Education Commons^™

Covid, Church, & Cuts: A Single Narrative Case Study Of Pandemic Impacts On A Bi-Vocational Pastor & Barber, A. D. Hooker, Camille S. Talbert

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This narrative case study provides an in-depth look into the impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic from the perspective of an assistant pastor with a small African American church in an urban city. His story indicates that the pandemic had both positive and negative effects on the pastor’s ability to carry out his role of pastoral care and ministry. Some positives were the results of new technological adaptations that helped to improve members’ consistency in attending and participating in weekly services. Some negative effects imposed by COVID-19 was the revelation of imbalanced relationships and a lack of trust in God. The …

Curriculum As Theology: A Framework For Analyzing Curriculum As Theological Text, Russell Miller

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This article seeks to establish a framework that contemplates curriculum as theological text by exploring the works of Neil Postman, W.F. Pinar, and C.S. Lewis in relation to past and present research and commentary. The paper investigates a range of concepts related to theology and curriculum including culture and religion, ethics, and morality. The author argues that curriculum is intrinsically a theological endeavor due to the nature of humanity and the interaction between learning and spiritual development.

Finding Golden Threads Of Commonality: An Interfaith Dialogue Sharing Experiences During Troubled Times, Vicki G. Mokuria, Diana Wandix-White, Aakash Chowkase, Vicki Mokuria

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This interfaith dialogue conducted between three educator/scholars offers insights into how they navigated through the troubled times of COVID 19 and the summer of racial uprisings in 2020. The collaborative auto-ethnography presented in this paper helps us gain insights into how people of very different faiths, a Buddhist, Christian, and Hindu, found points of convergence as they openly discussed their challenges during those troubled times in our world.

Peace In The Middle Of The Storm, Ronald Washignton Dr, Sandra L. Guzman-Foster Ph.D.

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The march towards biblical Revelation and restoration began at Calvary and continues today. A comforter and Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (BIBLE) are given to sustain believers in these times. As educators and more so as followers of Jesus the Christ, there are certain truths we hold. Among them is that we are just passing through this life. In our traversing of this life, we accept the command to spread the good news, utilize our gifts, and do all unto the glory of God. So as educators, the main question throughout the COVID pandemic, with political and social unrest in …

The Tipping Point: A Faith Perspective, Osaro Airen, Lakia M. Scott, Gwendolyn C. Webb, Norvella P. Carter, Patricia Larke, General C. Johnson

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The Journal of Faith Education, and Community’s (JFEC) Special Issue entitled, "The Tipping Point: A Faith Perspective," features articles written from a first-person point of view and faith perspective. The articles focus on the authors’ feelings, emotions, and/or experiences surrounding critical and impactful diversity-related events (i.e. the horrific death of George Floyd, protests for equity and the eradication of hate, etc.).

The Work Is Within: My Buddhist Faith As I Reckon With Police Shootings & Racial Unrest, Vicki Mokuria

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Based on the author’s life story in which her husband was shot and killed by police officers in front of her and their two young children, she provides a first-person narrative of her experience, linking the ways her Buddhist faith and practice have sustained her over the years. She recounts snippets of her privileged childhood growing up Jewish in the South before meeting and marrying her Ethiopian husband and beginning a family with him, along with beginning their Buddhist practice. Specific aspects of Buddhist philosophy are incorporated in this piece to provide insights into a Buddhist lens on our current …

Close Encounters: Mass Incarceration Tactics, Kevin L. Jones

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

As a Black man living in America, my Christian faith walk began at an early age. Growing up in a suburban environment, I had several encounters with law enforcement that shaped my belief system. These encounters were and still are a stark reminder that Black boys and men are under attack. Policing negatively impacts Black boys and men when compared to other races of people. I realized that I was in their cross hairs and I was almost consumed by the criminal justice system on many occasions. Through the lens of Critical Race Theory, this work focused on the centrality …

Melding Critical Literacy And Christianity: A Three-Layered Response To The Murder Of George Floyd, Elena M. Venegas

