The influence of education on spirituality and religiosity

• In Event: Roundtable Session 19
  In Roundtable Session: Spirituality and Education, Part 2

Abstract

Currently, little is known about the influence of formal education on the spiritual beliefs of students. Despite this gap in knowledge, decisions about educational curriculums, home schooling, and educational lawsuits are made with the assumption that formal education can and does impact a student’s spirituality. In an effort to improve our understanding, this qualitative semi-structured interview study focused on the personal accounts of the educational and religious histories of 16 participants. The themes in the interview data revealed that education alone failed to be a sufficient catalyst for spiritual belief change; instead major life events were cited as the agent for change. Educational knowledge was identified as having a secondary role in the process of spiritual belief change.

Author

• D. Thomas Markle, University of New Mexico