This new book by Graham Rossiter has as its extended title Life to the Full, the changing landscape of contemporary spirituality: Implications for Catholic school Religious Education.  Graham Rossiter of ACU, has published a number of books that Catholic educators may be familiar with – this latest one is available for free download and distribution online here.

I would strongly recommend it. I particularly want to draw attention to various tables, for instance on trends in cultural meanings in traditional society and traditional religious spirituality, compared with trends in cultural meaning in contemporary Westernised societies, and in individuals with a secular, individualistic spirituality (ch 4); Evaluative criteria for the identification and appraisal of spirituality (ch 4); a very clear and useful section on the Melbourne Scale arising from the Enhancing Catholic School Identity Project (Pollefeyt and Bouwens, Leuven University) which could be very helpful in considering the Catholic Character of Schools (ch 11); and a summary of the Characteristics of Youth Spirituality (ch 12).

Susan Apáthy, Deputy CEO