The aim of this study is to gain empirical knowledge about how the Bible functions in the context of Protestant Christian primary schools in the Netherlands. It presents the results of an empirical explorative and qualitative study on the perceptions of teachers and school administrators (directors and internal supervisors) on the goals of Bible…

As "justice natives," today's undergraduate students are motivated to engage directly with the world around them in ways unseen throughout most previous generations. Interestingly, secular humanistic perspectives on changemaking are in keeping with a wide variety of biblical teachings and principles of Christian social thought. At the…

Martin Luther is primarily known as a pastor and theologian of the 16th century Reformation. However, he was also a pedagogue passionate about educational reforms that united the spiritual life with the daily lived life. Believing that education served the purpose of equipping students for a life in service of one's neighbor, Luther took a…

Perceptions about remote theological education inevitably cluster around questions of embodiment, community, and unity. The letters of the apostle Paul have quite a bit to say about these themes. This essay examines Paul's treatment of distance in the formation and education of Christians, focused around the image of the "body of Christ"…

How the Bible functions in (Christian) education in the international discourse on religious education, particularly in the Dutch context, has rarely been empirically investigated. The purpose of this article is to gain insight into how the Bible is functioning in the context of Protestant secondary schools in the Netherlands. In addition to…

This article describes a seminar I taught on Christianity and colonialism. I wanted to introduce students to some content while also allowing them to practice some of the expert skills that we use in religious studies, and more specifically in my own sub-discipline, the anthropology of religion. In particular, I wanted to make more visible some of…

The increasing religious diversity in educational space has raised a legitimate question on how Catholic theology/catechesis must be taught in Philippine Catholic universities given the institutional mandate to educate students "into the faith of the Church through teaching of Christian doctrine in an organic and systematic way" (Wuerl,…

Sexual activity and desire have often been seen as inimical to Christian spirituality and practice, and many people have come to view Christianity as austere and shaming regarding sexuality. However, sexuality, religion, and policy-making have become so intertwined, that to ignore how they intersect and affect particular individuals' lives does a…

Conservative (fundamentalist, evangelical) Christian students present a general theological worldview that often correlates with significant anxiety. In a foreign setting, the anxiety of conservative students, removed from their supportive infrastructure, can be considerably heightened. This structure of thinking and emotion presents distinctive…

Working with undergraduate students invites teachers into relationship and conversation with young people at a time when they are emerging as adults and forming their identities. Faith is one area of identity formation often attended to by scholars, college professors, and their institutions. But within that, little attention has been paid to…

While a number of scholars in the field of Christian theology have argued for the importance of teaching diversity and social justice in theology and religious studies classrooms, little has been done to document and assess formally the implementation of such pedagogy. In this article, the authors discuss the findings of a yearlong Scholarship of…

Increasing numbers of college students enrolling in religion courses in recent years are looking to develop their religious faith or spirituality, while professors of religion want students to use and appreciate scholarly tools to study religion from an academic perspective. Some scholars argue that it is not possible to satisfy both goals in the…

What happens when students encounter the academic study of the Bible in the seminary or undergraduate classroom? Does a teacher have a responsibility to help students navigate challenges to Christian faith that might arise? What pedagogical problems and opportunities does this encounter present? How does this issue manifest differently in…

An extended set of conversations conducted by three religious studies faculty teaching at large public universities in the Southern United States spurred these reflections on how their institutional locations inflected issues such as the cultural expectations students bring to the classroom, how these expectations interact with the evolving…

Stephen Prothero's "Religious Literacy" makes a strong case that minimal religious literacy is an essential requirement for contemporary U. S. citizens. He argues further that high schools and colleges should offer required courses in the study of religion in order to help students reach that baseline literacy. Beyond the general recommendation…