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Religions
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Anti-human Trafficking, Interfaith, and Spirituality
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Anti-human Trafficking, Interfaith, and Spirituality

A special issue of Religions (ISSN 2077-1444). This special issue belongs to the section "Religions and Health/Psychology/Social Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 126872

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Al Fuertes

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Integrative Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA 22030, USA
Interests: facilitation and intercultural/interreligious dialogue; global education and cross-cultural experiential learning; conflict resolution/transformation and peacebuilding; community-based psychosocial trauma healing as a component in peacebuilding and community development; refugee and internal displacement; sustainability of indigenous communities in Southeast Asia; anti-human trafficking, ecumenism, and spirituality; theology of struggle/people’s theology/liberation theology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue focuses on original research, review contributions, and effective meaningful practices that: a) address the problem of human trafficking as one of the fastest-growing criminal enterprises in our world today, also known as “modern-day slavery”; b) foster unity and cooperation among various Living faiths or faith traditions that highlight religio-cultural diversity, and confronting frustrations, difficulties, challenges, and cynicism of contemporary pluralistic world; and c) honor and celebrate ways people create knowledge and meaning, in consort with the affective, the rational or cognitive, and the unconscious and symbolic domains, as an important aspect of human experience and an avenue of learning and meaning-making (Tisdell 2003, p. 28).

  • Anti-Human Trafficking: Highlights programs and initiatives by government and non-government entities, including local communities, survivors of human trafficking, and grassroots movements designed to mitigate, if not end, the exacerbation of human trafficking based on any of the elements of the 4Ps (prevention, prosecution, protection, and partnership) and the 3Rs (rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration) framework. Such programs and initiatives may also include addressing the business of human trafficking, labeling and finding solutions to its push and pull factors, as well as its nature as a transnational organized crime.
  • Interfaith: Highlights meaningful conversations and dialogues amidst contentious issues and in situations of conflict, injustice, oppression, social divisions, and discrimination. This section also focuses on collective narratives of co-existence among various Living faiths or faith traditions, and the sustainability of interfaith initiatives. The section also includes concrete mechanisms and initiatives by various Living faiths in confronting issues of extremism, religious intolerance, fanaticism, and religious biases and prejudices.
  • Spirituality: Highlights the following:

*** The interrelatedness (or the absence thereof) between spirituality and faith tradition in bringing about awareness and celebrating wholeness of all living and non-living things by way of meaning-making.

*** Spirituality’s influence in addressing social problems and the resolution and transformation of large-scale conflicts, conflicts within faith communities, and interpersonal disputes in various socio-cultural contexts.

*** Dimensions of spirituality as they relate to a range of activities, including peacemaking/peacebuilding and community-rebuilding initiatives.

To provide a venue for deeper investigations and explorations by way of research studies and meaningful and effective practices that: a) address the growing global criminal enterprise of human trafficking, also known as “modern-day slavery”; b) foster co-existence among various Living faiths or faith traditions in light of cultural diversity, confronting frustrations, difficulties, challenges, and cynicism of contemporary pluralistic world; and c) honor and celebrate ways people exemplify spiritualty and its interconnectedness with faith tradition or the absence thereof in a given socio-cultural setting, as an important aspect of human experience and an avenue of learning and meaning-making.

Reference:

Tisdell, Elizabeth. 2003. Exploring Spirituality and Culture in Adult and Higher Education. San Francisco, CA: Joseey-Bass, p. 28.

Dr. Al Fuertes
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information 

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Religions is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • anti-human trafficking
  • interfaith
  • interreligious
  • spirituality
  • human trafficking
  • dialogue
  • conflict
  • co-existence
  • conflict resolution and transformation
  • unity

