In this study, first published in 1965, the author explores the implications of research for an alternative approach to religious education. The book deals with the psychological bases of religious development, reviewing the natural limitations as well as the basic needs of the young, and how religious education should be affected by educational theory and practice.

The author also examines what content and methods of teaching are consistent with the healthy development of children and adolescents. Teachers in schools, students in training, lecturers, clergy and ministers, and local education authority committees will welcome the book as an important aid to the task of rethinking syllabuses and the need for more child-centred methods of teaching.