The Role of Religion in 21st-century Public Schools PDF Download

Author: Steven Paul Jones
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9781433107641
Category : Christianity and other religions
Languages : en
Pages : 242

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Book Description
The fight over the role of religion in public schools is far from finished, and the last and final words have not been written. This collection of original essays reveals and updates the battlefield. Included are essays on school prayer, the evolution/intelligent design debate, public funding of religious groups on university campuses, religious themes in school-taught literature, and more. With diverse tones and points of view, these essays offer quality scholarship while revealing and honoring the heat these themes generate.

Author: Michael D. Waggoner
Publisher: R&L Education
ISBN: 1475801637
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 204

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Book Description
The purpose of this book is to illustrate the complexity of the social, cultural, and legal milieu of schooling in the United States in which the improvement of religious literacy and understanding must take place. Public education is the new commons.

Author: Benjamin Justice
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022640059X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 189

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Book Description
It isn’t just in recent arguments over the teaching of intelligent design or reciting the pledge of allegiance that religion and education have butted heads: since their beginnings nearly two centuries ago, public schools have been embroiled in heated controversies over religion’s place in the education system of a pluralistic nation. In this book, Benjamin Justice and Colin Macleod take up this rich and significant history of conflict with renewed clarity and astonishing breadth. Moving from the American Revolution to the present—from the common schools of the nineteenth century to the charter schools of the twenty-first—they offer one of the most comprehensive assessments of religion and education in America that has ever been published. From Bible readings and school prayer to teaching evolution and cultivating religious tolerance, Justice and Macleod consider the key issues and colorful characters that have shaped the way American schools have attempted to negotiate religious pluralism in a politically legitimate fashion. While schools and educational policies have not always advanced tolerance and understanding, Justice and Macleod point to the many efforts Americans have made to find a place for religion in public schools that both acknowledges the importance of faith to so many citizens and respects democratic ideals that insist upon a reasonable separation of church and state. Finally, they apply the lessons of history and political philosophy to an analysis of three critical areas of religious controversy in public education today: student-led religious observances in extracurricular activities, the tensions between freedom of expression and the need for inclusive environments, and the shift from democratic control of schools to loosely regulated charter and voucher programs. Altogether Justice and Macleod show how the interpretation of educational history through the lens of contemporary democratic theory offers both a richer understanding of past disputes and new ways of addressing contemporary challenges.

Author: American Council on Education. Committee on Religion and Education
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 172

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Author: Rhoda Kariuki
Publisher: GRIN Verlag
ISBN: 3346913201
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 13

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Book Description
Seminar paper from the year 2023 in the subject Pedagogy - School System, Educational and School Politics, , course: Education, language: English, abstract: Millions of parents entrust everyday teachers in public schools with the education of their children, who are all from diverse religious backgrounds. Therefore teachers need to be fully aware and informed about the educational and constitutional principles, which will guide and help them comprehend the role of religion in public education. This guide for teachers intends to overcome the conflicts and confusion surrounding religion in public schools since the beginning of the common school movement. Since ancient times, the debate has been shaped by two extremes. One of them is those who advocate for public schools to include their religious studies, policies, and practices. The other advocates for public schools to be viewed and treated as a religious-free zone.

Author: R. Murray Thomas
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN: 031308257X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 297

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Book Description
To help readers gain a better understanding of conflicts over the proper role of religion in American public schools, this book focuses on the seven major types of conflicts that have become particularly confrontational. Thomas does not take sides; rather, he lays out the arguments, their historical and cultural contexts, and the groups that debate them and their goals. Anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of the controversies surrounding religion in American schools will find here not just a review of the issues, but a deeper consideration of the causes, consequences, and future of the debates. Conflicts over the proper role of religion in schools-and particularly in public schools supported by tax monies-are frequently featured in news reports. For example, in the United States there currently are conflicts over the teaching of evolution, inserting the word God in the pledge of allegiance, conducting school holiday celebrations, posting the biblical Ten Commandments in schools, and praying at school functions. People who are interested in such controversies often-or, perhaps, usually-fail to understand the historical backgrounds to the conflicts and therefore do not recognize the very complex factors that affect why the controversies become so heated. To help readers gain a better understanding of such matters, this book focuses on the seven major types of conflicts that have become particularly confrontational during the first decade of the twenty-first century. The cases on which the chapters focus concern issues that currently are being hotly debated in America. Controversies are described in relation to their historical origins and the author shows how the history affects current understanding of the issues. Thomas does not take sides in the arguments; rather, he lays out the arguments, their historical and cultural contexts, and the groups that debate them and their goals. Anyone wishing to gain a better understanding of the controversies surrounding religion in American schools will be happy to find here not just a review of the issues, but a deeper consideration of the causes, consequences, and future of the debates and the role of religion in our public schools.