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

12 pages, 260 KiB  
Article
Trauma, Spirituality, and Healing: A Journey through the Lens of an Incarcerated Person
by Leo Hylton
Religions 2022, 13(3), 222; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13030222 - 05 Mar 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 5534
Abstract
This article examines the case study of Joseph, an incarcerated man in a northeastern state who experienced myriad traumas over the course of his life and attained healing through spirituality. We follow his story from his abusive childhood home to the foster care [...] Read more.
This article examines the case study of Joseph, an incarcerated man in a northeastern state who experienced myriad traumas over the course of his life and attained healing through spirituality. We follow his story from his abusive childhood home to the foster care system, where he was further traumatized through repeated forced separations. Then, through his adolescent years and his witnessing the deaths of two integral people in his life, we see Joseph’s spiritual struggles that led him into a life of violence and into an adulthood that found him quickly transitioned from the foster care system to the prison system. It is not until years into his prison sentence that we see Joseph begin attaining some semblance of spiritual clarity and grounding—and this through the providential intervention of a man of faith who himself is incarcerated. Interwoven in Joseph’s case study is a thread of extant literature pertaining to the overarching themes of this article: Trauma, Spirituality, and Healing. To honor Joseph’s faith and to most accurately represent his voice and experience, the author’s references to God are almost exclusively in relation to the Judeo–Christian faith tradition, while acknowledging the much wider application of the term “spirituality”. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-human Trafficking, Interfaith, and Spirituality)
18 pages, 1198 KiB  
Article
Combating Sex Trafficking: The Role of the Hotel—Moral and Ethical Questions
by Chu-Chuan Jeng, Edward Huang, Sarah Meo and Louise Shelley
Religions 2022, 13(2), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13020138 - 02 Feb 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 110759
Abstract
Legitimate companies are key facilitators of human trafficking. These corporate facilitators include not only websites providing advertisements for commercial sex services but also hotels and motels. Analysis of all active federal criminal sex trafficking cases in 2018 and 2019 reveals that in approximately [...] Read more.
Legitimate companies are key facilitators of human trafficking. These corporate facilitators include not only websites providing advertisements for commercial sex services but also hotels and motels. Analysis of all active federal criminal sex trafficking cases in 2018 and 2019 reveals that in approximately 80% of these cases, victims were exploited at either hotels or motels. This paper studies the prevalence of the hospitality industry in the crime of sex trafficking and the failure of this industry to address this problem until recent civil suits were filed by victims against individual hotels and chains. Drawing on the civil cases filed in federal courts by victims of human trafficking between 2015 and 2021 along the East Coast of the United States, this paper assesses the characteristics of these hotels and the conditions in the hotels that facilitated sex trafficking. The paper then explores the moral and ethical problems posed by the facilitating role of hotel owners/operators in sex trafficking either through collusion or failure to act on and/or report evidence of individual abuse. Suggestions on how to address the problem are provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-human Trafficking, Interfaith, and Spirituality)
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13 pages, 286 KiB  
Article
Of Dhammacārinī and Rematriation in Post-Genocidal Cambodia
by Napakadol Kittisenee
Religions 2021, 12(12), 1089; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12121089 - 09 Dec 2021
Viewed by 2558
Abstract
The literature over the last three decades has been trying to account for the stories of resilience by Cambodians both in their homeland and diasporas through performance and literature, visual culture, and religion to undo the legacy of displacement and traumatic experience of [...] Read more.
The literature over the last three decades has been trying to account for the stories of resilience by Cambodians both in their homeland and diasporas through performance and literature, visual culture, and religion to undo the legacy of displacement and traumatic experience of the Cambodians during 1975–1979, known as the Khmer Rouge Genocidal period. The repatriation of Khmer refugees to their homeland during 1992–1993 poses a question of to what extent the physical return could replenish the richness of people’s lives deprived by war-time atrocities. Dhammayietra (peace march; 1992–2018) originated by and centered around the spiritual leadership of late Maha Ghosananda has, being an exemplar, tackled this challenge. Yet, are there any significant moral contributions and ethical leadership from other sources? This paper therefore seeks to highlight the under-recognized stories of ‘Dhammacārinī’ (Buddhist Woman Leader) of Cambodia in the light of the spirituality that emerged in the post-conflict reconstruction. Based on my ethnographic accounts and engagement with Dhammayietra (2009–2018), archival research and biographical and dharma books published by the two dhammacārinīs of Cambodia, I argue that these Buddhist woman leaders attempt to offer the people of Cambodia ‘rematriation’, where the ethics of care, nurture, interconnectedness and healing join forces to counter the legacy of devastation and desperation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-human Trafficking, Interfaith, and Spirituality)
11 pages, 247 KiB  
Article
Spirituality through the Lens of Students in Higher Education
by Al Fuertes and Kelley Dugan
Religions 2021, 12(11), 924; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12110924 - 22 Oct 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3252
Abstract
Spirituality is an elusive concept to articulate. Not only do people define it in different ways, but all definitions somehow seem to be incomplete. In this article, eighty-eight undergraduate and graduate students from George Mason University (GMU) participated in a study to define [...] Read more.
Spirituality is an elusive concept to articulate. Not only do people define it in different ways, but all definitions somehow seem to be incomplete. In this article, eighty-eight undergraduate and graduate students from George Mason University (GMU) participated in a study to define spirituality within the context of higher education. Results of the study suggest the following theme-categories. First, spirituality is an abstract reality, which is difficult to define. Second, spirituality is a moral compass, giving direction and meaning to people; and third, spirituality and religion are not the same, but they are interrelated. Since spirituality is a fluid concept that is unique from person to person, the article recommends that institutions of higher education need to incorporate into curricula mechanisms that provide students creative expressions of learning that are experiential, critical, and reflective, including opportunities that enable students to grow and develop holistically, which includes the spiritual aspect of growth, through open spaces of conversation and dialogue, and experiential learning such as community immersion and cross-cultural exchange programs as these will help cultivate and nurture their interests and aspirations, thereby, enabling them to develop meaning and purpose in life. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-human Trafficking, Interfaith, and Spirituality)
17 pages, 296 KiB  
Article
StateChurch: Bringing Religion to Public Higher Education
by Musbah Shaheen, Matthew J. Mayhew and B. Ashley Staples
Religions 2021, 12(5), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12050336 - 11 May 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3298
Abstract
Religion undeniably impacts life in modern society in numerous ways. In the U.S., discussions about religion in public life often start at the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution as fundamental to the separation of church and state. Public higher education does not [...] Read more.
Religion undeniably impacts life in modern society in numerous ways. In the U.S., discussions about religion in public life often start at the First Amendment of the U.S. constitution as fundamental to the separation of church and state. Public higher education does not necessarily share established associations with any religion, but is not free from religious influence. Although Christian influences are undeniably present on public campuses, educators hesitate to discuss religion and spirituality due in part to a pedestrian understanding of the establishment clause and epistemologies that artificially equate secularism with intellectualism. This paper examines case studies conducted at five public U.S. institutions. Focus groups and interviews highlight what different public campuses are doing to address religious diversity, and how they are succeeding or failing to accommodate the needs of students. Findings indicate that executive leaders’ attitudes towards religious diversity on campus are essential for sustained interfaith efforts, but fell short without bottom-up buy-in. Faculty in particular served as key bottom-up leaders for interfaith motivation on campus with students often feeling most comfortable exploring different worldviews within the classroom. This study provides reasonable and responsible pathways toward helping locate religion within public education, and substantiating interfaith ideas as necessary for an informed and responsible global citizenry. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Anti-human Trafficking, Interfaith, and Spirituality)
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