Article 2: Religious Experience and Progressive Education

The period between 1850 and 1950 was a tumultuous time for religion and education. Both experienced explosive growth in the numbers of people they served and in the new ideas, approaches, and concepts with which they had to contend. Likewise, individuals who came of age in this period had to find ways to navigate the rapid changes in both realms. This study describes three typologies that progressive educators displayed as they made the transition between their traditional religious upbringings and the modern secular worlds of their adulthoods and careers. The educators are categorized as Integrators, Reinterpreters, or Deniers, depending on how they chose to deal with youthful religious experiences once they reached adulthood. Those religious experiences took place within diverse religious communities in far-flung spots on the globe, but the figures here shared a common struggle with the faith they met in childhood and how to make peace with it in their adult professional lives. The struggle took many years for some and a relatively short time for others, but in all cases, it left its mark through their contributions to progressive education in the United States.