TruthBook Religious News Blog

by Allison Stice

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College students at this university and around the country are increasingly finding meditation a part of their overall health care, as health care providers learn more about the health and cognitive benefits of meditating.

Student groups like the Meditation Club and classes through the University Health Center and Campus Recreation Services are proliferating and promoting meditation as a means to combat anxiety, depression and even drug abuse, while meditation techniques are an integral part of other therapies like the smoking cessation and stress management programs.

At the Center for Health and Wellbeing, Coordinator of Wellness Programs Tracy Zeeger said last spring's decision to add free meditation classes - which became popular right away and continue to bring in about seven students per class - twice a week was encouraged by University Health Center Director Sacared Bodison as a means to bolster the alternative medicine programs at the health center. Zeeger said she has also seen an increase in her appointments for wellness counseling, where she incorporates meditation techniques like concentrated breathing and guided visual imagery into offerings such as relaxation training.

"Meditation falls very neatly into the category of wellness in that it not only promotes physical health but mental and spiritual health as well," Zeeger said. "It can help with students who suffer from depression or mild anxiety. … There are alternatives to prescription pills."

Attendance at the meditation class tallies about as many as the main lobby for the Center of Health and Wellbeing can comfortably hold.

At the Meditation Club meeting on McKeldin Mall Monday, about 30 students gathered in a circle, casting long shadows under the glare of the street lamp as they practiced meditation in silence. The club encourages students from all religious backgrounds to attend, junior history major Ryan Zembik said, and has helped him with stress and controlling his temper.
Continued...

Labels: Allison Stice, anxiety, college, meditation, stress, students

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Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Counseling college kids to keep the faith

Rebecca Rosen Lum
Contra Costa Times
06/16/2008 12:01:03 AM PDT

Losing their religion? Statistics suggest that for college students, it is virtually guaranteed. Studies show as many as 80 percent of college students shed their beliefs and faith practices during their undergraduate years. Reasons range from the rigorous questioning inherent in academic study to robust secular socializing. East Bay religious leaders offered counsel on how to sustain faith throughout the move into adulthood.

Father Wayne Campbell, St. Monica's Catholic Church, Moraga: They often shed their beliefs because beliefs often change. It's the values that we hope are more solid. That's why I always encourage families to not focus so much on teaching beliefs as instilling values. Values create a stable place from which to draw in making choices.

Rabbi Dan Goldblatt, Beth Chaim Congregation, Danville: We live in a world where there is so much pressure to succeed. So many high school students head off to college thinking that they are supposed to know what they want to do, and become. In the Jewish tradition, the act of becoming is itself a very sacred journey. College is one of those rare times in life when the purpose of one's existence is to learn, experiment, seek meaningful stimulation, develop, and immerse oneself in exploration and growth. This is such a precious gift that can be easily squandered by rushing into premature decisions regarding the future.

Rev. Sylvia Vasquez, St. Paul's Episcopal Church: The biggest danger is that their structure has been taken away. They right now live in a situation in which parents are their main source of authority and support and structure. The issue isn't really that they lose their faith or doubt what they've been told, they take advantage of the fact that there is no school Sunday. There's no need to get up out of bed unless somebody comes and bangs on your head. Spirituality is a discipline that gets ingrained. When you learn a language and you are somewhere where that language isn't spoken, well, if you don't use it you are going to lose it. It's a discipline.

Now, longing for God, the knowledge that there is a higher being, that is something I think we are born with. Even though they are on a journey -- and as Episcopal we encourage them to explore ... we are not afraid of somebody looking and doubting and questioning.

Senior Pastor Jon McNeff, NorthCreek Church, Walnut Creek: I encourage students to stay grounded in the word of God and in prayer first of all. The Bible is the only eternal book that doesn't change according to the whims of the crowd or the latest educational fad.

Secondly, I encourage them to read outside their assigned classes. Unfortunately, most college professors are some of the most closed-minded people on the face of the earth. To be truly educated, students will need to read other views in subjects like biology, history, psychology, sociology, and philosophy if they want a truly balanced education. That is hard to do when they have all of the other work required of them, especially if they have to work part time.

Lastly, I encourage them to get involved in a local church. They need the fellowship and perspective of people outside the campus to stay grounded.

Father Barnard J. Campbell, CSP, pastor Holy Spirit/Newman Hall, UC Berkeley: I do find in over 22 years in campus ministry work that young men and women are coming and going, connecting, disconnecting, roaming. Yet, at Berkeley and other exceptional vigorous secular environments students articulate and live out their faith commitments. Interestingly, studies that I knew of 15 years ago showed rather consistently that student personal faith commitment was GREATER at the vigorous secular university than at the religious institutions.

