ERIC Number: ED641951
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2021
Pages: 188
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-4927-8486-7
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Locating Interfaith: An Ecological Analysis of Interfaith Efforts at Catholic Institutions
Zachary J. Hooten
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, The Ohio State University
The purpose of this study was to understand how faculty and staff at Catholic institutions navigated interfaith in light of the Catholic mission. It advances our understanding of the efforts of faculty and staff toward the integration of interfaith into their work. The theoretical framework of ecological systems theory was used to contextualize and analyze the data from multiple environmental perspectives related to culture, programming, and individual integration of interfaith. This study employed qualitative content analysis (Krippendorff, 2019) and "a priori" structural coding (Saldana, 2016) to explore a secondary data set of interview transcripts from faculty and staff within four Catholic colleges and universities originally collected as part of the qualitative case study component of the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey. The four key findings of this study are: (1) faculty and staff at Catholic institutions rely on Catholic Church authority (i.e., documents from Vatican II) to justify interfaith engagement on campus, (2) faculty and staff organizationally locate responsibility for interfaith externally, (3) faculty and staff integrate interfaith work into their individual ministry in a cyclical manner, and (4) time plays an important role in creating environments conducive to interfaith engagement. These findings are relevant to research because they advance the use of ecological systems theory into the exploration of interfaith on Catholic campus environments. Furthermore, the findings revealed that individual programmatic efforts, i.e., interfaith dialogue, cannot be utilized in isolation to promote pluralism. Rather, a demonstration and acknowledgement of the successes and challenges related to interfaith across multiple environments should be embraced on campus. The findings of this study provide context and implications for faculty, staff, and leaders on Catholic campuses who wish to develop intentionally inclusive climates toward worldview minority students, educate Catholic students on the necessity of interfaith work, and combat politically and socially divisive environments. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Catholic Schools, Faculty, Professional Personnel, Intergroup Relations, Religion, Colleges, Teacher Attitudes, Attitudes, Inclusion
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A