Spirituality in the Academy: Reintegrating Our Lives and the Lives of Our Students

Abstract

American educational institutions were founded on the development of the spirit as well as the intellect, a concept that was ended by the Enlightenment. Now, research conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), reveals that most students want their college or university to help them develop spiritually. Are their institutions ready?Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com).

The Moderating Effect of Spirituality on the Relationship Between Academic Life Stressors and Perceived Stress in Medical Undergraduate Students

“…Bonab et al [71] asserted that a Moslem should getting attachment to God, whereas to Him he could seek the peacefulness from all events supressed him in life. Similarly, the study of Lindholm [72] found that students who were highly connected to God tended easier to do coping stress while encountering the distress.…”

Cultivating Success for Latinx Undergraduates: Integrating Cultural Spirituality within Higher Education

“…Within higher education settings , inquiry or conversations about religion and spirituality are frequently avoided or deemed outside the scope of educational analyses (Lindholm, 2007); yet, it is a nuanced and necessary area of exploration as today’s college students are increasingly spiritually-oriented yet generally less engaged in religious activities (Nuñez & Foubert, 2016; Waggoner, 2017). In fact, the transition to college is often considered an exploratory and developmental time in which young adults abandon religious practices.…”

“…Yet, in the largest study to date addressing college student spirituality, UCLA researchers reported students’ interests and active measures for spiritual growth (Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011). Incoming or first-year college students’ practices focus on “the interior dimensions of their lives” (Lindholm, 2007, p. 13). Students reported spirituality as central to everyday processes with these interactions involving “affective processes, and intra- and interpersonal connections to others, and to an intangible, something larger than [one]self” (Lindholm, 2007, p. 12).…”

“…Incoming or first-year college students’ practices focus on “the interior dimensions of their lives” (Lindholm, 2007, p. 13). Students reported spirituality as central to everyday processes with these interactions involving “affective processes, and intra- and interpersonal connections to others, and to an intangible, something larger than [one]self” (Lindholm, 2007, p. 12). In contrast, religion was viewed as “focusing more on group concerns, doctrinal points, and involving a place of worship” (Lindholm, 2007, p. 12).…”

“…Students reported spirituality as central to everyday processes with these interactions involving “affective processes, and intra- and interpersonal connections to others, and to an intangible, something larger than [one]self” (Lindholm, 2007, p. 12). In contrast, religion was viewed as “focusing more on group concerns, doctrinal points, and involving a place of worship” (Lindholm, 2007, p. 12). Yet, most studies on religion and spirituality in higher education focus on white students or students from predominantly white institutions of higher education (Nuñez & Foubert, 2016).…”