This collection contains materials related to the journal Religion and Education, many of which were compiled and used by the journal’s founding director, Charles Kniker. The materials were used in many ways related to the journal’s operations. Included are administrative files, correspondence, subject files, and more, which assisted in tracking trends in the field and in informing the writing of editorials and the solicitation of manuscripts. The collection provides insight into the journal’s functioning while simultaneously providing background information on a wide variety of topics concerning religion and education. It has been arranged into six series.

The first series, Administrative Files, dating from 1988-2017, consists of materials used in the course of operating the Religion and Education journal, primarily while it was at Iowa State University and Webster University, with much of the content created by then-editor Charles Kniker. It contains proofs, by-laws, notes, financial information (balance sheets, invoices, statements), correspondence, stylesheets, reports, minutes, etc. Subjects covered include essay content, printing matters, and documents focused on specific issues of the journal. The materials are a mix of handwritten and typed items. The series also includes a history of the NCRPE, written by Kniker, in the “General” section.

Series 2, Correspondence, dates from 1981 to 2003, and is arranged chronologically. Topics covered include journal administrative business, such as essay contests, subscriptions, budget, and the move to Webster University from Iowa State University in the 1990s. Other content consists of solicitation for manuscripts, people responding to journal content, and discussion of a presidential survey sent to 2000 presidential candidates George W. Bush and Al Gore. Frequent correspondents include Charles Kniker (sometimes addressed as “Bud”), Austin Creel, Thayer Warshaw, and Charles Russo. Additional correspondence came directly from the NCRPE’s Distribution Center, which disseminated materials related to religion and education, such as lesson plans for teaching about religion at public schools, school district policies, and certain books. This correspondence run has been kept grouped together as it was upon arrival at Rod Library.

The Subject Files series, dating from 1966-2002, is comprised of topics related to religion and education. Subjects include the religious right, school choice, school prayer, evolutionism vs creationism, and more. Please see the inventory below for a complete list. Materials consist of articles (both scholarly and news clippings); bibliographies; newsletters; reports; memos; brochures; congressional reports; and correspondence. Some documents contain handwritten notes and other annotations, with a few noting how they might be used in the journal. A number of items, such as a draft about moral education and materials about religious holidays, were written by Charles Kniker.

The fourth series, Organizations, consists of materials related to or from prominent organizations within the field of religion and education, some of which, such as the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and the American Academy of Religion, worked directly with the NCRPE. Other materials are from different denominations and religions and are related to education and / or their views on a particular issue, as well as general information about that religion. The series dates from c. 1977 to 2004 and includes fliers, booklets, correspondence, articles, brochures, etc. Please consult the inventory below for a full list of included organizations.

The fifth series, Publications, contains miscellaneous publications such as clippings, articles, fliers, press releases, brochures, and more, that, like the subject files, were used to track current issues. The materials, dating from 1964 to 2002, focus on a variety of topics, some of which overlap with the subject files’ contents. Specific topics throughout the series include politics and religion; separation of church and state; the religious right; vouchers; and creationism/evolution.

The final series, Teaching Materials / Curriculum, dating from 1967 to roughly 1995, includes a wide variety of educational materials, such as curriculum and resources. Examples consist of handouts, syllabi, bibliographies, correspondence, and articles. A fair amount of materials were created and used by Charles Kniker, including in his classroom work. The inventory contains the complete list of areas.