In my life with students I have found their struggles best addressed by inviting them into a community of (in my case) Catholics of their own age and hopefully also a varied generational community — including faculty members from the same vigorous secular environment — who are intellectually curious about their faith and their academic discipline, who are spiritually alert and who recognize the need to help their neighbor, locally or internationally.

Rev. Steve Harms, Peace Lutheran Church, Danville: `The mind is a profound gift. Use it to explore everything. Ask endless questions — especially of your faith because that is how you grow. Know that knowledge alone can make you clever but cold. So keep your mind grounded in the heart. To just become a data bank of information is completely unsatisfactory. You will want to learn the ways of wisdom so you can discover real joy in life.

There is nothing to fear: If what you learn is true, it is the Spirit of God. Ideas, views, perspectives change — that is how people mature. Even your ideas about God will change but that doesn't mean the wisdom and compassion of God will dissolve.

J.P. Singh, president, Sikh Center of the San Francisco Bay Area: Religion is something that is passed on in the family. Parents with good communication can help their children reconcile outside pressure with their own culture. I preach to both kids and parents, become good listeners. It has to be done in a friendly way.

We encourage (students) to become part of cultural activities, because that's where they get their strength. The Internet has been very, very good in the respect that Sikh youth groups use it to communicate and solve their problems. They have discussion groups. And there are the national Sikh camps.

Rabbi Mark Bloom, Temple Beth Abraham, Oakland: 1. Don't be afraid to questions your beliefs. God and our 4,000 year old tradition can certainly handle it. 2. Learn from others and their religious points of view. If your foundation is firm, the diversity will only strengthen and enrich your Jewish identity. 3. There's a whole new Jewish world for you to explore as a college student. Try Hillel. Join a Jewish fraternity or sorority. Take a Jewish studies class. Go on a Birthright Israel trip. Attend a rally. Meet Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Jews. 4. Most importantly, call home every once in a while. By that I mean, come to synagogue during Thanksgiving with your parents on a Saturday morning where you would otherwise be sleeping. Attend your rabbi's get-together for college students.

Rebecca Rosen Lum covers religion. Reach her at 925-977-8506 or rrosenlum@bayareanewsgroup.com.

Labels: advice, college, Rebecca Rosen Lum, religion, students

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Friday, March 07, 2008

I'll have a side of Christianity with that

Amy Baack
Issue date: 3/7/08

We live in an era of freedom of choice. Everything in our society is designed to provide us with options; we like feeling we are in control of our own lives. Don't tell me what to watch on TV - let me choose from 100-plus cable channels. Burger King's slogan sums up our choice-driven culture, as it encourages Americans to "Have it your way."

A recent study conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life shows Americans are beginning to shop around more when it comes to selecting their spiritual beliefs. Based on interviews with more than 35,000 Americans 18 and older, the U.S. Religious Landscape Survey found that more than 40 percent of the survey respondents said they changed their religious affiliation since childhood.

In addition, 16 percent of those surveyed call themselves "unaffiliated," meaning they do not identify with one particular religion or do not have any definitive spiritual beliefs. This number is startling - it is twice as large as figures from past surveys.

Americans today are simply not willing to mindlessly absorb information thrown at them about what to believe. People no longer stick to one religion, and some are not committing to any religion at all.

The survey results indicate an important trend: Americans are challenging authorities and not accepting ideas as truth simply because they were raised with them, instead they first explore multiple sides of the issue.

The survey also found that among Americans aged 18 to 29, one in four respondents are not currently affiliated with any particular religion.

An additional study by Pew conducted in February examined the spirituality of college students during their undergraduate careers, with spirituality defined as "the students' search for meaning and purpose, … their values … and their self-understanding."

College is supposedly a monumental stage in one's life, when one's values and beliefs are solidified; the fact that students gain spiritual maturity throughout their college years is no surprise.

Our generation has been raised to demand choices, and it makes sense that in our pivotal 20s, we are exploring multiple religions and questioning our faith. What is unusual is that the rest of America seems to be following our lead in this collegiate route of self-discovery.

One of the strongest American values is freedom, and Americans are now applying it to their spiritual pursuits, exploring multiple religions to try to figure out what they really believe.

