Caring Without Justice: How we deaden the spirits of gay and lesbian youth in schools

Too often 'spirituality' and the methods of leading students toward it are defined in terms of religious beliefs. Even when the notion of spirituality is connected to such benign terms as 'love' or 'caring', it is open to dangerous interpretation. In this paper, I provide illustrations of such interpretations. The way that some people define the many notions that surround spirituality serves to deaden the very spirits they claim to want to save. This is particularly true vis-a-vis the issue of homosexuality in schools. I argue that the spirituality of gay and lesbian students can best be served by heeding certain principles of justice.