Spirituality in Religious Education: Implications of Changing Contemporary Contexts

Abstract

This paper argues that traditional notions of the relationship between religion and spirituality have actually resulted in the compartmentalization of spirituality within the secondary religious education curriculum. This has, too often, provoked disinterest from students who have failed to find meaning, purpose and value in a subject geared to cognitive learning.  An alternative integratral approach is offered which  will reflect new ideas about consciousness and recognize inner knowing, and will be grounded in the entirety of human experience which extends beyond the positivistic, reductionistic, scientific worldview of twentieth century education.