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

In this critical autoethnography, I share my three-layered response to the murder of George Floyd at the hands of the Minneapolis Police Department in May of 2020. This three-layered response stems from my situated identities (Gee, 1999) as a mother, Christian, and academic. I was not only appalled by the dehumanization of George Floyd by public servants but also by the responses of self-professed Christians to his murder as well as the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests. Such responses, I argue, are rooted in Christian nationalism (Davis & Perry, 2020) and the White supremacy that has long plagued the American …

Teaching Our Black Children To Know Joy, Victoria Carter Jones

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

As a mother of two young Black children, we were faced with a new challenge, brought on by isolation of the pandemic, and the brutality of White supremacy. My daughter (Olivia) was now asking tough questions. Sickness she understood. Even at her age, she knew the importance of hand washing. But racism is a sickness we were not yet prepared to teach her. The purpose of this story is to share my experiences as a mother of a 4-year-old daughter, and how I taught her to have joy, through 1) memorized scripture, 2) exhibiting joy and 3) through prayer, even …

An Open Letter To My White Christian Friend, Norvella Carter

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Abstract

As human beings, our world revolves around relationships. As Christians, we are charged to have positive relationships that can grow into friendships. The importance of friendships is infused throughout scripture, because they allow us to bring others to Christ, encourage and uplift the soul and bear each other’s burdens. Without deep discussions, relationships cannot grow. As an African American, when I consider my friendships, I am finding an emotional need to share my feelings more deeply with White friends, who sincerely want to know the truth about my views on important social ills, particularly racism. Given the state of …

I Can't Breathe: But The Holy Spirit Can, As I Advocate For African American Boys And Men, Gwendolyn C. Webb

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

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Special Education Services In Private Faith-Based And Nonsectarian Elementary Schools, Craig W. Bartholio

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The purpose of this study was to investigate the existence of specialized support and services designed for students with disabilities in faith-based and nonsectarian elementary schools (n=57). An questionnaire was used to explore if there is a difference in how different faith tradition (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish) and nonsectarian affiliated elementary schools addressed the needs of enrolled students with identified disabilities. From 2006 to 2015, enrollment of students with a disability in a private school setting has increased from 1.0% to 1.4%. Faith-based schools overwhelmingly indicated a greater presence of special education type services: use of instructional aides, pullout …

Megachurches And Economic Development: Pastoral Interpretations Of Internal And External Expectations On Church Behavior, Ashley E. English

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

What sorts of economic development activities do megachurches engage in, and what rationale do leaders give for this behavior? This study provides theoretical guidance for answering this research question through an investigation of megachurches’ extra-role behaviors (ERB) in economic development activities. ERB is a “behavior that attempts to benefit the organization and that goes beyond existing role expectations” (Organ, Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 2006, p. 33). This field study includes an online survey completed by 42 megachurch senior or executive pastors in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown Metropolitan Statistical Areas and 23 follow-up telephone interviews. The researcher used these data …

How Hugging Mom Teaches Me The Meaning Of Love And Perhaps Beyond, Ethan Trinh

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Hugging mom is unconventional in a traditional Vietnamese family. I write this piece to articulate my thoughts to describe different ways to look at the meanings of hugging. During my writing process, I use a walking meditation as a Buddhist practice to calm my mind so that I can see my true self and a clearer picture of different layers of the act of hugging. I believe hegemonic gender roles and patriarchy happen everywhere in the world, not particularly in Vietnam. I do not plan to devalue my home country’s cultural values in this paper. This is not the purpose …

Spirituality, Religion, And Pursuing Purpose: Connecting African American Males’ Educational Pursuits To A Higher Power, Brian L. English Phd

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

As Black men continually face challenges while seeking to graduate from college, researchers and educational leaders have continuously sought ways to understand and remedy the issues. Spirituality and religion have been found to have positive influences on Black students’ success in college. This study was designed to explore the role of spirituality and religion in the lives of Black men at a large research-oriented institution in Texas. The article examines how spirituality and religion among Black undergraduate men influenced their ability to persist. Interviews were conducted with 10 Black undergraduate men who identified as being spiritual and/or religious. The findings …

Identity Doesn't Form In A Vacuum: Deconstructing The Role Of Hegemony In The Identity Formation Of Religiously Diverse People, Randa Elbih

