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Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development

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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 (5 March 2022) | Viewed by 35134

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Dr. Mona M. Abo-Zena

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Guest Editor

Department of Curriculum & Instruction, University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston, MA 02125, USA
Interests: religion and spirituality as dimensions of diversity within children, families, and communities; equity-based perspectives on development of diverse youth; immigrant-origin children and families; religiously minoritized communities from ecological and intersectional perspectives
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Meenal Rana

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Guest Editor

Child Development and Family Relationships, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA 95521, USA
Interests: ethnoreligious identity development in youth; ethnoreligious minorities; parental socialization; youth–adult partnerships in community engagement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite you to contribute to this Special Issue of Religions, titled “Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development.” The burgeoning focus on the role of religion and spirituality in the development of children and adolescents is intersecting with a heightened awareness of unjust and highly stratified social contexts threatening the positive development of all youth, particularly those with marginalized identities. Religious and spiritual influences have been described as elusive, given that they are deeply embedded in the social and cultural ecologies of family and community life, with this imperceptibility contributing to their being overlooked within developmental scholarship. This Special Issue takes an equity stance by exploring who and what religious and spiritual experiences may have been left out of scholarship, or may be included in manners that inadequately capture their nuance from ecologically grounded, intersectional, and emic perspectives. In particular, this Special Issue seeks to draw from interdisciplinary conceptual frameworks and their correspondingly diverse research methods to focus on underrepresented populations, processes, and outcomes that reflect religion and spiritual influences. While the Special Issue draws from ecological frameworks and a lifespan perspective, it centers on the (often dissonant) experiences and meaning-making around religious and spiritual experiences from childhood to young adulthood as well as how these experiences affect other developmental domains.

This Special Issue will contribute to the existing literature in multiple ways: 1. In spite of emerging scholarship with underrepresented religious groups, the field of the psychology of religion has been identified as having a disproportionate focus on Protestant Christian samples, experiences, and theology; the primary goal of this Special Issue is to center underrepresented populations, traditions, and religious or spiritual influences across traditions. 2. Although research on religion and spirituality within youth development generally focuses on adolescence and emerging adulthood given a primarily cognitive focus, this Special Issue considers a holistic (e.g., physical, social, emotional, inter/intrapersonal) lifespan perspective in order to include antecedents in early childhood and the effects of socializing agents throughout the lifespan, including caregivers and religious mentors. 3. Building on the growing recognition of stratification and oppression within social contexts, this Special Issue highlights how contexts such as racism, xenophobia, colonization, and genocide affect religious and spiritual influences and inform youth development. 4. This Issue focuses on historical and geographical influences (e.g., time and place), the movement of families and communities—voluntarily (e.g., immigration) or involuntarily (e.g., war, natural disasters)—on human development. 5. In order to model the complexity of relations and lived experiences from a phenomenological perspective, this Special Issue seeks interdisciplinary perspectives and correspondingly diverse research methods and conceptual models to understand the complex developmental processes and interplay between religion and other social identities.

Dr. Mona M. Abo-Zena
Dr. Meenal Rana
Guest Editors

Time-limited Waivers

For contributors to this Special Issue, we will waived the APC if you submit your manuscript before 31 January 2022. Please note that the free articles will still need to be peer reviewed before publication.

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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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). 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

religious and spiritual development
religion
spirituality
meaning making
youth development
intersectionality

Published Papers (11 papers)

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Research

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10 pages, 249 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Śravaṇ Kumār: Rethinking a Cultural Ideal for Indian Youth

by Vikas Baniwal and Anshu Chaudhary

Religions 2023, 14(6), 695; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14060695 - 24 May 2023

Viewed by 1663

Abstract

Myths and mythological figures serve as cultural symbols that people live by and emulate. Śravaṇ Kumār is one such mythological figure. He carried his blind parents on his shoulders and, with great hardships, tried to fulfil their wish for a pilgrimage. However, before he could complete the journey, he met a tragic end at the hands of Prince Daśrath. Due to his devotion to his parents, he is revered as an ideal youth in the Indian Hindu context. One wonders what values are conveyed about a society that has, for centuries now, idealised the tragic mythical figure of Śravaṇ Kumār? What could be the underlying fascination with the tragic story of Śravaṇ Kumār, his parents, and the guilt-ridden prince responsible for their tragic deaths and the subsequent ordeal the prince’s son Rām had to endure in accordance with a curse? This paper reinterprets this myth and examines its relevance in contemporary times. The reinterpretation of the myth is further discussed in connection with the relevant psychoanalytic identity development theories, keeping in view the adolescents in the urban metropolitan context in India. The paper concludes by discussing the significance of having relevant mythical and cultural ideals for the identity development of youth. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

