www.spirituality.ucla.edu is a web site I will be setting my eyes on. It is part of UCLA and they conduct research on the spirituality of college students in USA.
The missus alerted me to one of their current research findings on the spiritual life of college students, mainly entering freshmen. You can read the details here. This study surveyed 112,232 entering first-year students from 236 diverse colleges and universities. It hopes to track the spiritual development of these students as they go through courses.
I like to draw their findings on students who identified themselves to be Lutheran. Here is what the reports says...
Lutherans also receive below average scores on four
measures: Religious Skepticism, Religious Struggle,
Spiritual Quest, and Ethic of Caring (their average
scores on these last two measures are the lowest of
all groups).
* Low on Religious Skepticism - this means they are less skeptical about the truthfulness of religion or less skeptical about their faith. Well done.
* Low on Religious Struggle - this means they rank low when it comes to, say crisis of faith, they are stable. Well done.
* Low on Spiritual Quest - This means they are not searching anymore, perhaps they found the answer, they are settled. Well done.
* Low on Ethic of Caring - This means they careless. They should get an F - i.e. Fail on this one.
The Ethic of Caring stands for the commitment to values such as helping others in difficulty, reducing pain and suffering in the world, and making the world a better place.
You know there is another way of reading the good results of the first 3 categories. Perhaps they scored low there because in the first place, they have been indifferent.
When I read the last comment of that quote, I am reminded of a t-shirt print ..."Low on Sanctification". If that means I do not use good works to gain merit, I am happy to wear such a t-shirt. But if it means, what this score means, I will hide it under my jacket and not parade it to the world. It will be one of those left in the closet.
To whom much is given, much is required.
12 comments:
Possible, though, that they just weren't keeping track (the Lutherans, I mean) and so were caring without caring to remember. "Lord, when did we see you hungry?" The old not letting the one hand know what the other is up to that our Lord commends. A possibility. It may be exactly as you read it; but it may be otherwise. FWIW.
Pr. Will,
Thanks for that other angle.Right on too.
I am just throwing out the comment, and remember that the survey was a survey, i.e. they were filling out answers to questions. It does not mean what they answered is what they are actually doing in practice. It is more of an attitude towards such subjects, I will try and dig in some more on what type of questions were given to them.
The first 3 categories gives us some good comfort that the Lutherkids are more settled, more stable and more satisfied with their faith. The survey also showed that they have a healthy well being. Those who scored high on skepticism have a tendency to use alcohol or substances, perhaps to numb the struggle etc.
LPC
I find the last result amazing!But then again we are talking about first-world youngsters. Maybe they simply do not have the life experience yet to fully appreciate the applications of the social gospel.
D.P.
Same thing here. I said "what duh"? No caring for the poor the oppressed?
What was that business about loving our neighbor? Mind you only in Lutherland do you hear a good emphasis on it, I certainly was not bombarded by such when I was in charismania.
But then again, we don't really love our neighbor truly anyway... so I guess, we might as well live up to it, eyh?
LPC
Thanks for the link, LP.
JK
JK,
No worries bro. I had not looked at the findings on the Baptist kids but it is there.
LPC
Dear Big Bro. Lito,
When are you and your Missus coming to Kuala Lumpur? ;-) would love to see you face to face!
Bro. J,
Lord willing next year bro, when she gets consulted again by a Japanes Kindergarten school; on the way back we hope to drop by KL.
Hey we know your uni, the missus gave a seminar at the Uni of Malaya. I was there and met some lovely people, of course I was just an extra. I do not know much about her research on racism, equality, colonialism and those substructuralist philosophy, they sound voodoo to me (LOL).
You should come down to my turf and park with us. We will show you around.
LPC
Sounds like we are going to meet up someday, Big Bro! :-) Can't wait! So good to know that Mrs. Cruz is "connected" to UM!
I'll see what I can do about a trip to Australia. But heading that way will probably take some time though. In the meantime, am relishing the idea of trying Mrs. Cruz's cooking, Filipino-style!
Wonderful bro.
I will have you try her "flaked adobo", one of Ricky Martin's (the singer) favorite Pinoy (Filipino) dishes.
But you will feel at home, last week she cooked "loh mee" noodles. It must have been named after your grandpa huh? (LOL)
LPC
Yes, I know, Big Bro., I know ... but between you and me as Southeast Asians, mee is heavily soaked in boric acid to preserve its 'durability'. I try not to eat much mee if I can, even mee is no doubt a popular fare here. I am a bit health conscious and like the Filipinos, I love using coconut oil! ;-)
A.S.
Reminded me now how useful that oil happens to be.
You can use it for massage, drink it as an anti-oxidant and use it for your hair.
LPC
Post a Comment