ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines David Carr’s attempt to use an analysis of the grammar of the word ‘spiritual’ to develop a distinctive and educationally authoritative conception of spiritual development. It deals with an examination and criticism of John Dewey’s attempt, in his book A Common Faith, to outline a concept of ‘the religious’ that can be separated from the beliefs of traditional religion. The book shows that any educational approach to spiritual development will have to involve some particular evaluative developmental ideal. It discusses the incompatibility between a commitment to common schooling and the development of autonomy, since the latter requires, as a primary educational aim, the formation of persons into a particular cultural tradition. Rationalism is a central aspect of the modernist and enlightenment projects which have animated much thinking about public policy.
