Biblical texts and ancient Near Eastern pictorial images and material culture are separated by thousands of years from people living in the 21st century. This not only represents a temporal divide, but also a significant ideological (or worldview) divide. Following a brief introduction to important principles of adult-educational theory, this…

Paulo Freire's educational philosophy encourages conscientization in individuals as a means to overcoming oppression. This approach includes dialogue that leads to critical thinking and problem-posed learning that fosters self-discovery. This article applies this process to a multi-ethnic congregation as it nurtures ethnic equality. In addition,…

In popular understanding, the late Middle Ages has been viewed as a time of relative religious ignorance for both laity and clergy. Recent scholarship is indicating a more knowledgeable and vigorous faith experience in this time period. This article examines the major educational ministry renewal of the church in England following the Fourth…

The article argues that even though deconstruction has indications for action in religious education, the action should be subordinated to the notion of deconstruction as event. Three strategies can be used in the curriculum of religious education inspired by deconstruction. The first strategy is to emphasize the spirit of religion as different…

The constellation of religious education courses that are offered in the author's school seek to equip students with the tools and knowledge they need to not only provide a solid understanding of faith for those they will teach but also a passion to seek out profound spiritual growth. Since she teaches most of the religious education courses, the…

The Catholic Church in Slovenia is facing the challenge of the new evangelisation in the area of religious education which, at present, is mainly confined to the parish catechesis. She recognises the urgent need to pass from the religious education of children to adult catechesis. The latter is already being implemented in various forms by a…

Religious education (RE) in Norwegian public schools has attracted much attention as a result of criticism from the UN's Human Rights Committee in 2004 and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2007. Due to the statement from the UN and the conviction in the ECHR, revisions have been made in the Education Act and the curriculum for RE.…

Once taught almost exclusively in seminaries, spirituality is now finding its way into the curricula of professional training for health and welfare workers. How this should occur, particularly within the context of the secular university, raises many questions and may require different approaches to those used to teach spirituality to theological…

This article offers five resources on teaching approaches that enhance learner participation and can be adapted inmost congregational learning contexts. These models emerge from diverse religious and secular perspectives; some are tailored for adult learners and some are ideal for learning in multicultural contexts. In alphabetical order, they are…

Mary Perkins Ryan remains one of the least recognized of the twentieth-century figures in the modern renewal of Catholic education in the United States. The reasons are many but none satisfactory. Ryan was an intellectual without a scholarly credential. She was an educator without an affiliation to an academic institution. She was a leading voice…

The vision statement of St. Saviour's Anglican Church in the Parish of Glen Osmon reads, "We aim to be a worshipping, caring, learning and serving Christian Community." These four aspects of Christian Community are essential and inter-related. The intention in the first part of this article is to explore the "learning" aspects of the Church.…

With high rates of out-marriage and dwindling need for bilingual worship, Japanese-American churches face a critical question: "Why retain the Japanese part of our identity?" This article explores how one layperson (Naomi Takahashi Goto) draws from her experience as an artist, teacher, and mother to help her congregation answer this question.…

In this article texts by scholars from South Africa, Sweden and Great Britain are analysed. They contributed as invited speakers to a conference in Sweden in 2009 on changing societies, values, religions and education. Here a South-North dialogue on diversity and the future of education is constructed through the way their conference contributions…

More than a decade ago, the popular topic of discussion in higher education and in pop culture concerned the character traits of what was then called "Generation X" or "GenX" for short. One lasting impact of this focus has been a renewed effort on the part of higher education to define young adulthood and to reassess young adult education. In the…

This year-long study explored how adult church members experienced the phenomenon of spirit and the relationship between their experience and peace. Four themes emerged from the analysis of personal journal entries and transcripts of individual and group interviews: depth in the encounter with spirit, soul as the locus of spiritual growth,…