Religion and Schooling in Contemporary America: Confronting Our Cultural Pluralism

by Carper,James C.; Hunt,Thomas

• ISBN13: 9780815324720
• ISBN10: 0815324723
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-10-01
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Despite the fact that most Americans embrace a religious belief system, the United States is a secular nation, largely devoid of any religious influence in its institutions, including its schools. This anthology examines the impact of religion on our nation's public schools. The articles, written by scholars widely respected in their fields, deal with denomination, law, public policy and financing Some religious denominations no longer participate in sponsoring schools for a variety of reasons. Those who do numbered (in 1993-1994) a total of 20,531 institutions, of which 8,331 were Catholic, with an enrollment of 4,202,194, of which 2,516,130 were in Catholic schools. Using numbers alone as a measuring rod, these schools constitute an important part of the American educational landscape. While the movement for choice in American schooling has broadened and deepened in recent years, three critical challenges are still facing religious schools in the United States: keeping schools affordable, yet paying aliving wage to their personnel; maintaining their religious identities with the growing numbers of students who are not members of the sponsoring denominations; and keeping their religious uniqueness if public support becomes available.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix	(2)
Introduction	xi
Chapter One Religious Pluralism in the Public School Curriculum	3	(28)
Charles R. Kniker
Chapter Two Religious Practices in Public Schools	31	(28)
Charles R. Kniker
Chapter Three Culture, Religion, and Education	59	(24)
E. Vance Randall
Chapter Four Religious Schools in America Worldviews and Education	83	(24)
E. Vance Randall
Chapter Five Cross-National Analysis of Religious Schools Institutional Adaptation from Four Perspectives	107	(32)
Bruce S. Cooper
Rita E. Guare
Chapter Six Law and Church-Related Schools	139	(20)
Mary Angela Shaughnessy, S.C.N.
Chapter Seven Public Policy, Religion, and Education in the United States	159	(22)
William F. Davis, O.S.F.S.
Chapter Eight Mission and Money Religious Schools and Their Finances	181	(18)
Michael J. Guerra
Contributors	199	(4)
Index of Persons	203	(2)
Index of Subjects	205