ABSTRACT
At first glance, the title of this first section of the chapter might appear little more than another label for religious education. On closer scrutiny, however, the sense of “theism and education” can be broader or narrower, stronger or weaker, than that of religious education. Indeed, on one interpretation-which we mention now to get it out of the way-the topic of theism and education might seem narrower than that of religious education, since not all religions (such as Buddhism or Jainism) have been theistic. That said, one might also make too much of this point. If one conceives of religion as essentially concerned with the nature or fate of the soul or spirit (Carr 2008), then God or the gods could be considered as (perhaps “essential”) forms of such soul or spirit and most religions do envisage ultimate human or other destiny in terms of the prosperity or salvation of spiritual lives or agencies so conceived.
