Religion and Spirituality at the Border

Abstract

A survey of 88 Mexican-American social work students reflects the growing religious diversity among U.S. Latinos/as. Forty-three percent of the students were non-Catholics, compared to 30–35% non-Catholics in the U.S. Latino/a population. Non-Catholic students in the sample were more likely to attend church frequently, and Catholic students were more likely to have consulted a Curandero/a (traditional healer). There were no differences between Catholics and non-Catholics in frequency of private religious practices such as meditation or prayer. Social work practitioners and educators should recognize religious diversity among Mexican-Americans, seek knowledge about traditional Mexican healing practices, and support Mexican-American clients' self-determination in choosing spiritual resources.     

Spirituality,Religion, and Social Work

Abstract

Social work scholars and practitioners have approached the question of how to integrate religion and/or spirituality into their profession in one of four typical ways: (1) resistance or avoidance; (2) an overly-generalized syncretism; (3) radical separation of the terms spirituality and religion; or (4) a genuinely interdisciplinary conversation between the disciplines of social work and religious studies. This latter approach not only identifies social work's conflictual founding legacy, but also recognizes broader contemporary intellectual traditions which do not easily separate “religion” from “spirituality.” Such awareness and common grounding allow social work to more substantively and creatively partake in cross-disciplinary research and discussion.     

The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Social Work

Abstract

Social work has a history of treating the whole person in his/her environment, however, the effort to be scientific in our approach to clinical practice often has obscured our examination of the religious and spiritual beliefs and practices of our clients and in our own lives. Consequently, there has been very little guidance to date on how curriculum can help integrate the professional identities of MSW/MDiv students. An elective practice course, “The Role of Religion and Spirituality in Clinical Social Work” in our accredited graduate social work program provides a transitional space for this integration to occur through a guiding framework of psychodynamic, systems, and postmodern theories.     

Constructing a Place for Religion and Spirituality in Psychodynamic Practice

A focus on spirituality has become in vogue for the media as well as for professional conferences, journals, and schools of social work. Likewise, our clients are struggling with how to integrate religion and/or spirituality with their therapy. The premise of this paper is that we have a role in assisting our clients with this integration and to consider some of the current postmodern approaches. However, in attempting such an integration it is important to retain certain parameters and guidelines that have been helpful to our clinical work. This paper will examine how to make room for religion and spirituality in psychodynamic psychotherapy and the ways in which constructivism can be helpful in this process. The influences of psychodynamic theories and postmodernism shape the discussion in the following areas: definition of terms, self-awareness, deconstruction of clients' narrative, assessment of strengths and vulnerabilities, and reconstruction of a useful narrative.     

State of the Context: Listening in Education

Educational listening research in the last 80 years covers a broad spectrum. Early research investigated the amount of time spent listening. Later studies identified students' comprehension of oral material. Aspects most often researched fall into the following categories: listening elicitation, listening benefits, and listening instruction. Because instructors must meet the needs of a variety of student listening and learning styles, a significant amount of listening research investigates listening and learning preferences. This research emphasizes the need to identify successful teaching strategies to help teachers elicit effective listening. Teachers have long believed that students who listen better are better students, and research seems to corroborate that effective listeners achieve academic success. Few schools offer listening instruction, and even in courses where listening is supposedly emphasized, only 7% of the time is devoted to listening. The impact of listening instruction is ambiguous despite anecdotal evidence suggesting that instruction improves listening. Listening instruction is especially scarce in primary and secondary schools notwithstanding the fact that listening is linked to both literacy and academic success. Further, little research has occurred in K–12 classrooms where there is greater opportunity to learn more about effective listening if researchers take the time to do so.     

Spirituality and Religion in the Lives of Runaway and Homeless Youth

Abstract

This qualitative study, part of a larger study of resiliency, explores the impact of spirituality on runaway and/or homeless youth. Interviews with 19 former runaway and homeless youth were analyzed to explore their experience of spirituality as they coped with the adversity in their lives. Five themes related to spirituality emerged: a belief in divine intervention; having a personal relationship with a nonjudgmental higher power; use of prayer; participation in traditional and nontraditional religious practices; and finding meaning and purpose in life, including a desire to “give back” to their community. Implications for social work practice and research are addressed.     

Spirituality,Religion, and Career Development: Current Status and Future Directions

The growing interest in the role that spirituality and religion play in mental health has spawned research investigating the relationships between spirituality, religion, and career development. To date, only a limited number of studies have explored these variables in tandem, but generally these investigations have found aspects of spirituality and religion to relate positively to career decision self‐efficacy, career values, and job satisfaction. Theoretical models that explore the connection between these variables are outlined, and future research directions and counseling implications are suggested.     