The survey also found that Protestantism, the leading religion in America for generations, is actually on its way to becoming a minority faith. In the 1980s, 65 percent of Americans called themselves Protestants, but the results of Pew's survey indicate this number is now down to 51 percent.

America is becoming more of a nondenominational country, freed from the boundaries of religious institutions. People are exercising their First Amendment rights and exploring whatever religions strike their fancy. As a result, religion is being shaken out of its traditional cut-and-dry mold as Americans begin to piece together their own individual beliefs, creating a sort of custom religion derived from a sampling of sources.

Spiritual beliefs are not one-size-fits-all; they are intensely personal, and we are beginning to treat them as such. No one can tell me what to put on my iPod playlists, and I can certainly practice whatever religion I choose. I don't need to settle on one religion at all; I can create my own. People are free to believe whatever they want; this is the beauty of modern America.

Religion is just the latest part of our culture to receive the choice-filled menu treatment. So what will it be today? Would you like to try some Judaism, or perhaps a bit of Scientology? I hear the Buddhism is fantastic.

Labels: America, Amy Baack, belief, choice, college, Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, religion, spirituality, students

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Friday, December 28, 2007

Students' spiritual interests increase on campus

Issue Date: December 28, 2007

Though college students’ attendance at worship services declines, their interest in spiritual matters grows during their time on campus, a new UCLA study shows.

UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute compared the views of students who were freshmen in the fall of 2004 with the same students’ thoughts in the spring of 2007, when they were juniors.

The survey of more than 14,000 students found that more than 50 percent of students considered “integrating spirituality into my life” very important or essential in 2007, an increase of almost 10 percentage points from 2004.

Slightly more than half the students said they attended services in college at about the same rate as they attended them in high school. Almost 40 percent, however, said they worshiped less frequently. Seven percent said they worshiped more.

Researchers also concluded that an increasing percentage of students had an “ecumenical worldview.” In 2004, 42 percent said they endorsed “improving my understanding of other countries and cultures”; 55 percent said the same in 2007.

Students showed increasing agreement over time with the idea that nonreligious people can lead lives as moral as those of religious believers, with 90 percent approving the statement this year.

“The data suggest that college is influencing students in positive ways that will better prepare them for leadership roles in our global society,” said UCLA emeritus professor Alexander W. Astin, co-principal investigator for the research.

The research included 14,527 students attending 136 U.S. colleges and universities. Its margin of error is between 1 and 2 percentage points.

The project, which is in its fifth year, is funded by the John Templeton Foundation.

Labels: church, college, Higher Education Research Institute, John Templeton Foundation, religion, spirituality, students, UCLA

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Wednesday, December 05, 2007

More public schools offering elective religion classes

By CHRISTINA VANOVERBEKE/East Valley Tribune

Saturday, November 24, 2007

MESA, Ariz. (AP) - A group of teenagers gathered in Ahwatukee Foothills on a recent Monday afternoon to discuss the Jewish faith. But they got a little hung up on the concept of the Sabbath as a day of rest.

Fasting caused more head-scratching.

Questions about religion and faith are not unusual among young people. But this conversation was different because it was part of a religion class taught in a public school.

Mountain Pointe High School social studies teacher Marissa Chavez spends much of her world religion class dispelling myths and explaining the most basic elements of the major faiths - and she couldn't be happier about doing it.

She proposed this class to the Tempe Union High School District governing board last year because she saw a need for students to be better informed about religion, particularly with regard to world events such as the war in Iraq.

This is the first year Mountain Pointe offered a world religion elective, open to any student at the school. It's the only course in metro Phoenix focused on teaching public school students about religion.

While it's an exception here, offering religion classes to high school students is a growing trend in the U.S., said Charles Haynes, senior scholar for the Nashville-based First Amendment Center, and world religion is one of the most popular courses.

Twenty years ago, Haynes said, there was little to no mention of religion in the core curriculums of public schools.

Curriculum directors from around the metro Phoenix confirmed that world religion topics are a regular part of world history courses.

Still, when Chavez proposed her class, she said many people warned her against it.

‘‘They said, 'I wouldn't touch that with a 10-foot pole,''' she said. But, so far, she has had no complaints and Desert Vista High School is planning to offer the class in the spring.

There are no national statistics on how many public high schools offer religion courses, but in Fairfax, Va., where Haynes resides, there are 12 different offerings and he's aware of other classes in surrounding areas. He thinks the courses are generally more prevalent in the East and also correlate to areas where there is religious diversity.

