Religious Symbols in Public Schools as Teachable Controversies in Religious Education

Why Education in Public Schools Should Include Religious Ideals

This article aims to open a new line of debate about religion in public schools by focusing on religious ideals. The article begins with an elucidation of the concept ‘religious ideals’ and an explanation of the notion of reasonable pluralism, in order to be able to explore the dangers and positive contributions of religious ideals and their pursuit on a liberal democratic society. We draw our ...

Religious Symbols and Religious Garb in the Courtroom: Personal Values and Public Judgments

Differences in Educational Production Between Dutch Public and Religious Schools

A common finding in the economic literature on schooling effectiveness is the phenomenon of better performance by religious, and more precisely Catholic, schools in terms of scholastic achievement, educational attainment and measurable labor market outcomes (i.e. subsequent employment status and wages). While the majority of this research in the economic sciences stems from the US, fueling the ...

Fundamentalism as a Challenge for Religious Education

Empirical research on fundamentalist biographies—presented are three case studies and a summary of research results—demonstrate the complex biographical-motivational factors for fundamentalist turns, but also a transformational potential. Explaining fundamentalist conversion and deconversion within a theoretical framework of fundamentalism as “modern anti-modernism” and as “dislocation of relig...

The nonconscious influence of religious symbols in motivated performance situations.

Anthropological, sociological, and psychological theories suggest that religious symbols should influence motivational processes during performance of goal-relevant tasks. In two experiments, positive and negative religious (Christian) symbols were presented outside of participants' conscious awareness. These symbols influenced cardiovascular responses consistent with challenge and threat state...