CONFLICT RESOLUTION Project DAVIS 5

CONFLICT_RESOLUTION_PROJECt_DAVIS 5

EDU 746-D01:

Conflict Resolution Project

Deborah Davis

Liberty University

The Plan

This litany of quotations is the basis of the final project. While it does not indicate the synthesis of the project itself, it provides a guideline to a wealth of information about conflict concerning the issue of Christianity in the secular education workplace. The project itself will reflect research of the issue, a summary of the conflict itself, and a plan for addressing the issue at hand.

I. The Issue Introduced

a. In the world of education, participants have a multitude of roles. However, all these professional roles do not usurp the role of simply being the person the educator is. With emphasis on diversity in the workplace, and sensitivity to others, there has been a trend to be more tolerant of minority religiosity – paganism, Wiccan, Islam, and others are to be recognized and tolerated. What, one may ask, of Christianity. For those who are practicing Christians in the public school workplace, the tolerance toward practicing their faith has been dissolving, even denigrated – a far cry from the days when attendance at a Church was mandatory for teaching contracts.

b. This discord creates conflict in the workplace, and within the individual, as Christian warriors address the very real spiritual battle taking place every day in our schools.

II. Part One -- “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world” (John 17:14, KJV). – How are school requirements defined, and where do Christians fit? – [RESEARCH THE ISSUE]

a. The purpose of an accredited school is: “(1) establish learning standards for a “no- frills” curriculum, (2) administer assessments to measure their achievement, and (3) impose sanctions if the standards were not met” (Murray, 2012, p. 53)

b. “It seems as though the disenchanting aspects of the milieu in which new students develop their new social identities effectively override whatever affirmative discourses of devotion, honour, praise, and joy they may have imported when they were admitted” (Lathangue, 2012, p. 69).

c. “Peer prayer groups were a common element of the community from which participants were drawn, so the motivation of participants could have varied” (Rasar, Garzon, Volk, and O’Hare, 2013, p. 279)

d. “The survival of liberalism depends upon the bracketing of comprehensive beliefs whenever we step into the public sphere” (Holden, 2009, p. 576).

e. “In today’s academy, three overarching faiths or ‘comprehensive beliefs’ coexist in uneasy union, so deeply embedded that their authority has become hegemonic” (Holden, 2009, p. 579).

f. “The amendment was merely intended to ensure the freedom of the states to order the relationship between faith and government” (Holden, 2009, 578).

g. “There is an important difference between restrictions on religious discrimination and restrictions on sexual orientation discrimination” (Affolter, 2013, p. 236).

h. “Theoretical conformity and passive assent to established routines which are inevitably expressions of disapproval” (Lathangue, 2012, p. 67).

i. “In order to fully engage students in the appreciation of religious difference, one needs to apply a pedagogy of mindful contemplation” (Polinska, 2011, p. 160)

III. Part two -- “In the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33, KJV). – What challenges to students and faculty face when faith comes into conflict with their collegiate presence? – [SUMMARIZE THE PROBLEM]

a. “Interpersonal conflicts by their very nature make up one of the most difficult types of human relationships with which to deal” (Stevens, Williamson, and Tiger, 2012, p. 130).

b. “It may be that the secularists are quite willing to explain why—that Christianity’s record gives reason to fear that its adherents may fail to treat other positions fairly” (MacKenzie, 2011, p. 688).

c. Everything is secular unless it meets the requirements of “religious employer" (1) have the primary purpose of inculcating religious values, (2) primarily employ only those who share its beliefs, (3) primarily serve individuals of the same faith, and (4) qualify as a nonprofit organization under Sections 6033(a)(l) and 6033(a)(3)(A)(i) or (iii) of the Internal Revenue Code” (Rudary, 2013, p. 355).

d. “The French exclude all religion from political life. They demand a secular state” (Benson. 2012, p. 180).

e. “Existing research on how college affects students’ beliefs is torn between those studies that continue to find that college has a significant liberalizing effect, and those that argue its impact is minimal or even protective (Maryl and Uecker, 2011, p. 183).

