Introduction
In the Introduction, co-editors Michael D. Waggoner and Nathan C. Walker articulate the purpose of The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Education, which is to examine the current state of religion and American education from homeschooling to private religious schools to public schools to religious institutions and on through the range of public and private higher education. They explain that the book is organized into five sections: Frameworks; Lifespan Faith Development; Faith-Based K-12 education; Religion and Public Schools; and Religion and Higher Education. Within these sections forty leading scholars in the field of religion and education, review these topics in thirty chapters. The contributors offer an in-depth synthesis of major issues within the field, while contributing to lively debates about the links between landmark research contributions and contemporary research agendas. Designed for an interdisciplinary audience, the Oxford handbook serves as a legacy project for leading scholars who are critically shaping the future direction of the field of religion and American education.