The historical relations of public education to the institutions of religion have been variously significant. While governmental affairs and ecclesiastical affairs have been set apart from each other in this country, the teaching of sectarian doctrines is generally excluded from the schools of the several States, an understanding of the relations…

Examines the nature and history of the Kahnawake Mohawk settlement's participation in the entertainment industry, including some of the Iroquoian roots of ritual parody that contributed to Mohawk performance. Notes some of the effects of entertainment on the settlement's traditional culture. (SB)

In "State v. Riddle," the West Virginia Supreme Court held illegal a family's religion-based home instruction of its children because, among other reasons, the family was not part of a self-sufficient religious community and had not followed state procedures on home schooling. Tells how to use legal citations. (RW)

Methodological weaknesses are found in previous research on college impact on student religious beliefs. A new, longitudinal study with control groups suggests no distinctive impact--change in religious orientation is multidirectional. It is suggested that this is because college attendance has no distinctive effect on students' reference groups.…

Summarizes the American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU's) contention that Arkansas Act 590 (equal time to teaching creationism) is unconstitutional and highlights comments of various witnesses testifying during the trial. (SK)

Discusses the writings of Homer W. Smith, a physiologist who wrote novels, histories of religion, textbooks, and a book on the kidney for the general reader. Smith's writing skills remind students that biologists are as multidimensional as the rest of the population. Smith shows that all parts of life are interrelated as they enrich and shed light…

Argues for a definition of revelation as a process of speaking and listening. Using this premise, argues that revelation is a process of personal relation that cannot be exclusive to any religious group. Discusses the implications of this definition for Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths. (MJP)

Ten reasons for teaching about religion in secular higher education institutions are offered: religion motivates most killings, contributes to most healing, is globally pervasive, has a long and broad past, is hard to define, helps explain many human activities, involves many disciplines, is a dimension of pluralism, relates to practical issues,…

Examines the lives of Teresa of Avila, Peter of Alcantara, John of the Cross, and Jeronimo Gratian for predominant characteristics of mentoring. Discusses the relevance of these characteristics and lives for mentoring religious educators today. Briefly explores divergent issues of mentoring between the past and present. (MJP)

This paper examines Dewey's notions about an intelligent theory of education, focusing on a college student who explored the question of why scientists and schools accept evolutionary science rather than creation science, and discussing what a democratic education system can do with an alternative epistemology. (SM)

Describes a model for systematically considering cultural influences counselors need to address in their work: age, disability, religion, ethnicity, social status, sexual orientation, indigenous heritage, national origin, and gender. Model helps counselors and educators to examine their own biases regarding minority cultures and consider the…

Argues that although Jewish all-day schools aspire to a curriculum integrated between Jewish and general studies, they have not succeeded. Offers a working model of this integration. Uses evidence from the curriculum of a Jewish day school in Great Britain to show that students can succeed with an integrated approach. (CAJ)

Presents a list of Web sites for students that provide primary documents and also an annotated bibliography of books for information on the topics offered in this issue of "Insights on Law and Society." Explains that the online version gives direct links and full bibliographic information for the books. (CMK)

Presents a brief history of early childhood education in Poland and changes occurring in the 1990s. Outlines the government's minimum standards for kindergarten education, including aspects of child development that are considered crucial, and ways in which classroom practices have become more child responsive. Discusses the roles of religion,…

Self-esteem and religious participation were studied in 410 public school and 494 Catholic school students in Canadian schools. Self-esteem was similar in both samples, but a higher level of self-esteem was associated with religious participation regardless of the denomination with which the student was affiliated. (SLD)