f. “It may seem, following the various court decisions separating church and state and, more specifically, religion and education, that the relationship between religion and education has long been settled and that religion is indeed absent from the halls of public education and its discourses” (Burke and Segall, 2011, p. 631).

g. “In light of the reformulations of secularization theory now taking place, scholars have begun to reexamine the decoupling of higher education and religion” (Gross and Simmons, 2009, p. 102).

h. “Research on the religiosity of American professors has been limited” (Gross and Simmons, 2009, p. 103).

i. “Therefore, multicultural education is imperative for students to be active in a democratic society” (Elhowris, Prameswaren, and Alsheikh, 2013, p. 16).

j. “Confessional education, with institutional statements of faith, and sometimes also codes of conduct, to be in principle a violation of such unqualified academic freedom” (Heibert, 2014), p. 423).

k. “It appears as though exposure to a campus perceived as divisive was positively associated with worldview commitment for students in the religious majority but had no association with worldview commitment among nonreligious students” (Mayhew and Bryant, 2013, p. 76).

IV. Part three -- “Speak to the world those things which I have heard of him” (John 8:26, KJV). – How can educators deal with conflict in the workplace and religious discrimination? -- [ADDRESS THE CONFLICT]

a. “The university attempts to fulfill its obligation to fight harmful discrimination by adopting a policy that forbids several forms of discrimination” (Affolther, 2013, p. 236).

b. “Those who attain higher education while maintaining exclusivist religious views do so by imbedding themselves in social networks of traditionally religious people” (Baker, 2013, p. 217).

c. “It would not be difficult to identify a good many critics who, in the last couple of decades, have been clamoring for more freedom for religious expression in the public square” (Holden, 2009, p. 577).

d. “Lively and productive conflicts endemically abound — so much so, they’re generally welcomed, expected, and breathed as academic oxygen. Of course this atmosphere also can be frustrating, irksome, and wearying: that’s the nature of conflict, which inevitably (but not negatively) characterizes innovation and improvement” (Downes, 2010, p. 297)

e. “The secularism I encountered at Harvard was as rigid in its beliefs and mores as the most dogma-bound Roman Catholicism, only less aware of its own blind spots” (Callahan, 2012, p. 18).

f. “College teacher who enters that freshman composition class must know more than her discipline; she must possess the ability to engage and encourage, motivate and inspire, teach and learn from her diverse students” (Green and Ciez-Bolz, 2010, p. 81). “A capable teacher knows more than her discipline. She knows how to build relationships with students as she mentors and motivates, guides and inspires them” (ibid, p. 84).

g. “A legislator who thinks that universities are too liberal or inefficient is also likely to support merit-based financial aid” (Dar, 2012, p. 774).

h. “Millions of Americans who regard religion as central to their lives may have become disenchanted with and disenfranchised by public higher education” (Kessler, 2013, p. 19).

i. “Limited work has addressed humor's relationship to conflict styles in educational settings” (Ramsey, Knight, Knight, and Verdon, 2011, p. 3).

j. “The [public] university feared letting religiously affiliated student groups use campus facilities” (Huneycutt-Bardwell, 2013, p. 5).

k. “Evangelical campus ministries serve a substantial pool of evangelical students [and faculty]” (Schmalzbauer, 2013, p. 117).

V. Conclusion – The battle is real; the law is clear; the conflict is eternal . . .

a. “Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matthew 5:14-16, KJV).

b. These quotes will provide a foundation for the power point to be prepared for submission at the conclusion of this course.

References

Affolter, J. (2013). Fighting discrimination with discrimination: Public universities and the rights of dissenting students. Ratio Juris, 26(2), 235-261. doi:10.1111/raju.12012

Baker, J. O. (2013). Acceptance of evolution and support for teaching creationism in public schools: The conditional impact of educational attainment. Journal for The Scientific Study Of Religion, 52(1), 216-228. doi:10.1111/jssr.12007

Benson, J. (2012). Religion into politics?. Dialog: A Journal Of Theology, 51(3), 180-181. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6385.2012.00681.x

Bergman, J. (2011). The challenge of academic freedom. Journal Of Interdisciplinary Studies, 23(1/2), 137-164.

