Originally Posted by
Patricia Bow - University of Waterloo Daily Bulletin Article Students value spirituality, course finds
Religion and spirituality are deeply important to students of all backgrounds, but often they find it hard to develop these aspects of themselves at university. That's one of the findings in a recent study conducted by Diana Denton, drama and speech communication professor, and funded by UW and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. She also established that specific skills can be taught to help people learn about and appreciate each other's faith differences.
Denton is based in the Canadian Centre of Arts and Technology in the faculty of arts, and is also a member of the Forge Institute, a United States-based non-profit organization concerned with "trans-traditional spirituality," encouraging spiritual development, and promoting dialogue between people of different religious backgrounds. She is co-editor of Holistic Learning and Spirituality in Education (2005) and Spirituality, Action and Pedagogy: Teaching From the Heart (2004).
The study attempted to establish how students' spiritual development can be fostered through the curriculum. Instead of textbook-and-lecture format, Denton explored an experiential approach, with students and instructor participating together.
In fall and winter 2003-04, she conducted 10 two-hour workshops with nine volunteers: undergraduate and graduate students from psychology, drama, and speech communication. They came from Baptist, Mennonite, Catholic, Native, Muslim, and non-denominational backgrounds. The sessions were videotaped in the CCAT lab in the Modern Languages building. Each session included meditation, writing in journals, pairing off to share thoughts and perceptions, and group discussion of everything from "the Eucharist to Drumming Circles and Vision Quests, to reflections on our own inner experience." Following the workshop series, Denton interviewed participants separately.
The study demonstrated that "students are hungry for safe places where they can talk about their beliefs," including their doubts. Often they fail to find such safe places among their peers, where fear of ridicule keeps many silent, or in their own families or religious institutions.
Denton also found that certain practices helped students to be more open to each others' approaches to spirituality, without abandoning their own. Ground rules that required confidentiality and a non-judgmental attitude established a sense of trust. Comparing experiences of meditation showed students how often they stood on common ground. They also found useful the practice of "deep listening," where two students would listen silently while a third spoke, saving questions and discussion for later. The participants reported that a strong sense of community developed in the group.
A senior seminar course spun off from the workshops. Spiritual Development in a Diverse Society: Communicating Across Differences was offered as a speech communication course in fall 2004 and will be offered again next winter. Denton has also held five-day workshops at various locations in Canada and the United States for educators interested in teaching the course. The next session takes place at the University of Michigan June 27 to July 1.
"Since 9/11 there has been much more awareness of the importance religion plays in people's lives -- that it can be so divisive," Denton says. "We need to work with the young, to help them learn how to cope with this conflict and how to be leaders in a diverse society."
No religion is better then others.
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