16 pages, 2127 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Hira Makes a Sound: Nepali Diasporic Worldviewing through Asian American Studies Praxis during the COVID-19 Anti-Asian Hate Pandemics

by Kim Soun Ty, Shirley Suet-ling Tang, Parmita Gurung, Ammany Ty, Nia Duong and Peter Nien-chu Kiang

Religions 2023, 14(3), 422; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030422 - 20 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1463

Abstract

In this article, we offer a specific example from our programmatic research and teaching praxis during the COVID-19 anti-Asian hate pandemic period. We demonstrate how Asian American Studies community-centered knowledge coproduction and narrative generational wealth investment can address critical experiences of young learners from underrepresented, religiously-diverse populations through content that supports culturally sustaining child development and challenges disparately impactful realities of racism, misrepresentation, and systemic Western biases which undermine their health and wellbeing. Focusing on religious themes in relation to child development was not an explicit intention of our collaboratively developed storybook project titled, Hira Makes a Sound. Nevertheless, centering a women-led, intergenerational Nepali immigrant story in both our process and final product necessarily led to foregrounding religious, cultural, and spiritual dimensions of diasporic family and community life that are essential to coping and development for the fictional lead character, Hira, and her loved ones. Robust story data themes—paradoxically grounded in the ether of a shared Gurung worldview—provide generative lessons for researchers, educators, artists, and community advocates who work with or need to account for the lived experiences of young learners within religiously diverse, multi-generational immigrant family households and community ecologies. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

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23 pages, 357 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“I’ll Give Them All the Time They Need”: How LGBTQ+ Teens Build Positive Relationships with Their Active, Latter-Day Saint Parents

by Sydney A. Sorrell, Emalee J. Willis, Jane H. Bell, G. Tyler Lefevor and Samuel J. Skidmore

Religions 2023, 14(3), 348; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030348 - 06 Mar 2023

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1985

Abstract

Strong and supportive relationships with parents are key to promoting the mental health of LGBTQ+ teens. Overwhelmingly, studies have focused on ways to improve parental acceptance, largely neglecting understanding the parent–teen dyad as a unit and ignoring teens’ contributions to their relationships with their parents. To address this gap, we conducted 19 separate interviews with LGBTQ+ teens and their Latter-day Saint (LDS) parents (38 total interviews) to explore the ways that teens contributed to the development of positive relationships. Additionally, we explored teen-related factors that presented challenges to the parent–teen relationship. Thematic analyses suggested that LGBTQ+ teens engaged in several behaviors that benefitted their relationships with their LDS parents, including having authentic and meaningful conversations, fostering family connections, engaging in casual communication, being open about LGBTQ+ identity, and giving parents time and grace. Participants reported several common teen-related factors that presented challenges to the relationship, including communication and connection difficulties, challenges related to general development, and parents and teens avoiding LGBTQ+ and religious topics. Results suggest that while several of these factors may be relevant for parent–teen relationships more broadly, many were specific to LGBTQ+ teens with active, LDS parents. These findings highlight the ways that LGBTQ+ teens manage to foster positive relationships with their parents despite potential conflict between their LGBTQ+ identities and their parents’ religious beliefs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

17 pages, 310 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Death in the Family: Links between Religion, Parenting, and Family Communication about Death

by Lindsay Zajac and Chris James Boyatzis

Religions 2023, 14(2), 254; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14020254 - 14 Feb 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2117

Abstract

The present study assessed the frequency and nature of parent–child communication about death and identified predictors of such communication. The sample comprised 24 families who had recently lost a family member. Parents completed survey measures of global parenting dimensions (warmth/acceptance, psychological control, behavioral control), parental coping (religious and secular coping), parental religiosity, and parent–child communication about death. Almost 80% of parent–child dyads discussed death at least once a week, and children initiated approximately half of these conversations. Parental warmth/acceptance was positively associated with the frequency of parent–child communication about death, whereas psychological control, negative religious coping, private religious practices, and religious focus were negatively associated with the frequency of parent–child communication about death. Results from hierarchical linear regression analyses suggest that even when controlling for parental warmth/acceptance and psychological control, parents’ private religious practices and religious focus negatively predicted the frequency of parent–child communication about death. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

