SPIRITUALITY—AN INTEGRAL PART OF CAMPUS LIFE

"[S]PIRITUALITY AMONG [UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON] STUDENTS IS EASY TO FIND .... In public higher education today, religious expression by students or anyone else can be a tricky business. It's prevalent and diverse, but not officially sanctioned and sometimes stereotyped. But UW-Madison students can ... find dozens of places to pray, study religion critically, or just try to figure out what they believe....

"[W]hen it comes to seeking student followers, most campus chaplains are careful to tailor their message appropriately. 'Approached with a respect for their intelligence, students are open to spiritual ideas,' said Brent Christianson, the pastor at the Lutheran Campus Center for the past 12 years. 'There's a desire to taste-test a lot of things in college. In the past 10 years, I've seen a real hunger and thirst for something deeper in students.'...

"A national survey of college freshmen conducted annually by UCLA shows a rise in the number of students who do not affiliate with any religion—a near tripling from 6.6 percent in 1966 to 17.6 percent in 2003, said Alyssa Bryant, a researcher on UCLA's Spirituality in Higher Education project. (UW-Madison students have never taken part in the survey.) But a smaller study by Bryant's group in spring 2003 showed a greater interest in religion among upperclassmen than researchers expected. Seventy-seven percent of juniors said they prayed and 78 percent talked about religion with their friends....

"Students said they joined religious groups for the community and the teachings. 'The bottom line is I think it's the truth,' said [Krissy] Lindroth. 'It also gives a sense of purpose to my life. It gives meaning to my everyday actions.'"

Karen Rivedal
"UW and spirituality can and do mix; all over campus, both in and out of class, students find ways to keep the faith—and find it"
Wisconsin State Journal. December 19, 2004

MAKING ROOM FOR SPIRITUAL VALUES IN THE WORKPLACE

"A Kansas City Effort initiated by the Cathedral Center for Faith and Work has suggested that the workplace has an actual role to play in fostering the discussion about societal values. That suggestion is bolstered by a Gallup poll that concluded that most people want to find meaning and purpose in all parts of their lives—personal and professional.

"They want an integrated life in which their spiritual beliefs are not relegated to weekends. They want to balance the seeming contradictions between: Spirituality and materialism. Family and work. Employee needs and profit obligations.

"Fortune magazine also noted the potential role of the workplace in recognizing the importance of a value system: '[Great companies] realize that the core principles of spirituality—the belief that all individuals have dignity, that we are all interconnected, and that a transcendent being or force defines purpose in human affairs—dovetail with contemporary management thinking....

"'These companies employ the whole person. They deploy teams of people who respect one another and promote learning and listening up and down the ranks.'... Successful businesses are people working together ... supporting each other ... creating results that better the consumers and customers they serve."

Irvine O. Hockaday, Jr.
"Workplace should promote a society of values"
The Kansas City Star. December 21, 2004

UPTREND IN FAITH-BASED COUNSELING

"FOR YEARS, FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY WERE LARGELY IGNORED by the mental health community. Now, however, mental health professionals are acknowledging the importance of treating the whole individual, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

"Churches, too, are recognizing the need to treat the whole person, and many have begun offering counseling services for members and the community. These faith-based counseling centers offer a holistic approach to mental health.

"Gary Oliver is executive director of The Center for Marriage and Family Studies at John Brown University in Siloam Springs [Arkansas], and a clinical psychologist. He says faith-based counseling is a growing trend and has been for a number of years.

"Oliver says the prestigious American Psychological Association has recognized the importance of spirituality with regard to mental health and is publishing books that focus on the topic. "There has been a 180 [degree turn] in that area. They are recognizing that we are whole people,' Oliver says. 'We are not categorized.... And the best care involves looking at the whole person.'

"Mental health professionals are acknowledging that, regardless of belief system, faith plays an important role in the lives of individuals, he says. 'We think people get better quicker and stay healthier longer [if their spiritual health is addressed, too]....'"

Christie Storm
"Healing the spirit: Faith-based counseling centers try a holistic approach to mental health"
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. January 1, 2005

SCIENCE-AND-RELIGION DIALOGUE GETS BOOST FROM NEW JOURNALISM FELLOWSHIPS

"JOINING FORCES WITH SEASONED JOURNALISTS to enrich the science-and-religion dialogue, the Templeton Foundation recently launched the Templeton-Cambridge Journalism Fellowship. Russell Stannard, fellowship co-director, said the goal is to promote better-informed science-and-religion discussion in the media.

"The fellows will be selected to attend a two-week seminar at the University of Cambridge in England to learn about the various core issues in the field.... Afterward, the fellows will work independently for five weeks, then report on their progress....

"'We see this fellowship as being offered because we all believe in the marketplace of ideas,' [Julia Vitullo-Martin, fellowship codirector] said, 'and we hope that the fellows will be stimulated by the seminars to publish in a wide range of ideas.'...

"At the end of the program, journalists will be free to return to their previous employment, but Stannard said he believes the experience will entice them to focus their writing on this dialogue in the future. "If we have chosen the fellows well,' he said, 'we would hope that these two months will so galvanize them that they will be on the lookout for opportunities to write in this field.'"

Ashley Lawson
"Science-and-faith fellowship to enlighten journalists"
Science & Theology News. January 2005