Interfaith Learning and Development

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to introduce the theory of interfaith learning and development to the scholarly community. Building on the work of others, the authors adopted an interdisciplinary, equity-oriented approach to developing the theory, which also serves as the basis for a framework intended to guide and inform interfaith practice. Development occurs through exposure to and participation in college experiences that help students achieve outcomes related to religious, spiritual, and worldview development. Outcomes specific to interfaith learning and development include pluralism, self-authored worldview commitment, appreciative knowledge of religious and non-religious traditions, and appreciative attitudes toward religious and non-religious narratives.As the public continues to scrutinize higher education for its societal value, student development theorists-and by extension their theories-must sustain their distinctive relevance, not only as both academic and pragmatic, but as responsible and timely. Indeed, "bridging theory and practice" continues as the mantra of the student development field, with foundational texts, curricula, and practices pivoting on the fundamental notion that knowledge of student and context loses meaning without pragmatic application to-if not deference toward-deeper understandings of students-in-context. Theory with practice genuflects to theory in practice.What does it mean for theory in practice to be responsible and timely? Responsible student development theory-building must account for the experiences of students with different identities and narratives and the practices that help them make developmental gains. Critical questions must continue to disrupt exclusive, hegemonic, and irresponsible theory building: Who benefits from this practice? How have institutions succeeded or failed to design inclusive practices that invite, welcome, and appropriately challenge and support all students? aMatthew J. Mayhew

Examining the Relationship Between College Students’ Interworldview Friendships and Pluralism Orientation

“…Although peer socialization appears to matter most, the religious identity of the institution may influence peer culture to begin with (Mayhew, 2012). We also anticipate that pluralism orientation is catalyzed in environments that are diverse and welcoming, but discouraged on campuses that are rife with division (Bryant, 2011;Hurtado et al, 1998;Mayhew & Rockenbach, 2021;Rockenbach et al, 2015). Perhaps even more noteworthy in impact than more distal features of campus environments (Mayhew, Rockenbach, Bowman, Seifert, et al, 2016) are the relational dynamics that comprise the day-to-day lives of college students.…”

“…Pluralism orientation is framed in this study using Eck's (1993Eck's ( , 2006) multidimensional conceptualization, which defines pluralism as actively engaging with worldview diversity, accepting-rather than merely toleratingpeople of other worldview identities, appreciating distinctions and similarities across different worldviews, and establishing worldview commitments amidst relativism. These four dimensions are operationalized in our study as global citizenship (i.e., active engagement in learning about and caring for people of diverse worldview identities across the world), goodwill toward and acceptance of others of different worldview identities, appreciation of worldview commonalities and differences, and commitment to interfaith leadership and service (Mayhew & Rockenbach, 2021).…”

“…Pluralism orientation manifests in both attitudes and behaviors; individuals who are pluralistically oriented possess the capacity to respect and empathize with others, and are motivated to work in concert with people of other worldviews to advance social change (Mayhew & Rockenbach, 2021). Moreover, prior research indicates that higher education helps students make gains on diversity-related outcomes (including pluralism), because of plentiful opportunities for curricular, co-curricular, and interactional engagement across religious, cultural, and other social identity differences (see Mayhew, Rockenbach, Bowman, Seifert, et al, 2016).…”

“…What are the specific contributors to the development of pluralism orientation? Our conceptual framework features four key domains that have surfaced in relevant theories, models, and empirical research addressing interfaith learning and development (Mayhew & Rockenbach, 2021), intergroup attitudes and prejudice reduction (Allport, 1954;Pettigrew, 1998a), campus ecologies and diversity climates (Bronfenbrenner, 1979;Hurtado et al, 1998), and college impact (Astin, 1993;Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005): Domain 1 -Student Characteristics and Precollege Engagement Across Social Differences; Domain 2 -Campus Religious and Spiritual Climate; Domain 3 -Relational Contexts; and Domain 4 -Academic and Social Engagement. Because this study was centered on the impact of interworldview friendships, our intent was to isolate the effects of such friendships on pluralism orientation rather than focus on the effects of other factors.…”

“…A longstanding tenet of college impact research is that students' social identities and experiences prior to matriculation shape how they engage, what they learn, and how they change once on campus (Astin, 1993;Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005). Our framework posits that students' pluralistic proclivities at college entry, religious and political beliefs, knowledge of different religious traditions and worldviews, and engagement across social differences (e.g., interworldview friendships) prior to college influence how they engage the collegiate learning environment and, subsequently, their pluralism development (Mayhew & Rockenbach, 2021;Rockenbach et al, 2015). An earlier study that operationalized pluralism orientation in a way that closely mirrors the approach of the current study (see Rockenbach et al, 2015) indicated that a student's worldview identity had a more marked influence on pluralism orientation than other characteristics (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender identity).…”