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Show page 12 lessons, Fail 2004 Spirituality and Religiosity in the Classroom BY STEPHANIE RICHARDSON & KIM WELCH Upon utterance of any term associated with religion, morality, or "right behaviors", one can almost taste the underlying tension at the University of Utah. Recently, this tension erupted into a legal debate about strongly held beliefs, discrimination, academic freedom and curricular integrity. As stated in the Axson-Flynn - University of Utah Settlement Agreement: "...the plaintiff student in this case has deeply held and sincere religious convictions that prevented her and will in the future prevent her from using the name of her God in vain or using the 'f word when performing certain classroom exercises in the Actor Training Program." (section 8, July 13, 2004) Some would applaud Christina Axson-Flynn's bravery in standing up for her beliefs. Others would scorn her for being overly sensitive and extreme in her stance. Whatever we think personally about the case, as faculty we have now been handed an opportunity. We have been charged by the courts with deciding how we shall accommodate deeply held beliefs, teaching in an atmosphere where spirituality can oh-so-quickly segue into religiosity. In American culture, spirituality is a "sensitivity or attachment to religious values" (Merriam-Webster Unabridged, 1996). Religiosity is "[the state of being] excessively, obtrusively, or sentimentally religious" (Merriam-Webster Unabridged, 1996). Thus, while spirituality is generally a private matter, religiosity is a more public expression of beliefs, to the point of affectation. Both can cause anguish when course content conflicts with values. When students (or instructors) become excessively, obtrusively, or sentimentally religious, opportunities for true debate or reasoned discourse diminish. In short, religiosity will result in a more public display than will spirituality that can quash learning. It can be helpful to consider that for some of us, religiosity comes from a position of fear. / had some dicey teaching moments in a 3000-level nursing course tha, covered common human experiences, including spirituality. As a beginning instructor, I began to teach in a very naive way, assuming the majority would be comfortable with the various ways human beings express spiritual beliefs. I was so wrong! I learned very quickly that several students feared that unless they condemned their clients' spiritual practices, they were condoning them and further, that condoning their clients' spiritual reality might threaten their own core faith beliefs. For others, religiosity is a learned posture. Insular societies - and Utah is not peculiar to this - are marked by an inability to understand the lived experience of the other because the other has never been experienced. One of my favorite life moments occurred while living in a country whose population held a 98% majority religion, and I |