Religion,Spirituality, and Thriving: Transcendent Narrative,Virtue, and Telos

A theory is proposed to explain how religion/spirituality (R/S) is related to positive youth development and thriving. The concept of telos is employed to define thriving as continued growth through strength‐based living that leads to contributing to one's communities and living out one's ethical ideals. Virtue development is proposed as a primary process by which R/S promotes thriving. Virtues are defined as hybrid personality units emerging when characteristic adaptations are given meaning by a transcendent narrative identity. R/S contributes to virtue formation through the ideological, social, and transcendent contexts embedded within religion by providing opportunities to grow both the characteristic adaptations and transcendent narrative identities necessary for virtue formation in youth and, ultimately, thriving. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Religion,Spirituality, and Career Development in African American College Students: A Qualitative Inquiry

The authors explored through semistructured interviews the interrelationships of religion, spirituality, and career development in a sample of 12 African American undergraduate students. Using consensual qualitative research methodology (C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997), they identified 6 primary domains or themes related to these students' experiences in this regard, including (a) degree of identification as religious and/or spiritual, (b) parents' influence on religious and spiritual beliefs, (c) roles of religion and spirituality in participants' career development, (d) challenges in dealing with academic and career‐related issues, (e) religious and spiritual strategies to deal with academic and career‐related challenges, and (f) indicators of success in future career or occupation.     

Social Workers' Personal Spiritual Characteristics and Their Conceptualizations of Spirituality and Religion

Abstract

Do social workers' personal spiritual characteristics affect their conceptualizations of spirituality and religion? In light of growing professional interest in spirituality and religion, we attempt to answer this question using a mixed methods approach in conjunction with a nationally representative sample of NASW-affiliated graduate students (N = 303). The results suggest that respondents' faith tradition, orthodoxy, and degree of spiritual motivation have a relatively minor effect upon how they defined (1) spirituality, (2) religion, and (3) their understanding of the relationship between spirituality and religion. We conclude by discussing the implications of the findings and suggesting avenues for further research.     

Listening in the Business Context: Reviewing the State of Research

The central role of listening in leadership has been the subject of increasing attention in recent years. In leadership studies, listening is being theorized as an essential dimension to effective leadership. Those seeking an elected office also have come to appreciate the centrality of listening by engaging in listening-centered events. However, listening leadership requires more than just the presence of listening. Listening and leadership must be connected. Using President Jimmy Carter and his July 15, 1979 “Address to the Nation on Energy and National Goals” as a case study, this essay explores the concept of listening leadership during the evolution and delivery of that speech. This essay argues that in the development and delivery of Carter's speech, the topic of listening was placed front and center for and by the President. However, Carter failed to balance the listening component of leadership with other characteristics which ultimately bifurcated listening from his role as a leader.     

Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Practice with Children and Adolescents: A Survey of Canadian Practitioners

Empirical evidence about the relevance of religion/spirituality for children and adolescents contrasts with the limited number of studies inquiring about the role of religion/spirituality when working with this population. In response to this lack of knowledge, this study explored the professional attitudes, experiences, and practice behaviors of social workers and social service workers working with youth and determined the predictive factors for using spiritually-derived interventions. A cross-sectional survey design, with proportionate stratified sampling, was used to gather data from 307 Canadian social workers and social service workers working with youth in Ontario (response rate was 40%, with 5.06% margin of error). Respondents reported favorable views toward the role of religion/spirituality in social work practice, in general. They also reported positive attitudes about the relevancy of religion/spirituality for this population and somewhat frequent encounters with religious/spiritual abuse and neglect. They used a wide variety of spiritually-derived interventions; however, over two-thirds (69%) reported their formal education “never” or “rarely” included content on the topic. Barriers to using spiritually-derived interventions included: lack of knowledge/experience, concern about presenting one's own bias, disapproval from caregivers, and lack of agency/supervisor support. Multiple regression analysis revealed two assessment variables, two attitudinal variables, one education/training variable, and one personal religious/spiritual variable predictive of the use of spiritually-derived interventions, accounting for 55% of the variance. Findings suggest a need for emphasizing spiritually-sensitive practice guidelines and for social work education and continuing education to include content about religious/spiritual diversity as well as content about spiritual development that includes spirituality in childhood.     

A Comparative International Analysis of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work: A Survey of UK and US Social Workers

As service populations have changed, the social work profession in the UK and the US has attempted to respond to the needs of diverse cultures, which often include issues of religion and spirituality. This can be problematic, however, due to the extrication of religious and spiritual concerns from the public social services that resulted from the process of secularization. Members of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in the US were sampled to explore the attitudes and perceptions of social workers regarding the placement of religion and spirituality in practice and education. In general, US social workers in this sample were more accepting of religion and spirituality than their UK counterparts, even among those respondents who expressed non‐religious world views (e.g. atheism). A majority of the respondents in the UK (76%) and the US (73%) indicated that their training programs lacked content on religion and spirituality. In the UK, 57% of the respondents believed that social workers should increase their knowledge on spirituality, compared with 90% of the US respondents. The lower level of acceptance of religion and spirituality among UK social workers may be related to higher levels of secularism in UK society.     

Professional Listening Competence Promoting Well-Being at Work in the Legal Context

This qualitative cross-cultural study sought to contribute to the understanding of listening competence, dialogic listening, and the use of human agency in promoting well-being at work. The participant groups (N = 103) consisted of n = 76 U.S.-American and n = 27 Finnish attorneys. Results suggest that in order to examine listening and well-being at work, a term professional listening competence had to be constructed. The results further suggest that a sense of a strong professional listening competence leads to positive experiences of self-efficacy and personal agency regarding the management of professional interaction by listening. These empowering experiences serve to alleviate work-related stress and have a positive effect on well-being at work.