International Handbook of the Religious, Moral and Spiritual Dimensions in Education

“At 1,408 pages across two volumes this is a major international work. It is divided into part 1 (the first volume) and part 2 (the second volume). […] Part 1 has sections on philosophical and theoretical discourses, religious education and debates about plurality and culture, and conversations about religious education. Part 2 has sections on educational policy, the religious, moral and spiritual dimensions of education, and pedagogical implications. The broad range of international contributors is impressive. The character of the book is such that it constitutes a broad variety of approaches to the subject. In this respect it is a stimulus to debate. […] Particularly welcome in this publication are writers from countries other than those well represented (traditionally the English-speaking countries and northern Europe), and those writers occupying differing religious and non-religious perspectives. […] It is clear that future international collections need to seek out further studies from other educational systems but, also, that those systems need to be invigorated by these contributions. […] What becomes apparent, in a survey of these different contributions, is the political nature of religion in education that unites or divides the connections between policy, philosophy and pedagogy. […] It is clear that religious education has a contribution to make toward broader educational, cultural and social aims, but this is not always recognised and religion itself, in differing international contexts or indeed globally, can often be part of the problem, rather than helping provide the solution. In turn this tells us a lot about the differing forms religion can and does take in influencing educational policy and pedagogy. However, despite the differences in approach in the contributions to this book, […] there is a real energy at work across religious, national and cultural divides. […] These volumes provide a sound contributiontoward such a debate.” – Clive Erricker, University of Winchester in International Journal of Children’s Spirituality, 13:2 (May 2008)