In secularising Germany the aim of religious education (RE) is under discussion. The churches opt for denominational education familiarising the students with their own religious tradition. Humanists claim an ethical education, giving students objective information about different religions. Which perspective do students who will become RE…

This article presents the results of a large-scale study of the relationship between materialism and well-being by examining the moderating role of religiosity. By confining the present study to a sample of young consumers drawn from Malaysia--a country of diverse subcultures who share similar cultural values (collectivistic), we attempt to…

Recent scholarship claims that American colleges and universities give less and less attention to the meaning of life. In this article we critically evaluate the historical arguments for this claim, focusing primarily on the account given by Anthony Kronman. We argue that Kronman's history proves particularly problematic if one wants to…

Recent debate about the public benefit of university scholarship, especially in the humanities, has sometimes been caught in a sterile tension between the promotion of engagement and the preservation of detachment, or between learning for public benefit and learning for learning's sake. The article traces this tension back to the work of John…

Albeit fragmented and largely uncoordinated, there is currently considerable debate regarding the nature and rationale of university chaplaincy provisions in England and Wales. Clearly chaplaincies have repositioned themselves from an exclusively Christian ethical and service-based provider to cater for the challenging demands of a multi-faith…

The contours of a secular age, as delineated by classical and contemporary sociologists of religion, have tended to result in secularising trajectories for church-founded institutions of Higher Education, some of which have migrated towards secular normativity. This article explores these trends and then proposes five characteristics of an…

In the field of higher education Newman has been dismissed as irrelevant and out of date. Ronald Barnett, for example, is highly critical of his "value-laden" vision of a particular kind of university. This article seeks to consider the question of values more carefully, suggesting that Newman's writings do have strong resonances…

In this opinion piece, the author writes that England is now well on the way to having the most totalitarian as well as one of the most inefficiently managed schools system in Europe. He states that in the much maligned 1960s, people came from all over the world to learn from what was being achieved in the best of England's publicly-funded,…

This article seeks to evaluate universities against an ideal and finds the modern university gravely wanting in terms of its governance, staff and student relationships, and in the way it delivers its teaching and research. It is corrupted by power relationships, the lack of real accountability of SMTs, the failure to recognise the disciplines and…

This article looks at the contemporary rationale for faith-based universities. There has certainly been a new openness to issues in religion within higher education more generally. Religious influence and involvement in higher education continues to be extensive and manifests itself through the presence of believing Christians, Jews and Muslims in…