticism has located secular thinking as a coequal position to subjective religious experience on the now-leveled philosophical playing field. Explores what this newfound (academic) respectability means for…

Defines evangelization as a cooperative religious educational experience regarding the efficacy of the gospel. Considers its role in the lives of young people. Concludes that evangelization must incorporate and address current social concerns as well as questions of belief and unbelief. (MJP)

Provides a brief historical overview regarding the development of a religious identity. Explicates a number of questions that both guide and complicate this effort in modern times. Argues that traditional texts should be evaluated more in terms of their positive contributions than their dated elements. (MJP)

Criticizes the notion that secular humanists and religious educators can equitably agree on a common or middle ground. Maintains that the so-called middle ground is often primarily secular ideology with a token acknowledgment of the validity of religious thought. Argues for a more open discussion with both positions receiving equal consideration.…