This paper examines the role of spirituality and religion within the K–12 educational system, grounding the discussion in the historical context of the separation of church and state as conceived by Enlightenment thinkers and the American Founding Fathers. The paper argues that spirituality is a fundamental human characteristic that must be incorporated into holistic education alongside cognitive and academic development. Drawing on research in child and adolescent psychology, it addresses how children's understanding of spirituality evolves with age and cognitive ability, and why any curricular treatment of religion must be age-appropriate, culturally sensitive, and oriented toward fostering empathy, moral reasoning, and global citizenship.
The concept of the separation of church and state has often been thought to be part of the original Founding Fathers' understanding of religion and an implicit mandate of the Constitution. Essentially, this phrase means that there is a constitutional mandate prohibiting an official state religion, and that the sociological roles often attributed to religion will instead be managed by the state. This ideal, formulated by Enlightenment thinker John Locke, was part of the social contract between government and citizens that the Founding Fathers drew upon to form and organize the new Republic. The intent was to protect the individual from the state requiring adherence to a certain religion — not to protect the state from religion itself — an important distinction as the Republic grew. This, however, did not mean that the founders were anti-religious; quite the contrary. Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were both extremely devout and believed that religion should play an important role in the holistic education of all individuals (MacLear, 1995).
Within the educational system, just as clinical knowledge and technique are at the heart of the quantitative model, spirituality and an understanding of the role religion plays in society are necessary to round out the qualitative. Educators do not work with only one part of a learner; they work with the whole person. This holistic model recognizes that knowledge and familiarity with a subject — regardless of one's personal belief system — is helpful and supportive for long-term growth and lifelong learning. The fostering of respect and empathy for one's fellow human beings is also part of a broad-based education designed not simply to produce automatons who remain stuck in the lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, but to help students grow both academically and spiritually into functioning, well-rounded global citizens. Since spirituality is a complete human characteristic, it is important to help develop the qualities that engender this growth (Lerner, et al., 2006).
The 21st-century school is unlike any school system of the past. There are more diverse learners, the pace at which students must master material is greater, there are more technological options available for learning, and the expectations from stakeholders of all types are far more robust. Once we recognize that spirituality is a necessary part of every culture, and that more and more cultures are represented within the school system and therefore within childhood and adolescent development, a universal need emerges for spirituality to have a presence within the K–12 curriculum. That is not to say this presence must be static or monolithic — just as history, the humanities, and the social sciences evolve within the curriculum, so too should the treatment of religion and spirituality (Mattis, et al., 2006).
"How children's spiritual understanding develops with age"
"Principles for introducing spirituality appropriately in schools"
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