“I get to make my own decisions”: Understanding Black Christian students’ spiritual development journeys.

Abstract

While existing scholarship has illuminated benefits that individuals gain from their religious and spiritual engagement, how and to what degree individuals engage may vary. Although student development theory compels us to attend to students' salient identities (Jones & Abes, 2013), religion and spirituality remain underresearched in higher education (Chae et al., 2004;Donahoo & Caffey, 2010;Park, 2017). Despite the salience of religion and spirituality among many Black communities (Bacchus & Holley, 2004;McRae et al., 1999;Taylor & Chatters, 2010), and Christianity being the dominant religion for Black Americans (Diamant et al., 2022), scholarship that centers the intersections of race, religion, and spirituality remains limited. Thus, there are opportunities to understand Black Christian students' spiritual development journeys and what influences Black Christian college students' formation of religious and spiritual practices. Data for this inquiry is drawn from a larger critical constructivist narrative study where semistructured interviews and visual data with 13 Black and spiritual students provided insight into Black students' spiritual development journeys. Findings indicate three themes: Black Christian students' early religious socialization through family, church, and religious-affiliated K-12 schools; the presence of religious and spiritual practices prior to their college-going years; and the development of new religious and spiritual practices during their college-going years. Baxter Magolda's ( 2009) concept of meaning-making was utilized to understand Black Christian students' early reliance upon external formulas, crossroad moments, and ultimate journeys to self-authorship. Implications for research and practice are provided to institutions and institutional personnel who seek to holistically support Black Christian students.

Queer and Muslim college student identity integration.

“…The research on religion and spirituality and sexuality has grown significantly as scholars began to recognize and embrace the heterogeneity within the queer community and the intersectionality of several marginalized identities (Means et al, 2018). Yet, much of the research reflects hegemonic Christian perspectives (Hall, 2024) and does not attend to marginalized religious identities. For example, defining one's spirituality reinforces Western individualistic perspectives that do not account for the role of culture, community, or religious authorities in shaping students' religious and spiritual identities (Nielsen et al, 2022).…”