The New Outspoken Atheism and Education

In this essay, Nel Noddings calls upon U.S. public schools to equip students with a more nuanced understanding of religious vocabulary, history, and ideas. Examining recent books by outspoken atheists including Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Sam Harris, and Christopher Hitchens, Noddings argues that schools should help students "communicate across the chasm" between belief and unbelief in an effort to prepare a more civil and informed citizenry. In a wide-ranging discussion of religious vocabulary, belief, logic, morality, and aesthetics, she illustrates ways in which schools can incorporate religious literacy across the curriculum and foster a rich understanding of religious history and ideas among the students they serve.