Only one school district in the U.S. requires students to study religion. For eight years, the school district in Modesto, Calif., called the ‘‘Bible Belt of California,'' has required all ninth-graders to take a world religion course.

Parents and community members often express concerns where religion is taught in school because they fear their children's own faith will be shaken. But Haynes said a study of the course in Modesto proves otherwise, showing that students who went in with one faith came out with the same faith. The study also showed learning about religion strengthened students' support of First Amendment rights of others.

But schools can get in trouble when a teacher ‘‘pushes'' one religion over another in class or when the teacher includes material that could be considered devotional.

In Chavez's class, students often read from various scriptures. She said it was difficult to find textbooks that didn't preach one point of view, but she's been able to piece together materials from many sources, including books, the Internet and movies. She creates presentations for each religion, and relies on questions to guide the discussion.

Offering world religion instruction is not just an education issue, Haynes said.

There's a civic argument that can be made for it.

‘‘Ignorance is the root of so much intolerance. So many Americans know so little about religion,'' he said. ‘‘It's not just important to understanding world events, but for living with each other in this country.''

Arizona State University professor Charles Barfoot, who studies the sociology of religion, says students taking classes like Chavez's are getting a head start on college and life beyond school.

The Phoenix area, he said, is becoming more religiously diverse, but many students who take his introductory world religion course are hearing about these different faiths for the first time.

Labels: Christina Vanoverbeke, faith, public school, religion, students

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Friday, November 02, 2007

ASU students amid 21-day prayer marathon

No agenda, just 'people hungry for God'

John Faherty
The Arizona Republic
Nov. 1, 2007

In the middle of the day, in the middle of the week, in the middle of the Arizona State University campus, it is easy to miss the students sitting with their heads down and their hands together.

They are part of a group of Christian students on the Tempe campus who are praying 24 hours a day for 21 days.

All through the day and night, they pray outside the Danforth Meditation Chapel, their stillness and quiet in marked contrast to the nearly constant rush of the 51,000 students on the campus.

Many students on campuses nationwide are speaking to God, or, at the very least, hope to.

A survey of more than 112,000 incoming college students in 2004, today's seniors, by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA revealed that a significant number of them describe themselves as spiritual.

• 80 percent have an interest in spirituality.

• 76 percent are searching for meaning/purpose in life.

• 80 percent attended a religious service in the past year.

Jennifer Lindholm is the project director for the study and knows that college students are often portrayed as being focused entirely on getting a job or having a good time.

Lindholm's study further indicated that students have no intention of putting issues of faith or spirituality aside during their college years.

Reasons to pray

The patch of lawn next to the Danforth Meditation Chapel has informal stations where poster board and pens allow students to write down what they are praying for, or who they are forgiving, or Bible verses that have resonance for them.

There is no particular agenda. It is, instead, prayer for the sake of prayer.

The people who come are absolutely college students. They sometimes stop in midprayer and text-message or shout a hello to a passing friend.

Some arrive on skateboards, others have tattoos and piercings.

They know their public act of faith may result in people looking at them as different, but they are fine with that.

Mostly they sit quietly with their heads down and their hands together. Others pray out loud in groups of two or three or more.

They ask for peace and wisdom and forgiveness.

When students on the busy campus notice the praying, most walk past, looking surprised or confused.

An important value

They started praying on Oct. 8, and will continue to do so through Monday.

So far, more than 200 students have signed up to cover shifts, and countless others have simply stopped by to join them.

The UCLA study indicated that more than two-thirds of college students pray and four in 10 consider it "very important" that they follow their religious teachings.

So far, there has been no controversy regarding prayer at a public university.

Yuhchang Hwang, faculty adviser for a Christian Students club on campus, said the rights of students to express themselves are paramount.

"The campus promotes free speech," Hwang said. "All voices should be heard, including believers."

One night on campus, Jacqi Nicholson did not stop to pray, but she was glad students have the option.

Labels: Arizona State University, Christian, college, Higher Education Research Institute, John Faherty, prayer, spirituality, students

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Wednesday, September 19, 2007

What do we know about religions?

(Religion Today is contributed by the University of Wyoming's Religious Studies Program to examine and to promote discussion of religious issues.)

Paul V.M. Flesher

“OK, class. Sit down. We’re going to have a test.”

That’s how Boston University religion Professor Stephen Prothero recently began the first class meeting of an introductory course about religion, as he relates in his recent book, “Religious Literacy.”

Nearly all students failed.

