Why it matters: teaching about religion and spirituality leads to research on religion and spirituality

Social work educators have a unique opportunity to influence what issues the next generation of professionals choose to address in practice and explore in their research. If educators cease to address religion and spirituality as crucial factors in understanding the whole person (Furman et al., 2005; Rothman, 2009; Sheridan et al., 2014) we could see a sharp decline in research in this domain. In her article, “What are we teaching in spirituality and social work elective courses? A qualitative content analysis of BSW syllabi,” Dr. Hillary Cole conducts a content analysis of BSW syllabi to determine what social work students at the bachelor’s degree level are learning about addressing religion and spirituality in their work. This research continues to underscore the longstanding call for research and education related to spirituality and religion.

The five other articles in this issue demonstrate the important research currently underway to further the understanding in this area. Our second article, “Islamic religiosity and subjective well-being in the West: Meta-analytic evidence of protections across diverse Muslim diasporas,” by Sara Ghannam and Dr. Kevin Gorey, explores the role that religiosity plays in fostering well-being among Muslims living in primarily Judeo-Christian areas. The third offering, by Rachel Tallon, Dr. Dip Tchg, and Joey Domdom, provides readers with the perspectives of Christian social service practitioners who work in secular organizations in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Their opinion piece, “Faith-based social service practitioners negotiating the secular state service sector: A New Zealand context,” gives us a window into the history of religion (both Christian and Indigenous) in the area and the tensions that can arise for religious workers.

In “Examining policies toward adolescent pregnancies across Africa: What is the relationship between religion and education policy?” Rachel Joy Hagues and Sara Helms McCarty explore the stigma of teen pregnancy in African countries. The authors specifically explored how a country’s dominant religion shapes policy for teen moms regarding access and support for continuing their education, or criminalizes teen pregnancy and creates legal barriers to education attainment. Stefanus Lio and colleagues Kristinus Sembiring and Sebastianus Henong from the Catholic University of Widya Mandira in Kupang, Indonesia explore a population typically not studied in social work research: students in novitiate formation. These students are at the beginning of their journey in committing their life to a religious vocation, and are invariably confronted with stressful situations that require a healthy capacity for coping and problem solving. The results of their study can be found in the fifth article in this issue, titled “Coping mechanisms of students at novitiate formation.”

Rounding out this issue, Dr. Zeynep Turhan explores the current scholarly body of knowledge on the impact of religiosity and faith practices on behavior change in men who perpetrate violence against their intimate partners in “The role of religion and faith on behavioral change among perpetrators of domestic violence in interventions: A literature review.” These articles were contributed by social workers, researchers, and educators across the globe who are helping to continue the important work of examining the role that religion and spirituality play in the lives of individuals and communities with regards to both micro and macro concerns. I hope our readers find them enlightening.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.