Religious faith in education: enemy or asset?

Abstract

In this article I hope to cast some light on the relationship between religious faith and education by a preliminary mapping of the field. There are three parts to the article. First, I lay out the assumptions from which the rest of the article builds. Second, I seek to identify possible links between religion and education. As a sub-set of this, I explore a range of ways that theology might relate to education. Third, as a step towards a more healthy relationship between education and religious faith, I offer reasons why the church needs the academy and the academy needs the church. In the light of a convergence of the concerns that I show are shared by religious believers and educators, it is suggested that religious faith in the context of education should be considered an asset rather than an enemy.

Keywords:

• Christianity
• academy
• theology

Notes

1. This and the following two paragraphs draw from my chapter ‘Education and Evangelisation’ in Learning the Language of Faith, edited by John Sullivan (Chelmsford: Matthew James Publishing, 2010).