Grappling with the Good: Talking about Religion and Morality in Public Schools

Contents

Foreword ix Acknowledgments xi 1 Introduction 1 A Definition of “Ethical Education”: More Than Morals 2 The Focus of This Book 6 The Structure of This Book 8 A Learning Process 9 2 Evading the Ethical: How We Got Here 11 Tracing the Path to Ambivalence 12 Colonial Origins and Ethical Assumptions 15 Common Schools in Search of Common Ethics 17 The Gradual Shift toward Civic Religion 21 The Emerging Wall of Separation 25 Ethical Education on the Secular Side of the Wall 28 From Entanglement to Engagement 32 3 Why Religion Belongs in Ethical Dialogue 35 Mutual Respect As a Foundation for Ethical Dialogue 36 Understanding As Vital for Respect 38 Understanding Projects Involves Evaluating Them 40 Respectful Understanding As a Moral, Not Instrumental, Claim 41 The Link between Project Pursuit and Broader Ethical Frameworks 43 vii Contents The Implications for Curricula and Pedagogy 44 Religious Frameworks and Secular Worldviews: Is There a Difference? 47 America’s Religious Landscape 50 Ethical Dialogue and Rooted Religious Identity 53 4 Imaginative Engagement with Ethical Difference 59 A Deeper Sense of Appreciation 60 Our Capacity for Empathic Understanding 64 Stirring the Ethical Imagination 68 Combining Head and Heart 72 Imaginative Engagement: The Groundwork of Deliberation 74 5 Grappling in the Classroom I: Civic Deliberation 79 The Big(ger) Tent of the Civic Sphere 80 Qualities of Deliberative Reason 84 Alternatives to Deliberative Reasoning 89 Deliberative Reasoning in the Classroom 94 A Portrait of Ethical Dialogue 97 6 Grappling in the Classroom II: The Role of Religion 103 Religion in the Civic Realm 104 Can Religion Be Reasonable? 109 Fallibilism and Ethical Adherence 112 Civic Virtue: Beyond Proceduralism 117 A Final Portrait of Classroom Deliberation 120 7 Preparing Teachers for Ethical Dialogue 127 Teacher Capacity for Ethical Dialogue 129 Professional Commitment to Ethical Dialogue 131 Collaboration As Central to Professional Development 134 8 Conclusion 139 Notes 145 Index 165 viii Contents ...