In this article, the author John Volk, professor of Worldview Studies at Renaissance College, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, looks forward toward the November 2017 Religious Education Association Conference, which is entitled "Learning in Encounter: Crossroads, Connections, Collaborations", and says that…

Historian of religions Charles Long uses the term "American cultural language" to identify discursive challenges to democracy and social justice in the Unites States. The American cultural language, Long says, is the "misinterpretation" of humanness and freedom conveyed when the term "American"--used to signify…

This article responds to sociologist Christian Smith's claim that many teenagers today have lost traditional religious faith and instead espouse a new and erroneous faith in God the "Cosmic Therapist." The author challenges this claim by comparing two of Smith's chief complaints vis-a-vis teen faith to established portraits of adolescent faith.…

Anglican school inspectors will usually be Christian. Is it possible that their beliefs might compromise their inspection judgements? Neutrality is impossible when holding opinions or making judgements about matters of signal importance. Religious beliefs are strongly held. Using the concept of "ordinary theology" I argue that religious beliefs…

In the face of the globalizing tendencies of our times, religious communities will depend on the appropriations and reinterpretations of traditions in constant dialogue with increasingly diverse cultural groups. Religious communities that want to respond to the challenge of cultural pluralism cannot hold to the idea of religion as something…

Why do adolescents and young adults lack a full and coherent understanding of a religion? This is a phenomenon of wide-ranging proportions. Using a cultural, theological, and philosophical analysis, the author argues that one important reason behind the lack of religious content knowledge is the reluctance of teachers to move beyond the…

This article proposes a concept of "mythical realism" as a way of understanding important characteristics of religion and orienting religious education. The focus is on beliefs as one central aspect of religion. The author draws on recent cognitive studies in religion to illumine the "counterintuitive" and "mythic" character of religious belief,…

This article focuses on the influence of Wilfred Cantwell Smith's presentation of the nature of faith on James W. Fowler's faith-development paradigm. Smith contended that, in the pre-modern era, terms translated by the English words "faith" and "believe" denoted a personal allegiance that did not require assent to any objective assertions. Two…

Thirty years ago this summer "Religious Education" published its first article on faith development theory, entitled "Agenda Toward a Developmental Perspective on Faith," published in "Religious Education" in volume LXIX, March-April 1974, pp. 209-219. At the request of the editors of this journal, it is a privilege to offer an account of some of…