Author: Kent Greenawalt
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 1400826276
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
Controversial Supreme Court decisions have barred organized school prayer, but neither the Court nor public policy exclude religion from schools altogether. In this book, one of America's leading constitutional scholars asks what role religion ought to play in public schools. Kent Greenawalt explores many of the most divisive issues in educational debate, including teaching about the origins of life, sex education, and when--or whether--students can opt out of school activities for religious reasons. Using these and other case studies, Greenawalt considers how to balance the country's constitutional commitment to personal freedoms and to the separation of church and state with the vital role that religion has always played in American society. Do we risk distorting students' understanding of America's past and present by ignoring religion in public-school curricula? When does teaching about religion cross the line into the promotion of religion? Tracing the historical development of religion within public schools and considering every major Supreme Court case, Greenawalt concludes that the bans on school prayer and the teaching of creationism are justified, and that the court should more closely examine such activities as the singing of religious songs and student papers on religious topics. He also argues that students ought to be taught more about religion--both its contributions and shortcomings--especially in courses in history. To do otherwise, he writes, is to present a seriously distorted picture of society and indirectly to be other than neutral in presenting secularism and religion. Written with exemplary clarity and even-handedness, this is a major book about some of the most pressing and contentious issues in educational policy and constitutional law today.

Author: Ronald D. Anderson
Publisher: Peter Lang
ISBN: 9780820458076
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
The heart of a truly complete education lies in individual students' integration of understandings from the many dimensions of their lives - religious, academic, and personal. The general failing of formal schooling to achieve such an education is linked to the ongoing struggle over the role of religion, particularly in public education, where the teaching of evolution, discussions of sexual practice, and various literary interpretations pose a dilemma for schools in our diverse and pluralistic society with its constitutional constraints. With careful attention to both the full sweep of the purposes of education and alternative theories of curriculum, this book charts a path for public schools in resolving this dilemma.

Author: Robert J Barro
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691185794
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 212

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Book Description
How religious beliefs and practices can influence the wealth of nations Which countries grow faster economically—those with strong beliefs in heaven and hell or those with weak beliefs in them? Does religious participation matter? Why do some countries experience secularization while others are religiously vibrant? In The Wealth of Religions, Rachel McCleary and Robert Barro draw on their long record of pioneering research to examine these and many other aspects of the economics of religion. Places with firm beliefs in heaven and hell measured relative to the time spent in religious activities tend to be more productive and experience faster growth. Going further, there are two directions of causation: religiosity influences economic performance and economic development affects religiosity. Dimensions of economic development—such as urbanization, education, health, and fertility—matter too, interacting differently with religiosity. State regulation and subsidization of religion also play a role. The Wealth of Religions addresses the effects of religious beliefs on character traits such as work ethic, thrift, and honesty; the Protestant Reformation and its long-term effects on education and religious competition; Communism’s suppression of and competition with religion; the effects of Islamic laws and regulations on the functioning of markets and, hence, on the long-term development of Muslim countries; why some countries have state religions; analogies between religious groups and terrorist organizations; the violent origins of the Dalai Lama’s brand of Tibetan Buddhism; and the use by the Catholic Church of saint-making as a way to compete against the rise of Protestant Evangelicals. Timely and incisive, The Wealth of Religions provides fresh insights into the vital interplay between religion, markets, and economic development.

Author: George, Susan Ella
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1591407168
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 272

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Book Description
"This book examines the unique synergy between religion and technology, and explores the many ways that technology is shaping religious expression, as well as ways that religion is coming to influence technology"--Provided by publisher.