This article introduces the category of spiritual intelligence (SI) as a vital way for religious education to cultivate knowledge and practical wisdom. SI fosters human interconnectedness and promotes a sense of belonging for learners. It helps strengthen learners' identities and creates a just learning environment. The article proposes a version…

Ancestors are storytellers. Buddhists consider that people will go to one of six realms after death. The six realms represent six worlds that consist of different mental states which correspond to one's wholesome and unwholesome karma. Buddhist ancestors have warned why life impelled by ignorance, hatred, and greed leads to undesirable rebirths,…

Although Buddhist education has been widely used all over the world, Vietnamese students cannot currently access it at school. Recently, some Truc Lam (Bamboo Forest) Zen monasteries have offered religious education to adolescents in the hope of improving their moral behavior. However, no empirical studies have evaluated the effectiveness of these…

John Green's best-selling "The Fault in Our Stars" (2012) recounts two teenagers' quest for meaning in the face of loneliness, depression, disability, and loss, all intensified by a cancer diagnosis. Green uses secondary characters to present three common worldviews: existentialism, Christianity, and Buddhist mindfulness. The author…

This article discusses what kinds of religious education led to the improvement of women's status and the realization of higher education for women in modern Japan, by reconsidering the educational views of Jinzo Naruse (1859-1919), both a pioneer of Japanese women's education and a promoter of the Concordia movement (1912-1941), within the…

Identifies three great religious catenas which interpret suffering. Discusses the classical and post-modern Christian catenas. Urges religious educators to question the classical Christian beliefs concerning suffering while not abandoning the Bible through dissatisfaction. Encourages acceptance of the idea that more than traditional beliefs find…

Considers the situation of Japanese Christians living in Japan, a land where non-Christian religious customs and values are inextricably interwoven in the national culture. Advocates H. Richard Niebuhr's "Christ-with-culture" approach that affirms multiple revelations of God in non-Christian religions. Discusses other aspects of Niebuhr's beliefs.…

Identifies authenticity as the idea that there exists an innate and knowable self. Discusses this concept and how it relates to social, philosophical, and religious thought. Compares the Western concept of self, autonomous and individualistic, with the more interdependent and enigmatic Eastern ideal. (MJP)