Published in 1988. Christianity has been one of the most potent forces in the development of education. This book critically examines this influence and discusses its political implications.

This volume examines the legal status of religion in education, both public and non-public, in the United States and seven other nations. It will stimulate further interest, research, and debate on comparative analyses on the role of religion in schools at a time when the place of religion is of vital interest in most parts of the world. This interdisciplinary volume includes chapters by leading academicians and is designed to serve as a resource for researchers and educational practitioners, providing readers with an enhanced awareness of strategies for addressing the role of religion in rapidly diversifying educational settings. There is currently a paucity of books devoted solely to the topic written for interdisciplinary and international audiences involving educators and lawyers, and this book will clarify the legal complexities and technical language among the law, education, and religion.

This volume examines the legal status of religion in education, both public and non-public, in the United States and seven other nations. It will stimulate further interest, research, and debate on comparative analyses on the role of religion in schools at a time when the place of religion is of vital interest in most parts of the world. This interdisciplinary volume includes chapters by leading academicians and is designed to serve as a resource for researchers and educational practitioners, providing readers with an enhanced awareness of strategies for addressing the role of religion in rapidly diversifying educational settings. There is currently a paucity of books devoted solely to the topic written for interdisciplinary and international audiences involving educators and lawyers, and this book will clarify the legal complexities and technical language among the law, education, and religion.

This book scrutinises religion in education in ten countries. It reveals much about the tension between religion and education in secular countries, and the blending between religion and education in religious countries, such as Iran and Malaysia, as well as secular countries such as the Netherlands. It also shows the important role the church currently plays in education in developing countries, such as Tanzania.

It is often argued that religious schools and colleges promote intolerance, divisiveness, and fanaticism and that they violate the principle of academic freedom. Some writers also suggest that economic support for religious schools by the state violates the principle of the separation of church and state. Elmer Thiessen provides a philosophical defence of religious schools and colleges against these and other standard objections. He concludes with a radical proposal: a pluralistic educational system will better prepare students for citizenship in pluralist liberal democracies than a monopolistic state-maintained school system. In placing his argument within the context of liberal-democratic values Thiessen gives concrete examples of objections to religious schools and offers practical suggestions that follow from the philosophical treatment of the problem. In Defence of Religious Schools and Colleges bridges the gap between philosophical argument and educational practice. It will be of interest not only to philosophers and educational theorists but also to practitioners in education. Academics, policy makers, political theorists, lay-people, teachers, administrators, and parents – those who object to religious schools and colleges and those who find themselves trying to answer the objections – will benefit from reading this book.

- Do faith schools have a place in a plural society? - Which types of school contribute most effectively to a plural society? This fascinating monograph seeks to answer these questions and more by exploring the fit between personal, spiritual and academic goals in contemporary educational experience and individual school cultures. Jo Cairns, a well-respected authority on faith schools, argues that educational ideology in plural societies has to find a way of recognizing and responding to the 'predicament' of pluralism as it is experienced by individuals and communities. This provocative and challenging book will undoubtedly stimulate debate among educationists across the world.

This volume provides an up-to-date analysis of Catholicism in Britain and France, examining various aspects of the faith in the 200 years since the French Revolution. By focusing on two countries whose religious establishement and experience were markedly different, and by adopting a comparative approach, the book is able to offer an unusual perspective on the challenges facing the Catholic church in the modern world and on its impact not only on believers, but also on the two societies as a whole.