For Goodness Sake: Religious Schools and Education for Democratic Citizenry (Social Theory, Education and Cultural Change)

272 Pages·2006·7.13 MB·English

by  Walter Feinberg

Feinberg_half title page 2/13/06 4:36 PM Page 1
F O R
GOODNESS
S A K E
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Social Theory, Education, and Cultural Change Series
Edited by Carlos Alberto Torres and Raymond Allen Morrow
Globalization and Education: Critical Perspectives
Edited by Nicholas C. Burbules and Carlos Alberto Torres
Critical Theories in Education: Changing Terrains of Knowledge and Politics
Edited by Thomas S. Popkewitz and Lynn Fendler
Chomsky on Democracy and Education
Noam Chomsky, edited by C. P. Otero
Globalization, Technological Change, and Public Education
Torin Monahan
For Goodness Sake: Religious Schools and Education for Democratic Citizenry
Walter Feinberg
Feinberg_title page 2/13/06 4:33 PM Page 1
F O R
GOODNESS
S A K E
Religious Schools and Education for
Democratic Citizenry
WALTER FEINBERG
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Published in 2006 by Published in Great Britain by
Routledge Routledge
Taylor & Francis Group Taylor & Francis Group
270 Madison Avenue 2 Park Square
New York, NY 10016 Milton Park, Abingdon
Oxon OX14 4RN
© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group
Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-415-95378-2 (Hardcover) 0-415-95379-0 (Softcover)
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-415-95378-8 (Hardcover) 978-0-415-95379-5 (Softcover)
Library of Congress Card Number 2005028002
No part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying, microfilming, and
recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers.
Trademark Notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only
for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Feinberg, Walter, 1937-
For goodness sake : religious schools and education of democratic citizenry / Walter Feinberg.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-415-95378-2 (hb : alk. paper) -- ISBN 0-415-95379-0 (pb : alk. paper)
1. Church and education. 2. Moral education. 3. Religious education. 4. Democracy. I. Title.
LC375.F44 2006
371.07--dc22 2005028002
Visit the Taylor & Francis Web site at
http://www.taylorandfrancis.com
Taylor & Francis Group and the Routledge Web site at
is the Academic Division of Informa plc. http://www.routledge-ny.com
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To my grandchildren, Alicia, Keith, and Austin, in their quests
and
To my wife, Eleanor, for all her
love and support
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
Chapter 1 Religious Instruction and Moral Education 1
Part I Back to School: An Ethnography
Chapter 2 The Construction of Religious Communities 17
Chapter 3 Criticism and Commitment 45
Chapter 4 Faith and the Pedagogical Limits of Critical Inquiry 85
Part II The Nature of the Public Interest in Religious
Education: A Critical Analysis
Chapter 5 Safety and the Question of Educational Negligence 107
Chapter 6 Intellectual Growth, Autonomy, and
Religious Education 125
Chapter 7 Religious Chauvinism and the
Democratic Citizen 153
vii
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viii • Contents
Part III The Reconstruction of Religious Education:
A Pragmatic Framework
Chapter 8 The Challenge of Religious Education
for Pluralism 171
Chapter 9 The Challenge of Religious Education
for Liberalism 189
Notes 215
Works Cited 225
Index 229
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Acknowledgments
The Spencer Foundation’s tradition of encouraging work in the humani-
ties and social sciences as it relates to the understanding and improvement
of education is a unique national resource, and I am grateful to the foun-
dation for its support of this project. In addition, I owe a significant debt
of gratitude to the many dedicated administrators and teachers, and to
their students, in faith-based schools who welcomed me into their class-
rooms and who spent many hours helping me to understand the nature of
their work.
During the research on the book, I had the help of some exceptional
anddedicated graduate assistants. Jason Odeshoo and Nathan Raybeck’s
knowledge of contemporary theology and biblical scholarship was invalu-
able in helping me launch this project. As a former student in a Catholic
high school, Rashid Robinson provided considerable insight into the
informal student culture and kept me informed about some of the racial
issues that arise in some of these schools. Jill Wightman, Michelle Wib-
belsm, and Steve Maas, all doctoral students in the Anthropology Depart-
ment of the University of Illinois, provided guidance on organizing and
coding the observations and interviews. Jill and Steve also helped with the
fieldwork. In addition, my advisees, Scott Johnston and Jeffrey Thibert,
read earlier drafts of the manuscript and made important suggestions.
Colleagues both at the University of Illinois and around the world were
most supportive throughout this project. This support includes the
detailed and insightful comments of Robert McKim and Michael Merry
on different chapters; the critical response provided by Eric Bredo and
Dwight Boyd tothe entire manuscript; the detailed criticism of those who
attended the two-day conference on an early draft of the manuscript held
ix