School curricula in the U.S. have focused on the acquisition of knowledge essential to
future careers while ethics and values have been considered peripheral to student development. However, due to a sense of a moral crisis in the U.S. and in its
schools, a character education movement has arisen in an attempt to instill virtue into U.S. students. Similarly, another education movement has arisen
inspired by the writings of Fethullah Gülen. This movement has founded hundreds of schools around the world, seeking to integrate science and spirituality in
an attempt to raise a "Golden Generation" of individuals who will usher in a world of peace and harmony. Working toward this goal, Gülen-inspired
teachers prefer to teach ethics by example rather than through lecture in order not to create conflict between themselves and community expectations. In a
culture of individualism and Wall Street and political scandals, however, it is not clear whether U.S. students in general would be inspired sufficiently by
moral exemplars alone to inquire into the reasons for their behavior, much less to be transformed into a "Golden Generation." Consequently, this
paper explores educational research findings and the writings of Fethullah Gülen, concluding that in a U.S. setting, at least, Gülen-inspired educators should
consider incorporating practices of moral reasoning and action into their curricula.
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