- The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Religion, Privatization, and American Educational Policy
- Secularism and Religion in American Education
- Pluralism in Religion and American Education
- Religious Literacy in American Education
- Religious Liberty in American Education
- Democracy, Religion, and American Education
- Faith Development
- Moral Education
- Religious Education in the Traditions
- Religious Education Between the Traditions
- Private Religious Schools
- Religion and Homeschooling
- Public Funding of Private Religious Schools
- Religiously Affiliated Charter Schools
- Law and Religion in American Education
- Religious Expression in Public Schools
- Religion and the Public School Curriculum
- The Bible and American Public Schools
- Religion, Extracurricular Activities, and Access to Public School Facilities
- Religious Freedom, Common Schools, and the Common Good
- Religion in Mainline and Independent Private Higher Education
- Evangelical Higher Education
- Catholic Higher Education
- Religion and Spirituality in Public Higher Education
- Theological Education
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Students
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Faculty
- Teaching Religious Studies
- Teaching About Religion Outside of Religious Studies
- Campus Ministry
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter provides background information on the relationship between religion and public schools and then describes the different kinds of religion courses currently offered in some public schools. While the US Supreme Court has banned compulsory devotional religious exercises, it has not banned the nondevotional teaching of religion. The different types of religion courses command different kinds of justifications, and the legal and educational merits of these justifications are presented. The author concludes by proposing a case for teaching religion that is both constitutionally and educationally acceptable. This case rests upon the importance of the development of autonomy to the liberal tradition, and it shows how the teaching of religion as a humanistic study can serve this ideal.
Keywords: Bible history, Bible influence, Bible literacy, World Religions courses, nondevotional
Walter Feinberg is professor emeritus of Education Policy, Organization and Leadership at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. His research centers on the issue of education for democratic citizenship. Dr. Feinberg earned his PhD in Philosophy from Boston University. He served as the Charles Dun Hardie Professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois and as director of the Program for the Study of Cultural Values and Ethics. A past president of the Philosophy of Education Society and the American Educational Studies Association, Feinberg’s many books include For Goodness Sake: Religious Schools and Education for Democratic Citizenry (Routledge, 2006) and Religious Education in Liberal Democratic Societies (Oxford, 2003).
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- The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education
- Dedication
- Foreword
- Contributors
- Introduction
- Religion, Privatization, and American Educational Policy
- Secularism and Religion in American Education
- Pluralism in Religion and American Education
- Religious Literacy in American Education
- Religious Liberty in American Education
- Democracy, Religion, and American Education
- Faith Development
- Moral Education
- Religious Education in the Traditions
- Religious Education Between the Traditions
- Private Religious Schools
- Religion and Homeschooling
- Public Funding of Private Religious Schools
- Religiously Affiliated Charter Schools
- Law and Religion in American Education
- Religious Expression in Public Schools
- Religion and the Public School Curriculum
- The Bible and American Public Schools
- Religion, Extracurricular Activities, and Access to Public School Facilities
- Religious Freedom, Common Schools, and the Common Good
- Religion in Mainline and Independent Private Higher Education
- Evangelical Higher Education
- Catholic Higher Education
- Religion and Spirituality in Public Higher Education
- Theological Education
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Students
- Religion, Spirituality, and College Faculty
- Teaching Religious Studies
- Teaching About Religion Outside of Religious Studies
- Campus Ministry
- Index