26 pages, 417 KiB

Open AccessArticle

“They Sit with the Discomfort, They Sit with the Pain Instead of Coming Forward”: Muslim Students’ Awareness, Attitudes, and Challenges Mobilizing Sexual Violence Education on Campus

by Alia Azmat, Yasmeen Khayr, Nadiah Mohajir, Monica Reyna and Gina Spitz

Religions 2023, 14(1), 19; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14010019 - 22 Dec 2022

Viewed by 2994

Abstract

There is limited literature on anti-sexual violence programming on college campuses for historically underrepresented groups in the United States, including, and especially, for Muslim students. This study will explore the following questions: (a) What is Muslim students’ awareness of sexual violence on college campuses? (b) What are Muslim students’ attitudes towards sexual violence?, and (c) What challenges do Muslim survivors and allies of sexual violence face on college campuses? A mixed methods analysis of quantitative (n = 91) and qualitative data (n = 8) was utilized to understand the impact of anti-sexual violence advocacy programming on college campuses. Results demonstrate that Muslim women reported knowing more survivors of sexual assault than Muslim men. Women also reported significantly higher levels of disagreement with victim-blaming statements compared to men. Qualitative interviews with eight student leaders demonstrated challenges to sexual assault programming on campus, include Islamophobia, power struggles between student groups, denial that sexual violence is a problem, and a lack of engagement from men. Results from this study highlight several key findings including (1) rape culture attitudes vary significantly between Muslim men and Muslim women, (2) barriers to facilitating sexual violence programming include several systems of oppression, and (3) the urgent need to provide nuanced programming to support minoritized youth communities on college campuses. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

21 pages, 356 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Cultural Factors Influencing Mental Health Stigma: Perceptions of Mental Illness (POMI) in Pakistani Emerging Adults

by Salman Shaheen Ahmad and Stephen W. Koncsol

Religions 2022, 13(5), 401; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13050401 - 28 Apr 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 8561

Abstract

Pakistan has a fast-growing, young, and highly religious population. Mental health literacy and care in Pakistan do not meet the population’s needs, and mental health stigma (MHS) is cited as the cause. Explanations for MHS across cultures include collectivism, and sociocultural-religious/spiritual beliefs and values surrounding mental illness and those who experience it. MHS interventions and campaigns that aim to improve help-seeking behaviors require insight into the emic perspectives of each target population. Although these perspectives have been elusive for Pakistanis, they are more available today due to growing interest in studying and improving Pakistani mental health. This cross-sectional study of 92 Pakistani emerging adults explored whether collectivism was associated with stigmatizing attitudes toward mental illness. This study also piloted the Perceptions of Mental Illness (POMI) questionnaire, a 44-item true/false survey customized to the Pakistani context, to assess how mental health knowledge, perceptions, exposure, and help-seeking preferences related to stigmatizing attitudes. Results indicated that the POMI provided unique insights into Pakistani beliefs and attitudes that relate to both stigmatizing attitudes and collectivism. With further development, the POMI may be used to guide the design of mental health awareness programs in Pakistan, ultimately helping to reduce MHS and increase help seeking when needed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

26 pages, 368 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Agentic and Receptive Hope: Understanding Hope in the Context of Religiousness and Spirituality through the Narratives of Salvadoran Youth

by Jennifer Medina Vaughn, Pamela Ebstyne King, Susan Mangan, Sean Noe, Samuel Hay, Bridget O’Neil, Jonathan M. Tirrell, Elizabeth M. Dowling, Guillermo Alfredo Iraheta Majano and Alistair Thomas Rigg Sim

Religions 2022, 13(4), 376; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040376 - 18 Apr 2022

Viewed by 2677

Abstract

Hope contributes to positive development in adolescents, and religious and spiritual contexts may be particularly important for developing and supporting hope. However, extant literature on hope, religion, and spirituality neglects their synergistic relation, leaving questions about how they work together to support development. In this study, we explore how religiousness and spirituality (R/S) inform hope by identifying unique synergies that might be particularly useful in difficult contexts. Multilevel qualitative content analyses of interviews conducted with 18 thriving Salvadoran adolescents (50% female, M_age = 16.39 years, SD = 1.83) involved in a faith-based program provided evidence that the ideological and relational resources associated with R/S informed these adolescents’ agentic and receptive hopes. Agentic hopes, identified through expressed hopeful future expectations, revealed that adolescents held beyond-the-self hopes focused on benefiting three distinct targets: God, community, and family. Youth also described “sanctified hopes”, which were hopes focused on fulfilling God’s purposes directly and indirectly. Analyses of receptive hopes, which consider how hope is shaped and empowered by context, revealed that for these youth, hope was experienced in seven key contexts: self, caring adult relationships, family, God, youth development sponsor, social activities, and peers. Implications for fostering hope in R/S contexts within low-to-middle-income countries are discussed. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

