Common Faith : Education, Spirituality and the State

Published in 1998. The notion of spiritual development has been part of the legislative framework of education in England and Wales since 1944. Its use in the legizlation implies the belief that there is an important dimension of state education connected with, but extended beyond, personal development and the promotion of values. This book is an exercise in the practical philosophy of education and consequently, explores certain ideas and policy ideals, throwing light on the logical relations between them.

Published in 1998, this book provides a much needed philosophical analysis of the political and educational issues that are raised when spiritual development is regarded as a central educational aim. The author examines the meaning of spirituality in the educational context and provides a suitable educational characterization following a detailed critique of certain ideas put forward by John Dewey, Alistair MacIntyre and Charles Taylor. In the second part of the book the author examines various attempts to derive policies concerning the personal education of pupils from cultural and political claims. The educational implications of a wide range of political perspectives are explored, including those of liberalism, communitarianism, conservatizm and pluralism. Particular attention is given to the constraints imposed on educationalists by the liberalisms of John Rawls and Joseph Raz and, in the final part, the author questions whether any nationally common conception of spiritual education is either educationally adequate or politically acceptable.