2009/08/11 by R. Scott Webster · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · #Critical and Liberation Pedagogy #Pragmatism in Philosophy and Education #Religious Education and Schools
paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9752.2009.00708.x
openalex publication_date 2009/08/11 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
John Dewey has been portrayed as a sort of villain in Rosenow’s (1997) article which appeared in this journal, apparently because he was unfairly opposed to God and to religion, and also because he deliberately usurped religious language to ‘camouflage’ his secular ideas. By drawing mainly upon similar sources but with some important additions, I wish to challenge the four major concerns raised in Rosenow’s article and in doing so aim to offer an alternative interpretation. It is understood here that Dewey’s approach to religion was not so much religious as it was ‘spiritual’ and while developing and changing throughout his writings, his ideas on spirituality nevertheless were thoroughly entwined with his other views, especially those dealing with education, science and democracy.