Perhaps some of the questions were obscure. For example, he asked them to name a Hindu religious text (any text!). Only a quarter of them could come up with the Rig Veda, the Mahabharata, or the Yoga Sutras, even though Hinduism is the world’s third largest religion. How about identifying the four noble truths of Buddhism, the foundational belief of the fourth largest religion? Few non-Buddhists could answer.

Some questions weren’t quite so foreign, but the results were still disappointing. Most students could not list the New Testament’s four gospels, and just one in eight could give the first five books of the Bible. Only one in six could identify “Blessed are the poor in spirit” as Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.

It is not just students who have poor religious literacy. National surveys reveal adult religious knowledge is just as low. Only half of American adults can name even one gospel, while most cannot identify the Bible’s first book. And, although I cannot believe it, most people in one recent survey said Jesus was born in Jerusalem-even though “O Little Town of Bethlehem” is sung every Christmas.

...this fall I gave a similar test to my own introductory students. They did significantly better when 85 percent could identify all four gospels. Even more knew that Genesis was the Bible’s first book, and about half recognized the first five books of the Bible. Their knowledge of non-Christian religions was not as strong. Although three-quarters knew that the Quran was Islam’s holy book, less than half could identify one of Hinduism’s sacred texts. Interestingly, about 40 percent knew that Ramadan was Islam’s month of fasting.

Overall, my students did better than Prothero’s class and other people questioned in various surveys. What accounts for this difference? Is it that my students were that much more knowledgeable? Not really.

The difference comes from the way we asked the questions. Prothero posed fill-in-the-blank questions. I gave them multiple-choice questions. Multiple choice expects students to recognize the correct answer when presented. Fill-in-the-blank requires test takers to come up with the answer out of their memory with no hints. Like phone surveys (where someone calls when you are in the middle of doing something and expects you to answer questions on some other topic), Prothero’s test was done “cold,” with no studying or warning.

The two question types differentiate between active and passive knowledge. Active knowledge is what we use everyday. We can marshall it at will, whether in carrying out tasks at which we are skilled or in carrying on conversations with our boss or family. Passive knowledge is knowledge we recognize and with which we are familiar, but which we do not think about from week to week or month to month.

Our brains automatically move information we need on a regular basis into the active category and that which we do not need into the passive category. Ever studied hard in a course to earn an “A” but forgot everything during summer vacation? You did not forget; your brain just shifted it from active to passive when you were no longer using it.

Studies such as Prothero’s fail to measure public knowledge accurately. Whether they investigate religious knowledge, historical knowledge, or the names of movie stars, they require passive knowledge to be as accessible as active knowledge.

Like a quiz show, they expect participants to hit the buzzer quickly; there is no time for recollection or preparation. They do not ask for recognition of correct information, but need immediate recall. Our active knowledge of religious information may be weak (since few of us are religious professionals), but our passive knowledge is stronger than most tests and surveys indicate.

Flesher is director of UW’s Religious Studies Program. Past columns and more information about the program can be found on the Web at www.uwyo.edu/relstds. To comment on this column, visit http://religion-today.blogspot.com.

Labels: knowledge, Paul V.M. Flesher, religious literacy, students

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Sunday, September 02, 2007

Doing Good, and Feeling Better

Why Giving Back Could Make You Happier … and Healthier

By John Stossel and Sylvia Johnson
Aug. 20, 2007

How good would it feel if someone just gave you $1,000?

Last fall, Oprah Winfrey thrilled audience members with these words: "You will each go home with $1,000."

Then she said there was a catch: "You have to spend the money on someone other than your family."

They still applauded, but the smiles looked a little forced.

Yet maybe she did her audience a favor, because even though the audience had to give the money away, it could get back even more than they gave.

Stephen Post explains why in his new book, "Why Good Things Happen to Good People."
He reveals that new science shows giving -- money or time -- not only feels just as good as getting, but can actually improve your health.

"Giving is as good for the giver as it is for the receiver. Science says it's so. We'll be happier, healthier, and even -- odds are -- live a little longer if we're generous," Post said.

"Public health isn't just about bugs and staying away from lead. It's about doing unto others, and at the right dose, science says it's very good for you," he said.

Arthur Brooks, author of the new book, "Who Really Cares: The Surprising Truth About Compassionate Conservatism," also knows a lot about the current research on charity.
Brooks said, "There's evidence that it helps people with their asthma, in cardiovascular disease, weight loss, insomnia. When people have a lot of happiness, they do a lot better in their health as well."

