Christianity versus Humanism: The Influence of Values on the Nonclinical Professional Decisions of Veterans Administration Psychologists

Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social T

2007

In keeping with the profession's long history of addressing discrimination, this study explores perceptions of religious discrimination and ethical compliance among a national sample of professionally affiliated graduate students (N = 111). Relevant theory and research is reviewed, which provides a context for the study's exploration of (1) the degree to which respondents personally experience discrimination in their social work programs due to their religious beliefs (2) the extent to which respondents perceive religious discrimination is a problem in their educational programs and (3) respondents' perceptions of the profession's level of compliance with the six ethical standards that explicitly or implicitly address religion. The findings are presented and the implications are discussed as they intersect the social work profession and education in particular.

Section: Previous Research On Religious Discriminationmentioning

confidence: 96%

Religious Discrimination and Ethical Compliance

Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social T

2007

“…In a similar vein, analysis has revealed bias in grade school (Vitz, 1985), high school (Bellitto, 1996;Hillocks, 1978;Sewall, 1995), and college textbooks (Glenn, 1997;Hodge et al, in press;Lehr & Spilka, 1989). Discrimination has been repeatedly observed in professional forums (Gartner, Harmatz, Hohmann, Larson, & Gartner, 1990;Larson, Milano, & Lu, 1998;Neumann, Harvill, & Callahan, 1995;Neumann, Thompson, & Woolley, 1991, 1992Richards & Davison, 1992) including graduate psychology programs that discriminate against evangelical Christians in their admission decisions (Gartner, 1986).…”

Section: Defining Evangelical Christiansmentioning

confidence: 97%

Developing Cultural Competency with Evangelical Christians

2004

Families in Society

Cultural competency with people of faith is stipulated in the profession's ethical standards. Yet, in spite of growing interest in spirituality and religion, a paucity of material has appeared in the literature with the express purpose of developing cultural competency with evangelical Christians, the nation's largest spiritual minority. To address this gap in the literature, salient aspects of the Evangelical cultural narrative are reviewed, which in turn provides the context for a discussion of various practice interventions. More specifically, information is presented on general practice suggestions, clinically oriented spiritual interventions, strategies for school social workers, and national and international social justice issues of concern to all social workers.

“…The dominant paradigm tends to have a pervasive influence of which individuals are often unaware (Kuhn, 1970). This reality is illustrated by a number of studies that have examined professional decisions, which should be impartial, among various samples of psychologists (Gartner, Harmatz, Hohmann, Larson, & Gartner, 1990;Gartner, 1986;Neumann, Thompson, & Woolley, 1991), psychiatrists (Neumann, Harvill, & Callahan, 1995), physicians (Neumann & Leppien, 1997), and social workers (Neumann et al, 1992). All these studies found that helping professionals' decisions were influenced positively by exposure to narratives containing humanistic or liberal values and influenced negatively by exposure to narratives containing traditional Christian values.…”

Section: The Practitioner's Worldview and Associated Biasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing Spiritual Competence in Practice

Journal of Ethnic & Cultural Diversity in Social Work

Bushfield

2006

This article defines and operationalizes the concept of spiritual competence. Most social workers have received little training on spiritual competence, which is a concern for at least three reasons:(1) Most practitioners affirm the importance of addressing spirituality in practice settings; (2) The NASW Code of Ethics requires services that address spirituality to be characterized by cultural competence; and (3) major accrediting agencies, such as the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), now require practitioners to explore client spirituality. To help practitioners understand and implement spiritual competence in their work with clients, a three-dimensional definition of spiritual competence is delineated, discussed, and illustrated with a three-part case example.