Resources: Review - The spiritual side of working with young people

In the first section he looks at the theoretical base for the subject, definitions, the case for religion, the case against religion and legislative imperatives. In the second section he looks at implications for practice, personal perspectives, dealing with loss, and the areas of forgiveness and social justice. In the third section the author explores diversity, discrimination and empowerment and looks at a particular approach in mental health. The book concludes with a guide to further learning and comprehensive web site and book lists.

Moss approaches his subject with rigour and is not afraid to be robust with spiritual and religious concepts. He starts the book by sharing his own background to provide the reader with a context by which to judge his ideas. As an academic, Moss approaches spirituality and religion from many social and psychological angles. He arrives at a definition of spirituality as "what we do to give expression of our chosen world view", which is neatly put and probably useable but feels a little antiseptic. This is probably less threatening for the wider professional field but may limit the more wonderful areas of the debate.