How To Write A Reflective Essay On A Religious-Affiliated Institution

God calls us to serve and to do everything with love (1 Peter 4:10, 1 Corinthians 16:14). As a Student Affairs (SA) professional, my main goal is to help students discover their calling and equip them to better serve the world while integrating their faith. Smith (2004), states why it is important to serve as a mentor during a critical adult faith development stage. In The Council for the Advancement of Standards and Higher Education (CAS), CAS has incorporated faith, spirituality and religion into the standards and competencies that they advocate for individuals working as educators in the student affairs field ( Smith, 2004). In the CAS masters-level graduate program for student affairs standards (2004) the authors spoke to the essential need to incorporate spirituality.

Education is an important factor in life in order to thrive, but LGBT students face harassment in school due to their identity. According to a Human Rights report conducted in 2001, two million American students in the LGBT

Pakistan, May 2007 around 8:00 pm, I existed the local madrasa (religious school), completing the 5th daily prayer and recitation of the Quran, and proceeded to head home wearing my light blue Kameez, White Salwar, and a Kufi on my head to offer a sign of humility before God. The reason I remember that warm windy night is because that day the mullah taught me that we humans are sent to earth by almighty god so he can test our loyalty to him. Those who follow his true path will ascend to the heavens upon death, and those who disobey him and his prophets will suffer in hell for eternity. I was 8 back then and life was good. Despite the Taliban decapitating captured soldiers and letting them rot in the intersections to

America is a nation built on the foundation of freedom and equality. Today, America is one of the most religiously diverse countries in the world, but also one of the most religiously dived. Eboo Patel, author of the novel Sacred Ground, is an activist for the integration of pluralism into American culture. Throughout the novel he expresses his ideas for more interfaith programs to broaden the knowledge of the younger generation with the hope of eliminating bigotry amongst various religions. Patel’s crucial message is that many people often misjudge or jump to conclusions, in this case about religions, which they don’t know much about. College is a place to break these barriers because it is a time for self-exploration and new ideas to be formed.

Providing students to explore one’s religion or spirituality can begin to bridge the separation that exists between faith traditions in institutions. Dr. Casey mentions repeatedly that “the term religion is problematic,” and although this is true, this perspective can change. Religion is so deeply engrained in individuals and this does not have to form a type of “war zone,” but instead, it can provide us with an opportunity to learn about other citizens, rather than creating a sense fear or anxiety within us. Although we may be living in “an age of chaos today,” building understanding amongst global citizens is the prominence of religion in this

Earlier in the semester, we had the opportunity to attend the Interfaith Winston-Salem tour. In just a few hours, we got a glimpse of the incredible amount of religious diversity present in Winston-Salem. Over the past ten years, Forsyth County has become increasingly diverse as businesses flock to the triad, bringing people from all over the country and the world into one community. This population boom has changed the religious landscape of Winston-Salem. As different religions continue to come together, it becomes increasingly necessary for people to understand their neighbors in order to create a cohesive society. Therefore, we propose that the academic study of religion should be offered in the Forsyth County public school

Schott, Holland, and Mathews (2009), reveals that students who go directly from high school to college experience multiple cycles of (re)socialization. Many hate crimes are committed against college students because this is usually when college students begin their “coming out” process. Most research is done based on the attitudes of students toward their peers with an alternative choice of sexuality. Their research was based on classification in a relatively diverse college setting. Younger students, freshman and sophomores are less likely to be open to the idea of homosexuality. Students of this age group are more likely still in the process of being (re)socialized and are still dependent on what is instilled in them by their guardians prior to going to college. This attitude is one that leads to hate crimes. Older students, juniors and seniors, have a higher tolerance for the alternative lifestyle for they have become adapted to the idea of people being different (Schott, Holland, & Mathews

To help schools provide a good self-assessment on diversity Robert Shireman (2003) suggested 10 poignant questions colleges and universities need to ask when reporting their progress on diversity. The first question is to ask how the institution defines diversity and if their definition has a focus on gender, sexual orientation, religion, disability and other factors? The reason for the added focus is because, by just focusing on

From kindergarten to tenth grade, I attended local public schools in my neighborhood. A few steps down a sidewalk was my morning commute for the entirety of elementary school. I grew complacent as I entered high school, as after ten years both the social and educational offerings of public school became monotonous. A sizable challenge, full of uncertainty and potential opportunity, was what I craved. Thus, I transferred to Holy Names Academy in the fall of my junior year after my parents became accustomed to the idea. When I informed others of this decision, many were taken aback that I desired to transfer to an all-girls high school, rooted in an unfamiliar faith in order to challenge my point of view and pursue an exceptional education. Yet,

When we hear about campus diversity, we think about different ethnicities, cultures, religion, and socioeconomic status. It can also mean the existence of people with diverse opinions, political views, and academic passions. What we don’t see, is how gender imbalance has become a big part of diversity on campus when it comes to accepting males. Gender inequality has consistently tried to restrain minorities of men from achieving higher education. Having a gender imbalance limits the opportunity of male students to reach success and push forward by having scarce resources. Campus diversity is a significant part of the process during college admission when accepting students to study at their college.

Although many organizations forbid religious express, it is almost impossible to stop an employee from thinking about their religious commitments (Hick, 2003). Understanding how individuals are influenced by their religion and how that affects the work environment is vital for leaders to avoid conflict within the workplace. In higher education, practicing religious pluralism at work is essential because of the diverse groups of people that are involved in the higher education workforce.

While I find that the aforementioned theories are the ones I use most often in my work with students, I believe that Baxter-Magolda’s (1992) self-authorship theory gave me a better understanding of why Carolyn was so rash to make different assumptions about her professor, academic ability, and coursework. Carolyn was typical of many traditional first-year students in that they tend to view knowledge as certain. However, as Carolyn progresses through her college career, it will be important for me to continue to challenge her ways of knowing, similar to what I did during our advising session.

At the University of Southern California, as well as greater Los Angeles area, a larger part of the population participates in some aspect of religious congregational life, whether that be shown by attending mass at the Caruso Catholic Center or going to Sunday church service at Jefferson Church down the street. In fact, there are currently over 60 religious congregations located within the USC Defined Neighborhood Outreach Boundary, as well as many campus-oriented student organizations such as Hillel and the LDS (Mormon) Institute of Religion (“Religious Congregations Near USC”). With such availability of and access to various religious backgrounds, students are naturally exposed to something outside their own perspectives that is educationally valuable. However, the University of Southern California as an institution surpasses sole religious diversity and certainly pushes for pluralism because it is “intentional about bringing people from different backgrounds together to build positive bonds” (Patel

Since 2003, the Modesto City school district in Modesto, Calif., has embarked on a successful experiment in using the public school curriculum to foster respect and tolerance for world religions. Other public schools include cursory asides to world religions in courses such as sociology or English or in dependent elective courses devoted to the subject, but Modesto, in contrast, obligates its 9th graders to take an independent course on World Religions. Their rationale for doing so is that students learn to respect the religion of their classmates and acquire tolerance and understanding of all religions. Research shows that the school has increased students' respect for religious diversity.

During my time as an undergraduate student at the University of Dayton, I continued to develop skills and knowledge assisting me in the process of faith seeking understanding. I chose to pursue two degrees: a B.A. in religious studies and a B.S.E. in Secondary Catholic Education. The former became my love, nothing excited me like going to a religion class. Here, I learned about the methods behind theology and deepened my understanding of my religion and my faith. My education degree formed me into someone more than just a teacher. My education degree served me in more ways than just teaching in high schools because it taught me the invaluable skills of communication, planning, research, and