From the first Conference: Children's Spirituality: Christian Perspectives, Research, and Applications, Donald Ratcliff, senior editor (Cascade Books, 2004).

This pacesetting text considers a wide variety of topics related to the spiritual development of children. The chapters grew out of presentations at the first major conference to consider these important topics from a distinctly Christian perspective. The first section considers the important task of defining spirituality and summarizes some views of the spirituality of children, as reflected in history, theology and the Bible. Social influences on children's spirituality are considered, as well as how brain activity relates to spiritual experiences. The second major section highlights children's spirituality in the home. Here the development of the concept of God is considered, as well as how parents and children work together to construct understandings of spirituality. A third section reflects upon the spirituality of children in the church, including alternative perspectives of how spiritual growth and experience are best encouraged in that setting. The distinctive aspects of African American children and Latino children's spirituality are given careful attention. Schools and other settings are examined in the fourth section of the book, with an emphasis upon moral learning, encouraging faith development with preschoolers, how spirituality helps children cope with serious medical conditions and the stresses related to being children of missionaries, and best practices in reaching inner city children. The book concludes with a chapter that examines how Christians' views of children's spirituality are changing, and anticipates a follow up conference in the near future.

Here are essays on young people that tell of their various ways of seeking God's presence in their ongoing lives--an aspect of faith observed and discussed with intelligence and sensitivity. Here is a book many of us will greatly value--its wisdom an important presence in our effort to understand children.
--Dr. Robert Coles, Professor of Psychiatry and Medical Humanities at Harvard Medical School, and the author of The Spiritual life of Children.

This extraordinary book is a must read for all who teach and practice religious education. It gathers, with breadth and depth, the best current research from an exploding renewal in the study of the spirituality and religious development of children. Teachers, students and scholars dedicated to understanding and nurturing our children's growth in faith will find this rich volume indispensable.
--James W. Fowler, author of Stages of Faith and C. H. Candler Professor of Theology and Human Development Director, The Center for Ethics, Emory University.

Written in the best of the Evangelical tradition, Children’s Spirituality is a must read for all those interested in children, the spiritual life and Christian formation. Descriptive phrases include well conceived and edited, clearly written and well documented, thorough and all-encompassing, academically sound and popular, combining research and practical application.
--The Rev. Dr. John Westerhoff, formerly Professor of Theology and Christian Nurture at Duke University, he is Theologian-in-Residence at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, Georgia

From the second conference: Nurturing Children's Spirituality: Christian Perspectives and Best Practices, Holly Catterton Allen, editor (Cascade Books, 2008).

Children's spiritual development is currently a hot topic in Christian circles, as well as in other fields and disciplines such as educational psychology, medicine, developmental psychology, education, and sociology. The key question for Christian scholars and educators is "How do Christian beliefs and practices uniquely interrelate with children's spirituality?"
In 2003 and again in 2006, a national conference entitled "Children's Spirituality Conference: Christian Perspectives" examined children's spirituality from a distinctly Christian standpoint. This book is a collection of the best materials from the 2006 conference.
The first half of the book addresses definitional, historical, and theological concerns related to spiritual development in children. The second half explores best practices for fostering spiritual growth among our children—in our homes, families, churches, Christian schools, and among special populations of children—from a wide spectrum of Christian scholars and practitioners. The volume closes with John Westerhoff's moving keynote address and Catherine Stonehouse and Scottie May's eloquent, culminating plenary address. Nurturing Children's Spirituality provides a rich cross section of the current research and writing by Christian scholars on children's spirituality.

Contributors: Holly Catterton Allen, Michael J. Anthony, Stacy Berg, Chris J. Boyatzis, MaLesa Breeding, Marilyn Brownlee, Linda V. Callahan, Jane Carr, Mara Lief Crabtree, Karen Crozier, James Riley Estep Jr., Jeffrey E. Feinberg, Stephanie Goins, Judy Harris Helm, Dana Kennamer Hood, Sungwon Kim, Kevin Lawson, Scottie May, Marcia McQuitty, Heidi Schultz Oschwald, Donald Ratcliff, Pam Scranton, Timothy A. Sisemore, Catherine Stonehouse, La Verne Tolbert, T. Wyatt Watkins, John H. Westerhoff III

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