The Spirit Within

The author was convinced from work over many yearswith senior high school students that they possessedan underlying spirituality that was stronger thenformal church allegiance. To explore thisspirituality the investigation sought an answer tothe Alister Hardy question: "Have you ever beenaware of, or influenced by, a presence or power,whether you call it God or not, which is differentfrom your every day life?" The survey was intendedto explore the occurrence of these liminalexperiences. A "limit" experience was defined as "anexperience that reveals a reality of life beyond theself, beyond the here and now. It may berecognition of our own fragility and vulnerabilityas much as joyous-awareness of a reality beyond ournormal encounter with life."Over 90% of respondents affirmed some associationwith liminal experiences that would have provided apositive answer to the Alister Hardy question.This book will assist all those who work inreligious education, in particular Catholiceducation, to explore the deeper spirituality thatunderlies religious affiliation and religiousexpression among their students.

Autorentext

Dr Paul McQuillan is Director of Administrative Services with Brisbane Catholic Education and an Honorary Research fellow with Australian Catholic University. He has worked as teacher, Principal and administrator in four states and territories of Australia.

Klappentext
The author was convinced from work over many years with senior high school students that they possessed an underlying spirituality that was stronger then formal church allegiance. To explore this spirituality the investigation sought an answer to the Alister Hardy question: "Have you ever been aware of, or influenced by, a presence or power, whether you call it God or not, which is different from your every day life?" The survey was intended to explore the occurrence of these liminal experiences. A "limit" experience was defined as "an experience that reveals a reality of life beyond the self, beyond the here and now. It may be recognition of our own fragility and vulnerability as much as joyous-awareness of a reality beyond our normal encounter with life." Over 90% of respondents affirmed some association with liminal experiences that would have provided a positive answer to the Alister Hardy question. This book will assist all those who work in religious education, in particular Catholic education, to explore the deeper spirituality that underlies religious affiliation and religious expression among their students.