Spirituality is a word that when mentioned it makes one think of people meditating in the mountains or we assume it has to be religiously connected experience. Spirituality is a term that causes many visions in peoples minds and so people think differently about it. Spirituality is not necessarily affiliated with religion; it can be an experience that one has that creates some kind of special feeling. It can be viewed as a journey one takes to self-actualise, a journey to find oneself and to understand who you are. Some may see it as connecting to a higher being / power. ‘Spirituality is fundamental to human nature and infuses other aspects. …. [The] spiritual aspect impels us to give meaning and purpose to our bodies and biological functions, our thoughts and feelings, and our relationships with other people, and the rest of the universe.’ Spirituality can offer many benefits to people’s lives. It can be both physically and emotionally good for you. For example yoga, yoga comes from a religious background and is a religious practice but people gain physical and spiritual benefits from it. In youth work theory such as Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs model. Self actualization could be seen as the part where the characteristics of spirituality fit into. Being able to have a sense of reality and being aware of experiences and situations can be viewed as spiritual. The advantage of faith based approaches is that they can use religion and faith experiences to create spiritual development. Young people who attend a faith based youth club could be participating in religious practices that create spiritual feelings., and youth workers can help the young people go more deeper into these experiences and create even more learning. In secular youth work for example because of changing policies spiritual development is not high on the agenda and therefore youth workers find it hard to look into spirituality. Youth workers have other concerns e.g. meeting the ECM outcomes and meeting the local authority youth work targets.
One disadvantage that I feel faith based youth work has is that it is limited to working with young people from only one faith group e.g. If you have a Christian youth club then the Christian beliefs do not apply to young people from a Muslim background. Although faith groups promote inclusion and diversity and welcome young people from other faiths, in reality from my experience of visiting faith groups is that only young people from that faith who attend. It can be argued that faith groups work with young people from just a youth work principle however if a youth club is named after a religion then it automatically is calling young people from that faith and so young people from other faiths when seeing or hearing of a Christian or Muslim youth club may not want to come. Yes faith groups can work with other people from other faiths but if were talking about religious spirituality or religious work then them people will not understand and grasp the full benefits of the work. Faith based youth work can work with young people from either another faith or no faith at all but if not done correctly it might feel to the young person that he or she is trying to be converted to that faith. Faith based groups do tend to try and guide people to the organizations aim of passing on the faiths core values and practices to the new generation. As S.Banks (pg 110) says ‘this urgency may lead to poor practice where a desire to ‘convert’ results in the exploitation of the religious vulnerability of young people’.
A challenge in faith based youth work is that if a youth worker is in a faith based setting, he or she may use their religious beliefs to solve the young persons issues/problems rather than the young person to address their problems themselves. For example a young person has got a problem, the youth worker because of his or her faith uses their beliefs to try and solve the problem rather than the young person be given options or choices on how to solve them themselves. In this case the young person does not get empowered, youth workers in these kinds of situations need to think about how they work. One good question that provokes thought is how do youth workers deal with young peoples issues that contradict there faith? This question is serious, what happens when a young girl wants an abortion and comes and asks help. As a youth worker myself I have found it difficult to answer this question. My belief side is saying No while my professional side is saying if the young person wants to have an abortion that is their choice. However their can be poor practice in youth work where the youth worker enforces a solution to a problem and this is not youth work. ‘if an informal education process is adopted, it is appropriate for youth workers to share their own faith when asked provided the workers make it clear that the belief is held personally and is one of many options which is available to the young people. (S.Banks pg 118). This statement is a challenge for youth workers especially those who work in a faith based setting as faith is central to the youth work and this in turn causes a ethical dilemma for the worker.
One strength that I feel faith based youth work has is that it can connect people to who they are and what they are about. What I mean is that people can connect to the culture or identity that they are from. For example if a Muslim young person comes to a Muslim youth club, then he or she may be able to use the time and the Muslim moments (e.g. Muslim holidays, Muslim religious days, Muslim funerals) to connect to themselves and find their identity. We know from psychological theories that adolescence is a time where young people are searching for their roles in society and searching for an identity. A faith based setting can seek to preserve who they are and keep their roots and identity. Barry Chazan comments on Jewish education, he believes Jewish education maintains Jewishness - ‘Informal Jewish education is inherently about affecting the lifestyle and identity of Jews. All forms of informal Jewish education are ultimately education for Jewish character or lifestyle. In today’s society, Muslims are facing tough times because of their identity. Muslim youth work can support these young people to overcome their issues and problems. When these young people find it hard to connect to mainstream services Muslim youth clubs could be the place where they are given opportunities to develop and have a sense of self worth, and so I feel religion can be an influential feature on young peoples identity.
People could see religion as enforcing right from wrong; my belief is that if it was left to humanity to make up what is right and wrong then I pray that in the future humans do not see killing people as fun. If people’s mentality and way of thinking can change so can right and wrong. Religion I feel does enforce right and wrong but it is for the best. Faith can bring people together, it has positive effects on people’s lives, and it can make people more aware of what is good and what is bad. Faith based work also can benefit the wider community. There was once and still is a lot of tension between Muslim and Sikh young people in Smethwick. After many violent incidents, both communities needed to work on this problem. Having made use of the separate youth clubs (Muslim/Sikh youth club) the workers set up workshops around each other’s faiths to make people understand each other’s religion. Not only did it calm things down, people felt more educated in both the religious histories and how communities lived peacefully in India post British colonial times. From the example we learn that faith based work can have a community impact, this is community cohesion. If faith based work is the only way young people will participate then I think it is a good way of working. Everyone needs to be given opportunities to participate regardless of who they are and where they come from. ‘Participation creates a sense of community which gives meaning to human existence and fosters social integration’ James Midgley (1986 pg 3). A young person can feel part of a community by participating, he or she can feel they are part of a close community and in this sense; a person can gain confidence in his or her life. It helps people interact with each other and it forms close bonds with each other. People can feel they are important people and that what they think and feels matters a lot to other people and the community they are in.
From studying the module on religious education, I have thought about and understood the strengths and weakness, the advantages and disadvantages, pros and cons of faith based youth work. Different people have different views and I am the view that although faith based work can be seen to have disadvantages the advantages stand out more. Faith based work especially for the Muslim young person is needed because it can meet the needs of the Muslims. Youth workers should have the same values and principles as they would if they worked in a normal setting. You can follow a faith and work as a youth worker but there always will be ethical dilemmas. Faith based youth work is youth work but there is extra added ingredient and that is faith. The goal of both is the same, which is empowerment.
Bibliography
- BANKS, S. 1999. Ethical Issues In Youth Work. Published By Routledge
- Class Handout. The Philosophy of informal Jewish education. 04/12/08
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- MIDGLEY. J. 1986. Community Participation, Social Development And The State. Published In The USA By Methuen & Co. New York