Helping Others, Healing Themselves

That was true for former heart patients at Duke University Medical Center.
They were asked to visit current heart patients -- no particular agenda, just to listen and lend support. By doing that, the volunteers had better health after their heart attacks.

A similar study at the University of Miami by Dr. Gail Ironson followed HIV patients who volunteered, like Katherine Marshall Scott, who talks to teenagers about avoiding infection, and Stephen Baker, who counsels fellow HIV survivors.
These and other HIV patients who helped others had lower stress levels and higher immune resistance.

Scott's disease-fighting cells went up, from 200 to 800.

Baker says he could feel how volunteering improved his health.

"To get involved with someone else's problems makes your problems look a lot less," he said.

Service Learning

Many high schools require their students to volunteer.

It's called service learning. And oddly, even though the charity is forced, it still brings happy results. Teachers say students who volunteer raise their grades, and get higher SAT scores.

Abington High School student Jeff Rohrback said, "After service learning started, I got so involved into it, I started paying attention more, picked up my grades."
So "20/20" decided to see whether we could find a similar effect.

We put an ad on Craigslist recruiting people who were not currently volunteers. We introduced them to Post, and asked them to try it for one week.

But first, Post had them fill out a questionnaire that asked how they felt about life, like how often during the week they felt calm and peaceful.

Children for Children, whose mission is to get children involved in giving, agreed to help us, as did the Salvation Army, which has many different programs, from soup kitchens to after-school activities for kids.

Then off they went -- bringing donated books to children at an elementary school, then reading to the kids and making scarves with the kids. One spent time in a truck handing out food to the poor. All four worked at a Harlem soup kitchen.

One week later we had them answer that questionnaire again.

This time their answers about how often they felt "calm and peaceful" changed from some of the time to most of the time.

The Helpers' High

"The helper's high has been measured physically," Post said. "We know there's an actual physiological state. It's quite euphoric."

The helper's high shows up in MRI brain scans.

People who give money show brain activity that's associated with feel-good chemicals like dopamine -- the same brain activity that happens when you receive money.
National Institutes of Health neuroscientist Jordan Grafman showed us the brain scans.

"Those brain structures that are activated when you get a reward are the same ones that are activated when you give. In fact, they're activated more," he told us.
We asked our volunteers after their week of service who had gotten more out of the experience: the people they helped, or they themselves?

Volunteer Daniel Smith didn't hesitate with his answer. "No brainer. Me, definitely."

Lelani Clark also felt renewed from her single week of volunteering.

"I just felt energized," she said. "We were so caught up in this energy of helping that it was like a buzz -- like a spiritual buzz."

Winfrey's audience members reported that, too. After a week of giving money away, many said they were changed.

Maybe we should call it selfish to help others, because it seems to help the givers more.

"If you want to define selfishness so widely as to include the warm glow that people feel in the aftermath of selflessly giving to others, guess what, we need more of it, not less of it," Post said.

So try it.

Get out and give your money or your time. You'll help someone else. … And you'll feel good, too.

This story originally aired on December 1, 2006.

Labels: 20/20, Arthur Brooks, charity, generosity, health, John Stossel, Oprah Winfrey, Stephen Post, students, Sylvia Johnson

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Thursday, May 31, 2007

Study ties religion to student success

Researcher points to effectiveness of parochial schools in lifting academic achievement of youths

By Rebecca Rosen Lum
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

The White House has embraced a researcher whose work suggests religion can do what ample federal nourishment has not -- narrow the achievement gap between white and minority students.

The gap narrows by 25 percent in religious schools, said William Jeynes of Cal State Long Beach in the current issue of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion.

When the student comes from an "intact family" and professes religious commitment, the gap disappears.

Jeynes says his research results support the idea of school vouchers. "It once again appears illogical and potentially racially oppressive and discriminatory to deny minority students the right to more fully reach their potential via a school choice system," he said.

Religious educators cheered the findings, but some researchers debunked the study, saying Jeynes omitted critical factors and cited himself in a roundup of social science perspectives.
Jeynes drew data from the National Education Longitudinal Survey, which tracked a national sample of students from eighth grade through high school. The survey provided information about religion, school culture, curriculum, race relations, discipline, exposure to violence and homework.

The critical factor is a private or parochial school's freedom to choose its students, said Marc Egan, director of federal affairs at National School Boards Association in Alexandria, Va.
"He just didn't address the private school being able to screen out at the front end and at the back end," he said. "They can unceremoniously show the students the door."

And they do.