13 pages, 240 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Kids Reading Tanakh: The Child as Interpreter

by Ziva Hassenfeld

Religions 2022, 13(4), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13040355 - 13 Apr 2022

Viewed by 1444

Abstract

This essay examines two fourth-grade students’ task-based read-aloud interviews on the biblical text of Numbers 13. Taking up the New London Group’s call for a pedagogy of multiliteracies this article examines how educators and adults might sensitize themselves to the interpretive identities children bring to their reading of biblical texts. This work is intricately tied to child development, as we move religious education from a deficit model and perspective towards the child to a more welcoming asset model and perspective. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

14 pages, 1288 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Latinx Emerging Adults’ Religious Identity, Ethnic Identity, and Psychological Well-Being

by Isabella Nicole Schiro, Carolyn McNamara Barry, Mary Jo Coiro and Emalee J. W. Quickel

Religions 2021, 12(12), 1073; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel12121073 - 03 Dec 2021

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2758

Abstract

The current study examined associations among religious and ethnic identity exploration and commitment, and psychological well-being (PWB) among 683 Latinx emerging adults. A subset of data collected in the Multi-Site University Study of Identity and Culture was analyzed, focusing on three measures: (a) Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure (MEIM), (b) Religious Identity Measure (adapted from MEIM), and (c) Scales of Psychological Well-Being–Short Form. Correlations indicated that PWB was positively related to religious and ethnic identity commitment, not exploration. Regression analyses indicated that commitment to religious or ethnic identity were positively associated with PWB, while exploration of religious or ethnic identity were not associated with PWB. In addition, religious identity exploration moderated the relation between ethnic identity exploration and commitment and PWB. These findings have implications for efforts to support the development of ethnic and religious identity among Latinx emerging adults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

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Review

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28 pages, 343 KiB

Open AccessReview

A Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Audit of the American Families of Faith Project: Exploring Lifespan Spiritual Development in Religiously and Racially Diverse Families

by David C. Dollahite, Justin J. Hendricks and Loren D. Marks

Religions 2023, 14(3), 388; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030388 - 14 Mar 2023

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1730

Abstract

Social science and religious studies scholars should endeavor to broaden theories, methods, and samples to be more inclusive. Therefore, we have conducted an “equity audit” of the American Families of Faith (AFF) project. We evaluated the diversity, equity, and inclusion of the AFF project’s (a) research team, (b) products, and (c) samples. We then discuss the reasoning behind the decisions that resulted in the existing strengths and limitations of the project, the fruits of this and previous evaluations (including a presentation of some narrative accounts from parents and youths across several religious-ethnic communities across the US), opportunities for growth, and future directions for the AFF project and conclude with some thoughts on what other researchers might gain from this audit. Previous reviews have found a lack of diversity among scholars and samples in the field of psychology. Much needs to be done to create truly representative science. We subsequently conducted a diversity, equity, and inclusion audit. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

Other

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21 pages, 765 KiB

Open AccessPerspective

Perspectives on Lifespan Religious and Spiritual Development from Scholars across the Lifespan

by Megan Gale, Justin J. Hendricks, David C. Dollahite and Loren D. Marks

Religions 2023, 14(3), 362; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel14030362 - 09 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 5107

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to share our perspectives on the key influences of lifespan religious and spiritual development as scholars from across the lifespan (i.e., the four authors are from different generations, including Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z). Our perspectives are heavily influenced by our combined 60+ years of research experience in examining the connections between religion and family life. Our discussion is organized around Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological framework and the process-person-context-time model. Within this framework, the key factors we discuss that influence religious/spiritual development include (a) process (i.e., person-religion mismatch and family processes), (b) person (i.e., age, gender/sexual orientation, mental health, personal agency, and experience), (c) context (i.e., home environment, culture, and community), and (d) time (i.e., historical events and the duration of proximal processes). Where possible, we highlight underrepresented religious and ethnic groups. The key domains that we discuss that are influenced by religious/spiritual development include individual and relational outcomes. Finally, we suggest meaningful directions for future research. Given the significant contemporary dynamism in spiritual and religious identity and involvement, in this article, we discuss research and theory that can inform and assist scholars, religious leaders, parents, as well as youth and emerging adults. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Focusing on the Elusive: Centering on Religious and Spiritual Influences within Contexts of Child and Young Adulthood Development)

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