FaithandSpirituality

1、faith, spirituality, and religion in higher education steven p. scherger what exactly do we mean? how one makes meaning of oneself, others, the world, and “god” structural aspects of how one makes meaning doctrines, practices, and beliefs that compose the content of how one makes meaning process of

2、searching for meaning, wholeness, and purpose historical perspective before the civil war most of american colleges had a religious affiliation; even many “public” institutions were controlled by particular denominations period between civil war and wwi witnessed transition in the academe with the r

3、ise of research universities between the two world wars, spirituality remained a concern for the emerging student personnel profession; but was narrowly defined as mainline protestant morality the last 50 years of the 20th century marked a time when both academic and student affairs focused very lit

4、tle on the spiritual aspects of students last decade has witnessed a renewed interest in student spirituality for numerous reasons (e.g. globalization, multiculturalism, demand by millennials) james fowler stages of faith (1981) graduate of harvard divinity; retired professor from emory; methodist m

5、inister became interested in the psychological aspects of faith during graduate studies greatly influenced by erikson, piaget, and kohlberg james fowler stages of faith (1981) fowler defines faith as how one makes meaning of life (ethos) focused on the structure of meaning making rather than the con

6、tent of it fowler argues that the structure of faith is more likely to be universal; therefore his theory can be applied to all individuals including the non-religious or atheistic james fowler stages of faith (1981) selfother “god” (center of power and/or values) faith james fowler stages of faith

7、(1981) stage 1: intuitive-projective faith typical of children ages 3-7 dominate traits: imagination forms of knowing: perception transition: need to distinguish between reality and imagination stage 2: mythical-literal faith typical of older children/young teens ages 7-14 dominate traits: literalis

8、m and reciprocity form of knowing: story telling and symbols transition: discovery of clash between different stories/symbols james fowler stages of faith (1981) stage 3: synthetic-conventional faith typical of teenagers and some adults dominate traits: formation of identity with group forms of know

9、ing: authorities in community transition: conflict with authorities or critical reflection of ones own beliefs stage 4: individuative-reflective faith adulthood, but not all adults reach this stage dominate traits: self-created identity form of knowing: self-reflection transition: need to reconcile

10、conflicting inner-voices james fowler stages of faith (1981) fowler has questioned these last two stages critics claim they reflect fowlers own religious ideals rather than observable structural differences stage 5: conjunctive faith must navigate the paradoxes of the multiple narratives that compos

11、e ones identity; awakening of social unconsciousness stage 6: universalizing faith paradoxes in stage five are resolved by transcending ones own self interests and working toward universal love and justice sharon daloz parks big questions, worthy dreams (2000) graduate and former faculty member of h

12、arvard divinity; current faculty member of seattle university has taken a great interest in college student development for the past three decades influenced by fowler, kegan, perry, and gilligan sharon daloz parks big questions, worthy dreams (2000) adulthood is a construction determined by society

13、 as to when an individual is seen as a responsible individual with a “l(fā)egitimate” voice parks argues that the lengthening of the lifespan and the increasing complexity of postmodern society has created a new developmental stage, which she calls young adulthood young adulthood is a time where individ

14、uals can test self-authored understandings of self, other, world, and “god” without making long-term commitments sharon daloz parks big questions, worthy dreams (2000) parks conception of the young adulthood stage lead her to identify a stage between fowlers conventional and individuative stages (i.

15、e. stages 3 parks argues it is a much more involved process that deserves the distinction of being a separate stage regardless of whether young adulthood is merely a transition or a distinct stage of development, parks recognition of its importance should be paramount to all higher education practit

16、ioners. mentorship becomes the key component to helping students through this period recent developments elizabeth tisdell exploring spirituality and culture in adult and higher education (2003) focuses on the relationship between spirituality and culture (as often expressed through organized and pe

17、rsonal religions) in the identity development process stresses need for respect of spiritual/religious diversity chickering, dalton, and stramm encouraging authenticity and spirituality in higher education (2006) first major work to discuss the practical concerns of how student spirituality can be a

18、ddressed in higher educationincluding public universities and colleges robert nash and “moral conversations” we are at the same point of discussing religious and spiritual differences as we were in the 1950s in discussing racial differences (2006 acpa sponsored conference on spirituality) practical

19、considerations legal aspects as we are educating adults, the distinct line that is often made in k-12 education between church and state is not as distinct in higher education there is no constitutional prohibition against teaching about diverse religions while bishop v. aronov held that an institut

20、ion can limit a faculty members ability to discuss personal religious beliefs as it relates to teaching practices; it did not preclude discussion of personal beliefs in the classroom or varied student affairs programs colleges have the right to fund student organizations that explore spiritual issues from a nondenominational perspective - fr