Faith in the Public Sector

The separation of church and state is a hotly contested issue these days. For this reason, I believe it is important for students and colleagues (especially those at public institutions) to know exactly where I'm coming from.

What I do not believe

• I do not believe that the United States is or should be a Christian nation;
• I do not believe that Christianity should hold a privileged position in the public realm or in public education;
• I do not believe that public educators or officials should remove all that is religious from education or public work;
• I do not believe that public educators or officials should have to hide their religious identity, if they have one;
• Neither do I believe that they should in any way privilege or favor others who share their beliefs or even those who merely have spiritual or religious beliefs;
• I do not believe that anyone should be forced, encouraged, or asked to publicly pray to or acknowledge a god in which they do not believe;
• I do not believe that spirituality is a safe or politically correct alternative to religion*.

What I do believe

• I believe in the value of religious and spiritual pluralism;
• I believe that there is an important place for both spirituality and religion in public life and in education;
• I believe that the trend to favor spirituality over religion can marginalize those who are not spiritual as well as those who see religion as an important component of their spirituality;
• Further, I believe that trends that favor being spiritual over being religious marginalize people (oftentimes people of color) who closely associate their spirituality with their religious identity;
• I believe that public educators and officials should use great care in their personal exercise of religion and/or spirituality, as they can (often unintentionally) marginalize those who do not share their beliefs.

Who I am

While religion, faith, and spirituality are central parts of my identity, I also find meaning in being educated, White, able bodied, etc. What's more, I have chosen the values of social justice and diversity, community, education and learning, critical thinking, and servant leadership as core values of my identity. When engaging students in authentic educational relationships, I believe that it is important for them to know about as many of my values and cultural connections as possible so that they can assess my beliefs and biases, and then choose for themselves how to make meaning from their learning.

*Faith, Religion, and Spirituality

Some of the people with whom I work use these two terms interchangeably; others see them them as distinct and largely unrelated concepts. For the sake of clarity and as noted above, I use religion and spirituality as distinct, though interrelated concepts. While numerous writers and organizations have developed extensive definitions of these terms (I find the white paper developed by ASERVIC to be especially helpful), I will be more to the point.

I believe that religion and spirituality are interrelated in that both have to do with a sense of meaning, connection, and transcendence that is associated with something bigger than the self. What separates the two is that for religion, sets of formal communities or institutions attempt to ritualize or codify the tenants of believing for a somewhat specific group of participants -- in this sense, one might consider religion as a cultural form. Spirituality, on the other hand, has to do with meaning, connection, and transcendance that is neither codified nor ritualized. While some may experience spirituality through rituals or through participation in religious faith communities, these are not the essence of spirituality.

In addition to the concepts of religion and spirituality, I find the concept of faith, especially as framed by James Fowler, to be especially meaningful. Faith is more than mere cognition or belief as it draws upon both the heart and the mind. Faith is also more than standard definitions of spirituality. Common definitions of spirituality emphasize an internal and subjective sense of meaning and purpose that may or may not involve a sense of connectedness to others and the world. Faith goes one step further by placing this spirituality into the context of a reciprocal relationship with God, a higher power, or an ultimate concern.