Burke, K. J., & Segall, A. (2011). Christianity and its legacy in education. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 43(5), 631-658. doi:10.1080/00220272.2011.590232

Callahan, D. (2012). Out of step: God & me at Harvard & Yale. Commonweal, (19), 14.

Dar, L. (2012). The political dynamics of higher education policy. Journal of Higher Education, 83(6), 769-794.

Downes, P. (2010). Enough! or too much. Pedagogy, 10(2), 295-315. doi:10.1215/15314200-2009-040

Elhoweris, H., Parameswaren, G., & Alsheikh, N. (2013). College students' myths about diversity and what college faculty can do. Multicultural Education, Spring/Summer.

Green, D. W., & Ciez-Volz, K. (2010). Now hiring: The faculty of the future. New Directions For Community Colleges, 2010(152), 81-92.

Gross, N., & Simmons, S. (2009). The religiosity of American college and university professors. Sociology of Religion, 70(2), 101-129.

Hiebert, A. (2010). Academic freedom in public and christian Canadian universities. Christian Higher Education, 9(5), 423-438. doi: 10.1080/15363759.2010.503802

Holden, R. H. (2009). The Public University's Unbearable Defiance of Being. Educational Philosophy & Theory, 41(5), 575-591.

Huneycutt-Bardwell, S. (2013). Conflict and communication in the workplace: An inquiry and findings from XYZ University’s study on religious tolerance and diversity suggesting ironies of cultural attitude, free expression and conflict in an academic organization. Journal of Organizational Culture, Communications & Conflict, 17(2), 1-28.

Kessler, S. J. (2013). Religion and the public university. Philosophy & Public Policy Quarterly, 31(1), 19-27.

Lathangue, R. d. (2012). Disenchantment and the liberal arts. Canadian Journal of Higher Education, 42(2), 67-78.

MacKenzie, J. (2012). Holden's public university and its Rawlsian silence on religion. Educational Philosophy & Theory, 44(7), 686-706. doi:10.1111/j.1469-5812.2010.00734.x

Mayhew, M., & Bryant, A. (2013). Achievement or arrest? The influence of the collegiate religious and spiritual climate on students' worldview commitment. Research In Higher Education, 54(1), 63-84. doi:10.1007/s11162-012-9262-7

Mayrl, D., & Uecker, J. E. (2011). Higher education and religious liberalization among young adults. Social Forces, 90(1), 181-208.

Murray, F. B. (2012). Six misconceptions about accreditation in higher education: Lessons from teacher education. Change, 44(4), 52-58. doi:10.1080/00091383.2012.691866

Polinska, W. (2011). Engaging religious diversity: Towards a pedagogy of mindful contemplation. International Journal Of The Humanities, 9(1), 159-167.

Ramsey, M. C., Knight, R. A., Knight, M. L., & Verdon, T. (2011). Telic state teaching: Understanding the relationships among classroom conflict strategies, humor, and teacher burnout of university faculty. Florida Communication Journal, 39(1), 1-15.

Rasar, J. L. (2013). The efficacy of a manualized group treatment protocol for changing God image, attachment to God, religious coping, and love of God, others, and self. Journal of Psychology & Theology, 41(4), 267-280.

Rudary, D. J. (2013). Drafting a "sensible" conscience clause: A proposal for meaningful conscience protections for religious employers objecting to the mandated coverage of prescription contraceptives. Health Matrix (Cleveland, Ohio: 1991), 23(1), 353-394.

Schmalzbauer, J. (2013). Campus religious life in America: Revitalization and renewal. Society, 50(2), 115-131.

Stevens, R. E., Williamson, S., & Tiger, A. (2012). Conflict resolution strategies in an academic setting. Conflict Resolution & Negotiation Journal, 2012(4), 139-150.