How Do We Name Religious Education?

The REEF (religious education exploring the future) working team #1 goal for this year is to examine what we title our lifespan learning programs. Is Religious Education the best phrase to describe who we are as a learning people? The first step in this process is to look closely at language because we know that many words carry different meanings. Each person has a different reaction to certain words, and we hope to take this into account as we search for the best name.

Some other names that congregations use for Religious Education include:

  • Faith Formation
  • Spiritual Education
  • Spiritual Exploration
  • Religious Exploration
  • Lifelong Learning

As we engage in this discernment, we would like to first explore the value that certain words has for members and friends of this congregation.

Faith
Spiritual
Religious

In what ways do each of these words speak to you? Do they have value or do they bring up ill feelings? Are there other words that have a deeper meaning for your life journey?

Please leave a comment below. This short video recorded by Interim Director of Religious Education, Michele Grove, explains this conversation in depth.

Thank you for engaging in this conversation. If you wish to talk further with a member of REEF, please reach out to us.

Lara Breeze-Troyer, Michele Grove, Kathleen Holden, Randy Locke, Karla Peterson, Dave Sharpe, and Carol Veit.

10 Responses to “How Do We Name Religious Education?

  1. Even by the very definition of “religious”, it bounds us to a certain set of specific beliefs which is antithesis to who we are as a congregation and faith community. Beyond this, it sends shivers down my spine and not in a good way. I like the words spiritual and faith. Bottom line, as long as we make certain that our exploration clearly articulates that we are a people who prioritizes people and improving the human condition, I’m all for. Spirituality resonates with me as a key driver to help me step into my best self. Faith in the belief we can be better tomorrow than today keeps me coming back.

  2. I like “Spiritual” best, although I think it only speaks to part of the horizon-expansion I think we seek to provide, both in children’s and adult RE. I like “Faith” the least, mostly because it seems (to me) to imply adherence to a specific creed. I am relatively neutral about “Religious”. Rather than focusing on “religion”, however, I would like to use language to suggest that our children’s RE program is about “Learning How to Believe” and our adult programs are about constantly re-evaluating our beliefs in the context of the real world. But I don’t yet have specific suggestions for how to evoke those concepts in a “brand”. Thanks for asking!

  3. Thanks for the helpful overview about the role of language in describing what we do, Michele. I resonate most positively with the terms “faith” & “spiritual.” My 3 adult children grew up in this congregation & I favored the term “Religious Education” for what happened in their classes on Sunday morning because it conveyed their exploration of what it means to be UU. As an adult, however, that term “Religious Education” seems to narrow. If we are looking for language that best describes lifelong learning in our congregation, than I favor “faith” or “spiritual.” Thanks for your leadership.

  4. (An addition to my other comment) I find it difficult to find a single term that describes lifelong religious learning. For me, what goes on with small groups of adults feels fundamentally different from a 4th-grade RE class. Maybe that’s why I’m balking at changing the name of RE to something that more encompasses adult activities. I also realize that many people in our church *want* a name that describes all of these lifelong opportunities under one term — so maybe I’m in the minority in not seeking such a single name. Ah, opinions!

  5. I had technical difficulties and was not able to watch the video (sorry). However, I did want to leave a comment about liking our current name for Religious Education. Since many other religious denominations use “Sunday School,” I always felt comfortable with the word “Education” as a similar concept that non-UUs could understand. It describes the format of a few adults and many children that is standard for our youth program. I prefer Religious to Spiritual because for me personally, religion feels like a broader term. I dislike the term Faith because of its frequent use in society in opposition to reason. What I’m trying to say is that I find “Religious Education” to be most easily explainable to those outside the UU church.

  6. I like spiritual the best. or, just Spirit Religious, I think, connotes us teaching children and youth, not necessarily adults. Faith has negative connotations for me — associated with having to adhere to a certain set of beliefs, likely from Methodist upbringing – you have to have faith to believe and be accepted in a Christian community.

  7. When I think of these three words I have very different physical, emotional and intellectual reactions. ‘Religious’ is my least favorite. Physical I seem to tense up. It conjures up very stiff, very dogmatic ways of thinking, and for me that is not really what our program is. It also conveys to me an emphasis on children and youth that I hope we will be able to move away from. ‘Faith’ would be the middle one for me. I recognize that I do have a faith if my understanding though I am aware that many in our midst would not identify with that. ‘Spiritual’ is by far my favorite one. When I think of spiritual I think of open and expansive in a way that people can take what works for them and leave the rest. When I think of spiritual my muscles relax and a smile comes across my face. This word can encompass so much more that the other two for me – a journey I can easily take.

  8. For me, “faith” reflects my search for meaning and purpose, so that seems to fit best with the activities you’re talking about. I may honor my faith through different kinds of spiritual exercises or practices, and I choose to be among those with similar values (my religious community).

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