ERIC Number: EJ1216584
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-1940-1639
EISSN: N/A
Religion and Its Intersections: Spirituality, Secularism and Religion among Black Diasporic Communities in Higher Education
Journal of College and Character, v20 n2 p87-96 2019
A reinvigorated commitment to the study of religion, spirituality, faith, secularism, meaning-making, purpose, and interfaith dialogue in higher education is evidenced through the production of various scholarly texts. The pendulum among higher education scholars seems to swing toward finding ways to explicitly engage with what has been described as the "Big Questions" by some, but also described as taboo territory by others. More central to my own research agenda is the work done by scholars examining the various ways religion matters in the lives of Black college students. In part response to the race-less treatment of college students' spiritual and religious lives as well as an attempt to attend to a phenomenon that has remained significant for Black diasporic communities, these scholars produced empirically rich and sensitive work that demonstrated the relevance of faith, religion, and spirituality among Black college students. In this manuscript, I situate my previous and ongoing research in relation to this body of scholarship and make explicit how I think through race, gender, sexuality, and nationality with religion. Next, I highlight the work of several scholars whose work is pushing us towards more expansive and necessarily heterogeneous notions of Blackness (that is not US centric) and religion (that is non-Christian and non-theistic). In conclusion, I discuss how the collective research can improve educational practice related to supporting diverse Black college students' spiritual, secular, and religious needs.
Descriptors: Higher Education, College Students, Religion, Spiritual Development, Race, Gender Differences, Sexual Identity, Christianity, Educational Practices, Student Needs, African American Students, Personal Narratives, Social Life, Religious Factors, Self Concept
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A