The Connection Between Spirituality and Education

 

The process of Spiritual Education is an important part of child development. The spiritual education of young children promotes the cultivation of their natural spiritual strengths, the establishment of their natural spiritual identity, and the presentation of their natural spiritual gifts in their daily lives. Without a foundation in spiritual values and practices, children will become easy prey to satanic cults and other spiritually questionable individuals. Spiritual Education will help prepare your children for adulthood by instilling in them a love of God, a firm commitment to fellow human beings, an understanding of the world as a place of honor and virtue, and basic moral and ethical principles. The life we live in today is not one in which spiritual growth can occur without the teaching and training of proper values and conduct. Without this fundamental aspect of child development, most individuals will live life with no true value system and will spend their lives serving other people rather than God.

Spiritual Education is also an essential component of the work of religious educators. Spiritual teachers play a significant role in the spiritual education of impressionable students. The work of religious educators involves a number of important activities that foster spiritual growth. Many of these activities are designed to help prepare students to be receptive followers of the faith while helping them develop genuine compassion and respect for all mankind.

Some of the traditional methods of spiritual education have changed little over time. Teachers often still rely on the method of group self-reflection, where each student is encouraged to share a reflective writing about his or her spiritual beliefs and personal experience. This method of spiritual inquiry was often used during the age-old "cultural switchover" process that occurred when converting from previous religions changed their names. Today, however, some schools incorporate "self-reflection" into their curriculum as a valuable tool for developing spiritual growth among their students.

Other educational systems still encourage the use of closed books, such as hymnals, that provide only general information about spiritual concepts. Such materials, while helpful for many who are not familiar with religious history or doctrine, can cause a child to focus too much on certain concepts and gloss over other ideas. For example, in a hymnal for a youth age group, it may be tempting for a child to focus solely on praise and worship. A more effective way to introduce spiritual teaching would be to include some discussion of ethics, rationale creation, and meaningful imagination as well as praise and thanksgiving.

Religious educators, too, face many challenges when attempting to impart spiritual education to young people. In many places of worship, it is illegal to include prayer or other divine words, even in a simple memorial service. In order to legally display religious teachings, most schools and churches require a brief description of those topics, which often goes beyond simple praise and worship. In addition, many parents and community groups are wary of having someone in public life that openly expresses their faith. In a sense, displaying your devotion is viewed as inappropriate for a public role.

In addition, many educators are unable to integrate spirituality with modern scientific concepts. Science has many limits regarding what it can teach about the spiritual world. For example, a scientist cannot study the mysteries of the universe or God's plan for creation and expect to have knowledge of how He did it. Scientists are restricted by their material world view and cannot see spirituality at its most basic form. While religion has been useful for people through time, modern scientists can better understand the connection between spirituality and science, but they still have many gaps to be filled.

In order to fill those gaps, teachers of spiritual education need to integrate religious materials with scientific methods. One of the most important books that can help you do this is Bah'am al-Rabee's Kitab al-Fitr wal-Nusrah. This book covers all major topics related to the secrets of God, the nature of God, and how to lead a successful life. Bah'am al-Rabee teaches the history of sacred knowledge, the nature of spirituality in the modern age, and how to develop a comprehensive spiritual education curriculum. Other important books include:

In brief, spiritual education incorporates several different educational approaches to teaching people about spirituality. Teachers of spiritualism must build schools of spirituality by teaching students about God, the nature of God, how God's energy works, how to get close to God, and how to work together in community to achieve religious and social goals. They also should use spiritual studies and counseling to help students gain an understanding of their spiritual relationships and how to make spiritual connections with other human beings. Finally, teachers of spirituality must work to foster a sense of acceptance among students so that their spiritual growth may blossom.