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

In a post-9/11 world, Muslims and Muslim-looking individuals are perceived as a homogenous group characterized as violent, oppressive, and barbaric. Conflating Islam with negative traits both corroborates and instigates the dominant hegemonic forces, which serve as the filter through which and the context within which identities are formed. In order to destabilize these hegemonic beliefs, this paper builds upon James Paul Gee’s (2001) identity theory, specifically what he terms “new capitalism.” This review finds Gee’s identity theory particularly salient in the current political moment in which Muslims and Muslim-looking individuals feel rejected and Othered in the United States. However, some …

Amazing Grace, How Sweet The Sound: A Journey In Four Verses, Anita L. Bright

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Although for some people, faith or membership in a faith community is a life-long, unwavering endeavor, for others, such as this author, initial belief systems can crack and crumble into dust, leaving behind complicated memories that are overlaid with what feel like clearer and more real, contemporary understandings, although at times threaded with sorrow at loss of affiliation (Smith, 2011). This shift from believer to non-believer is nuanced and disquieting, and in many settings, may leave the new non-believer in a dangerous or vulnerable position (Berger, 2013) as an apostate. Informed by an unintentional, un-sought-after outsider, non-believer status, this autoethnographic …

Breaking Stone Tablets, Rejecting Binaries: A Culturally Affirming Approach To Embracing Differentiated Aspects Of Identity, James A. Gambrell

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Many individuals daily navigate among seemingly contradicting aspects of self, creating a sense of both inclusion and “othering” simultaneously (Johnson-Bailey, 2012). The purpose of this paper is to tease out the complexities I experienced in the past, when I was both a religious educator in an exclusively Latter-day Saint (LDS) work environment, and a social justice-oriented graduate student. Next, I discuss why binary thinking is often harmful for students. Lastly, I recount a biblical metaphor to describe how “right” vs. “wrong” binary thinking often results in teacher saviorism and call on educators to embrace social pluralism. Throughout this paper, I …

Breaking The Taboo: What My Mother’S Recent Suicide Might Teach Us In Critical Social Justice And Faith Work, And Perhaps Beyond, Gail Sue Kasun

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

Suicide is taboo, as is sexual abuse. In this reflective essay, I consider my mother’s final choice, to end her life, inviting the reader to sit with me, to recognize the self in the other. I discuss my mother’s narcissism, her suicide, and the sexual abuse she endured as a child—all taboo. These taboo subjects naturally had massive impacts on my life, and I demonstrate fissures and impacts in this re-storying, as I call it, as I have begun to reframe my life in a post-suicide lens. I invite the reader to consider how breaking the taboo might create a …

Negotiating The Baptist Influence In East Texas: Examining ‘Multiple Reflections’ To Disrupt The Local Sociopolitical Stage, Brandon L. Fox

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The purpose of this paper is to examine multiple reflections (Ronai, 1995) of a White, southern male navigating through and of the influence of the Missionary Baptist church in rural East Texas. While East Texas continues to engage in social struggle through economics and identity politics, the author desires to examine the role of the Missionary Baptist church in maintaining certain power structures and borders (Anzaldúa, 2012). The author critically reflects on intersections of culture, religion, and power to engage in naming (Freire, 1970) covert means that influence the sociopolitical complex (Conquergood, 2002). Themes across autoethnographic reflections are identified and …

Religion In Schools? The Importance Of Recognizing The Impact Of Religious Experiences, Kimberly K. Ilosvay Edd

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

The school environment is a place of forced contact between diverse peoples. It is the perfect environment to nurture the diverse identities present. The influences on identity (i.e., language, ethnicity, religion, etc.) shape how students perceive information and learn. Some educators use these influences to help them instruct students. However, often overlooked is the influence of religious practices on language use and behavior in classrooms. This paper argues that the significance of understanding the religious practices of students is equally as important for planning instruction as knowing any other aspect of their culture, (i.e., the students’ native language(s)). Framed by …

The Shifting Wholeness Of Our Beings: Intersections Of Faith In Education: An Introduction, Anita L. Bright

The Journal of Faith, Education, and Community

This is the introduction to a special edition of the Journal of Faith, Education, and Community which examines the ways membership in faith communities and spiritual belief systems play into our professional practices as educators and illuminates how the shifting wholeness of our beings can intersect with our work.