Pluralism and Polarity: Spirituality and Education in the United States

Spiritual education in the United States today traces its roots through a complex interplay of historic, religious, political and cultural infl uences. An examination of those infl uences can help explain the fact that, while the United States is one of the most religious of ‘developed’ nations (Putnam & Campbell, 2010), its public school system is one of the most secular, despite notable eff orts contrariwise. The beginnings of the religious-secular controversy began with the emergence of the nation from its colonial beginnings.