"I don't want to use the word luxury, but we don't accept just anyone," said Sister Liam Brock, principal of the inner-city St. Elizabeth's High School in Oakland. "We have criteria. We can also say, if you are not going to abide by our rules, take advantage of counseling, mentoring, we can ask you to leave."

East Bay parochial schools admit students based on grades, test scores and other factors, but administrators say they also welcome some students who have performed poorly in public school.

De La Salle High School in Concord and Sacred Heart in San Francisco devote 5 percent of their slots to students on full need-based scholarships. Sacred Heart's funders established a middle school for the poor in the Tenderloin district as a feeder for Sacred Heart.

Both the study's findings and its critiques resonated with Brock.

"There is tuition, and you have parents who, because they are paying, keep on the kids," she said. "A lot of our students are sponsored by outside people. They will set up stipulations -- you must maintain an A, B, C average. You must keep up your attendance. You must get involved in things."

Still, small class sizes allow staff members to focus on each student. The school's religious nature allows St. Elizabeth's teachers to talk extensively about values.

Few track students by race or ethnicity, but principals say most students excel.

"I don't know if I could say I see the gap disappear, but the way we approach things allows us to approach them holistically," said Brother Christopher, principal of De La Salle. "You're talking about the whole individual."

For instance, the melding of Catholic religion and culture spurs achievement for Latino students, he said.

Jeynes' study cites "caring" teachers and "an overall more disciplined lifestyle" as pivotal traits in religious schools.

Peter Imperial, principal of St. Mary's College High School in Berkeley, said he doesn't necessarily agree with that assessment, but he said frequent communication between students, teachers and administrators ensures students don't fall through the cracks.

"There are a few more safety nets in place," he said. "The economics of public schools are that the money is tight," he said. "At a Catholic school, anonymity is a tougher thing to achieve."
Jeynes, who has written extensively on religion, family and schooling, said stereotypes are informing his critics' judgments.

Most religious schools usually can't afford to weed out candidates, he said.

"Yes, there are some (schools) who only allow students in who pass certain tests, but for a lot of religious schools, it's a nail biter economically," he said.

And most who send their children to religious schools are not the wealthy elite, but working people who sacrifice.

That's just it, Bracey said: "The motivation of parents who pick a private school and pay for it is a big factor."

But Jeynes said the nationwide data, which encompassed urban, suburban, inner city and rural schools, show an undeniable consistency.

"I was surprised by the robust nature of the results," he said.

The results point to school vouchers as public policy, he wrote. That earned high grades from the Black Alliance for Educational Options, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit group.

Whether his findings hold water, policy analysts said the political momentum for vouchers has dissipated.

"The issue is dead," said Bruce Fuller, professor of education and public policy at UC Berkeley. "Maybe not 6 feet under the ground. Maybe 2."

Rebecca Rosen Lum covers religion.
Reach her at 925-977-8506 or rrosenlum@cctimes.com.

Labels: Catholic, parochial school, public school, school vouchers, students, William Jeynes

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Thursday, May 24, 2007

Higher education's missing soul

Harvard ducks a mandated religion course. But like other schools, it sees spiritually thirsty students.

from the May 25, 2007 edition

As a premier university, Harvard wants to lead, not follow. Last year, its curriculum committee saw a rising spiritual hunger among students and proposed a mandated study on religion. But many professors revolted. This month, Harvard announced a new core curriculum, one that will teach, among other topics, simply about "culture and belief."

Harvard's change of heart reveals much about the difficulty for colleges in trying to meet a growing interest among students to find meaningful answers for daily problems and public issues.

A 2004 survey of 112,000 college freshmen found that nearly half of them say they are seeking opportunities to grow spiritually. But once at school, nearly half of all students are dissatisfied with the opportunities for "spirituality reflection." Nearly two-thirds say their teachers never encourage discussion on spiritual or religious topics, according to the survey by the Higher Education Research Institute (HERI) at the University of California, Los Angeles.

The rising interest in spirituality has led many more students to enroll in religion courses or to major in religion, reports The New York Times. Many students choose to live in dorms that allow a focus on matters of faith. Often, these students were raised by baby-boomer parents who did not impose a religion on them, but when faced with difficulties on campus, the students search for answers to tough questions of life. Others have been pushed toward spirituality by the rise of the religious right, the 9/11 attacks and the challenge of radical Islam, or the Iraq war.

Criticizing the lack of faith-based studies at colleges is not new. William Buckley's 1951 book "God and Man at Yale" looked at how his school abandoned its religious roots. And this fall, Yale's former law school dean, Anthony Kronman, is coming out with a book titled: "Education's End: Why Our Colleges and Universities Have Given Up on the Meaning of Life."

