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@contents: Introduction An Argument for Enchantment Section I: Educational, Political and Theological Theory 1. Christianity, Citizenship and Identity 2. Republican Theory, Citizenship and Religion Section II: Challenges of Historical and Philosophical Interpretation 3. Christianity, Citizenship and Education: From Antiquity to Enlightenment and its Aftermath 4. Religion, Education and Extremism: From Totalitarian Democracy to Liberal Autocracy Section III: Pragmatic and Pedagogical Approaches 5. Religious Faith, Citizenship Education and the Public Square 6. Citizenship Education as Transformation: The Possibilities of Religious Approaches to Education Biblography
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Education, Politics and Religion In recent years, a number of popular books have savaged religion, arguing it is a dangerous delusion that poisons human societies and relationships. This is but the most recent manifestation of a secularizing agenda that has been sweeping contemporary democratic societies since the Enlightenment. This book pushes back against that agenda, examining its key assumptions and arguing that the exclusion of religious people and ideas from education and the public square is both undemocratic and unwise. For the most part, this book draws arguments and examples from Christianity, the religious tradition of the authors, but it recognizes that many religions share the concerns and possibilities examined. The book examines contemporary expressions of the secularizing agenda in Western democracies, with particular focus on how it is played out in education. It demonstrates how republican theory understood within a faith perspective provides a shared understanding and substantive basis for education within a Western democracy. It explores the historical connections and disconnections between religion and civic life in the West, from ancient to contemporary times, and examines religiously based civic action and pedagogical approaches, contending both have the potential to contribute greatly to democracy. This book will be of value to those interested in exploring how democracies can include the voices of all their citizens: the religious and the secular. James Arthur is Professor of Education and Civic Engagement at the University of Birmingham, UK. Liam Gearon is a Professor of Education at the University of Plymouth, UK. Alan Sears is Professor of Education at the University of New Brunswick, Canada. Education, Politics and Religion Reconciling the civil and the sacred in education James Arthur, Liam Gearon and Alan Sears First edition published 2010 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 270 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2010. To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk. © 2010 James Arthur, Liam Gearon and Alan Sears All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN 0-203-84657-5 Master e-book ISBN ISBN: 978-0-415-56548-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-415-56549-3 (pbk) ISBN: 978-0-203-84657-5 (ebk) Contents Acknowledgements vi Introduction: an argument fo