ABSTRACT — This research explores the relationship between individuals (a) orientations toward religion and spirituality with (b) their sense of the purpose of public schooling. Evidence suggests that there are a number of areas where there is a statistically significant relationship between a person’s spirituality and what they think about what schools should be accomplishing. These relationships are separate from topics regularly associated with tensions between public school and religious views (e.g. prayer in school, the teaching of evolution, the use of voucher systems, etc.), suggesting that how education itself is conceived of is somehow related to an individual’s internal religious and/or spiritual orientation. The research is the result of a mixed-method qualitative and quantitative pilot study based on a small national survey (N=125) in the US.
October 12, 2023 — World Religions high school teacher Greg Soden will offer tips, show examples and rubrics, and discuss the various tools available to educators who want to assess their students via podcasting!
September 21, 2023 — Although white evangelicals have long been skeptical about non-sectarian higher education, the current climate in the United States necessitates a fresh look at possible sources of their beliefs. Edwards’s research seeks to understand how evangelical high school students navigate the college enrollment process in the current polarized climate.
Tuesday, June 20, 2023 — Mike Graziano, University of Northern Iowa
Developing local religious literacy programming can be both challenging and rewarding. In this session, Michael Graziano will provide a brief overview of the “Iowa Religious Literacy Program,” which provides professional development opportunities to Iowa public school teachers through addressing specific local religious literacy concerns.