He finds colleges have expelled the most important question a person can ask – what should one care about and why – from their classrooms. They do so under the influence of the ideal of research, he finds. Teachers of humanities, especially, are blinded by the "fog of political correctness" and have lost sight and confidence in helping students explore the question of what living is for.

The UCLA institute has been tracking those colleges trying to create "safe" spaces for a dialogue on spirituality – without promoting a particular religion. It finds that several schools are now training faculty about how to help students explore a deeper thinking on basic questions.

Florida State University, for instance, has held events for teachers to talk about how they can be academics while also attending to students' interests in spiritual topics. Carnegie Mellon University has begun a program to encourage students who live in residential houses to explore "big questions" about the meaning of life and success with faculty. Second-year students at Miami University of Ohio are being invited to participate in "living learning communities" that focus on the search for purpose.

These models should help other schools in finding the right "teaching moments" for millions of spiritually thirsty students.

Labels: curriculum, Harvard, religion, spirituality, students

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Thursday, May 10, 2007

Harvard's Faith Factor

by Grant Swank

April 25, 2007 12:00 PM EST

"’Religion and morality are critical to how students think about politics and form opinions on political issues,’ said Jeanne Shaheen, a former New Hampshire governor and director of Harvard's Institute of Politics, which conducted the poll."

Harvard students are not as irreligious as prior. They are more and more relating their lives to the soul and invisible. Therefore, administration realizes that faith molds political views.

Consequently, the university is buzzing with the twosome "religious centrist."

Instead of the usual hard-line atheism-agnosticism rant common at Harvard, there is a call to play that down. May that playdown also relate to Harvard Divinity School. When I was there in the early 60s, it was popular not to believe, though studying for ministry or religious vocations of some sort.

"Jesus" was mentioned but in the context of demythologizing Him, that is, cutting out the miracles, including his virgin birth and resurrection. His divinity was always in question.

Apparently now with the world is sad shape more Harvard students are coming upon a spiritual hunger that’s real, personal. I doubt if that has changed the divinity school that much, however, for in the mailings I still receive regularly there is the usual accent on yoga, feminism, politically correctness, Unitarian-based liberalism, and same ol’ same ol’ whatever.

Peter Gomes, gay pastor of Harvard Memorial Church, said once, when learning there would be an evangelical professor onboard at the divinity school, that it would be refreshing to have someone teaching who actually believed. That is, the evangelical professor would be a biblical Christian. Gomes admitted that would be welcomed for its rarity. I can imagine his clever smile showing when he addressed his audience with those prophetic words.

Someone on the divinity faculty who truly personally had faith in the biblical record. How unusual. I wonder if the money offered to the school for that "evangelical chair" actually ever brought about such a personage on staff. I can’t recall reading anything about its actuality. Must check up on it. If so, must also check to see if the evangelical member survived the "camaraderie" of other faculty and liberal student body.

According to Jennifer Harper, THE WASHINGTON TIMES: "College students are becoming more religious, and it's affecting their political views, according to a new Harvard University survey of this potentially influential voting bloc. ‘Religious centrists’ rule, according to the university.

"A full 70 percent say religion plays an important part in their lives, with a quarter saying their spirituality has increased at college. Six out of 10 say they are concerned about the moral direction of the country, according to the poll of 1,200 students from across the country, conducted March 13 to 27 and released Tuesday.

"The Harvard study advises political parties to woo the spiritually inclined, a demographic that the popular press mostly deemed the exclusive territory of the ‘religious right’ in the past two presidential elections.

"’This analysis foreshadows the 2008 general election campaign for president where religious centrists, nearly a quarter of the student vote, will be the critical swing vote ... and likely the most influential group in American politics for years,’ according to the survey.

"A breakdown of collegiate party preferences reveals further complexities. Republicans are composed of 34 percent traditional conservatives, 30 percent religious centrists, 20 percent secular centrists and 16 percent who consider themselves traditional liberals.

"Among Democrats, 59 percent are traditional liberals, 24 percent are religious centrists, 9 percent secular centrists and 7 percent are traditional conservatives."

Copyright © 2006 by J. Grant Swank, Jr.
http://www.truthinconviction.us/weblog.php
mailto:%3Ca%20href=">joseph_swank@yahoo.com

Labels: divinity school, Grant Swank, Harvard, Jesus, morality, politics, religion, spirituality, students