{"id":138,"date":"2018-05-12T18:18:17","date_gmt":"2018-05-12T22:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/?p=138"},"modified":"2018-05-12T18:18:17","modified_gmt":"2018-05-12T22:18:17","slug":"no-longer-invisible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/2018\/05\/12\/no-longer-invisible\/","title":{"rendered":"No Longer Invisible"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jacobsen, D., & Jacobsen, R. H. (2012).\u00a0No longer invisible: Religion in university education<\/em>. New York: Oxford University Press.<\/p>\n

\"\"This book does not focus on\u00a0 Catholic universities, but rather the place of religion generally in any university.\u00a0 The authors address ways that \u201creligion\u201d (broadly defined) can successfully be incorporated on modern campuses. Their book is \u201cnot about the eternal truths of heaven, it is about the place of religion in the rough-and-tumble educational realities of the here and now\u201d.<\/p>\n

The authors state that:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe question that has driven our research and reflection is this: How is religion present within higher learning, and how might educators maximize the cognitive, social, and personal dimensions of student learning by paying more attention to the inherently religious or spiritual dimensions of higher education?\u201d (p. 5).<\/p>\n

They note the proclamation of a 1998 conference at Wellesley College that \u201ceducation itself \u2026 is a spiritual journey, an inherently transformative experience (p. 6). They also note the great diversity of religions among students and the negative consequences of religion, such as the September 11 attacks, as a further reason to engage religious dialog on college campuses.<\/p>\n

The authors define \u201creligion\u201d very broadly, to include established religions, personal \u201cspirituality\u201d (p. 7) or simply an expression of \u201cultimate concern\u201d about human experience (p. 13). \u00a0Chapter two provides give a historical overview of American higher education in which \u201creligion has moved from being central [primarily Protestant] to being marginal to being newly relevant\u201d (p. 16).\u00a0 The pragmatic description of the secularization of education (the \u201cprivatization\u201d of religion) and subsequent \u201cpluriformity\u201d (embracing many forms of religious belief) is readable and informative.<\/p>\n

The discussions and examples of incorporating religion on campus is based on visits to many institutions and interviews with hundreds of students, faculty, administrators and chaplains.<\/p>\n

Some interesting views are recorded, including the observation that younger faculty often were more interested in religion than older faculty, but less willing to discuss it publicly (perhaps because they were untenured?) and that many students saw \u201ctheir professors\u2019 hesitations about discussing religious and spiritual matters\u201d as \u201codd\u201d (p. 34).\u00a0 Many faculty were suspicious of religiously-affiliated colleges as oppressive and impinging on academic freedom, but (my observation), the previous observations suggest a somewhat similar concern at (presumably) secular institutions!<\/p>\n

Some of the authors\u2019 recommendations will be controversial from a Catholic perspective. \u00a0Their first two \u201ctrail markers\u201d are \u201cspirituality (versus religion)\u201d and \u201cteaching about religion\u201d (versus teaching religion itself)\u201d, but I doubt we would argue with #3 \u201cdifficult dialogues\u201d or #4 \u201cbig questions\u201d (p. 36). They suggest six \u201csites of engagement\u201d: religious literacy (about one\u2019s own tradition as well as others), \u201cinterfaith etiquette\u201d (interacting with those of other faiths), \u201ccivic engagement\u201d (we would include social justice under this heading), \u201cconvictions\u201d (matters of personal belief) and \u201ccharacter and virtue\u201d.<\/p>\n

Chapter 9 \u201cConvictions\u201d is of particular interest.\u00a0 It includes an account of student \u201cdevelopment\u201d (based on the work of William G. Perry) from dualism through relativism and finally \u2013 one hopes \u2013 a third stage in which \u201cstudents transcend the confusion of pure relativism and take steps toward mature self-awareness and nuanced commitment\u201d:\u00a0 Movement from one stage to the next involves \u201ca personal crisis, a moment when it becomes apparent that one\u2019s existing beliefs and convictions are no longer adequate\u201d (p. 124).\u00a0 This sounds remarkably like Lonergan\u2019s \u201cintellectual conversion\u201d.\u00a0 However, the authors note that many students today arrive at university \u201cfirmly established\u201d in the second phase. \u00a0\u201cThey know they are afloat, and they are looking for a firm place to stand \u2026 a firm compass for thinking and living. This is not so much a search for cognitive grounding<\/em> as for something worthy of trust\u201d (p. 125, italics mine).\u00a0 Yet many are unwilling (or unable) to reflect on who they are and what they believe; \u201cthey keep their core identities in an \u201cidentity lockbox\u201d that is largely immune to change: (p. 126).\u00a0 This makes discussion and reflection on \u201cbig questions\u201d difficult, but (the authors argue) it is our responsibility to tackle the challenge \u2013 including in the classroom, where \u201cinformation and formation are intermingled\u201d (p. 128).\u00a0 They stress the need for faculty to understand their own convictions and bring them into classroom discussion, which may include \u201cadvocacy\u201d: for example \u201cit\u2019s not just ecology or biology; it\u2019s saving the planet\u201d (p. 133).<\/p>\n

Overall the book is thought-provoking, and gives a broader perspective on perennial problems such as how to make a Catholic University \u201cwelcoming to all faiths\u201d without losing its identity.<\/p>\n

The authors conclude that religion, \u201chas the potential to enhance higher learning and open up a range of questions about the world and the human condition that otherwise might never be asked\u201d (p. 154), and that ignoring the \u201cbig questions\u201d that religion engages is \u201cpatently irresponsible in an age when religion remains such a visible and influential part of public and personal life\u201d (p. 157).<\/p>\n

Questions<\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Is the description of undergraduates arriving \u201cadrift \u2013 looking for something to trust\u201d without \u201ccognitive grounding\u201d applicable to our students? (GEM is very applicable here)<\/li>\n
  2. Can we make a Catholic university \u201cwelcoming to all faiths\u201d (or \u201cpluriform\u201d) without losing its identity?<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Jacobsen, D., & Jacobsen, R. H. (2012).\u00a0No longer invisible: Religion in university education. New York: Oxford University Press. This book does not focus on\u00a0 Catholic universities, but rather the place of religion generally in any university.\u00a0 The authors address ways that \u201creligion\u201d (broadly defined) can successfully be incorporated on modern campuses. Their book is \u201cnot … Continue reading “No Longer Invisible”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":116,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-138","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-challenges-in-higher-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/116"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":140,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/138\/revisions\/140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.shu.edu\/cheb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}