Spiritual Development

Centuries of writing on the spiritual life, and our own personal experience, point to several facets of spirituality that can be nurtured in schools. These aspects of the spirit can, and should, be addressed intentionally.

We believe that all schools should help students develop tools to ponder the meaning and purpose of life, the nature of our relationships (human, animal, and even our relationship to the earth we live on), the deep power of great art or music, the rituals (religious and otherwise) we engage in because they add meaning to our lives, the growth that comes from transformational experiences and life passages, the nature of the sacred… among others.

CSEE’s spiritual development goal is to be a resource to educators. We leave to our religiously affiliated schools the decision regarding how best to integrate their religious beliefs and the school missions. But many chaplains and spiritual life coordinators have little training in spiritual development, especially outside the context of their own particular religious tradition.

Our increasingly diverse world sees our schools attended by Sikhs, Muslims, Jains and Jews, in addition to Christians from a multiplicity of Christianity’s branches. CSEE respects and honors all religious traditions, but is formally affiliated with none. Regardless of tradition, we want all our schools to respect—and ideally to pay homage to—the depth of the spirit in each student.

CSEE’s Spiritual Development Program initiatives work to achieve our goals by providing…

• National and regional workshops on child and adolescent spiritual development, and about a variety of religious traditions.
• Consultation services for schools around issues of spiritual development.
• Publications and newsletter articles for member schools addressing best practices in the field.
• Book recommendations, curriculum and other resources for teachers, parents and school leaders
• Projects and initiatives designed to create resources and learning opportunities for our member schools.