\u201cI love Jesus, and I like ladies.\u201d <\/p>\n
I can still hear the graduate students\u2019 laughter as I candidly used that line to explain how my Christian faith and queer identity informed my work as a faculty member. Looking at my CV, it is easy to see how my positionality has shaped my research agenda, leading me to explore questions related to religion in higher education and the experiences of LGBTQ+ collegians. Likewise, the years I spent in seminary and later as a campus minister profoundly shaped my approach to teaching and advising. <\/p>\n
Though I had long ago left the world of full-time ministry behind, I remained pastoral in my approach to student support as a faculty member. As I saw it, my responsibility was not only to nurture students intellectually but also to attend to the fullness of their humanity.<\/p>\n
Undoubtedly, all faculty bring their beliefs and identities to their work. Yet, until recently, little was known about faculty members\u2019 religious, spiritual, and secular (RSS) affiliations and how their worldviews shape their teaching, research, and service. <\/p>\n
Last month, a research team led by Dr. Matthew J. Mayhew released findings from a comprehensive national mixed-methods study titled InFORM, which stands for Including Faculty on Religious, Spiritual, & Secular Mattering. Dr. Mayhew serves as the William Ray and Marie Adamson Flesher Professor of Educational Administration with a focus on Higher Education and Student Affairs at The Ohio State University. <\/p>\n
As Mayhew explains in the project\u2019s official overview video, the scope of the research reaches far beyond standard demographic data collection. "This project is not only looking at where faculty differ; it is asking what gives their life\u2019s work meaning," he notes.<\/p>\n
The national study yielded several critical takeaways for contemporary higher education. Specifically, the research found that faculty need better preparation to engage worldview differences in the classroom. Additionally, the data suggests that religious inclusion may offer unexpected common ground across deepening political divides, and that the intersection of race and religion plays a vital role in explaining faculty motivation across teaching, research, and service.<\/p>\n
Given the central role that professors and instructors play in shaping students\u2019 educational experiences and overall outcomes, the InFORM findings carry significant implications not only for faculty themselves, but also for the diverse student bodies they serve. Furthermore, at a time when heightened national attention is routinely directed toward faculty members’ political ideologies and campus polarization, InFORM illuminates the substantial commonalities that persist across worldview differences. <\/p>\n
As Mayhew points out, these shared foundational drivers transcend surface-level disagreements. "We\u2019re all motivated to make sure that our work reaches people beyond the audience of the academic journal, making sure that our life\u2019s work has meaning, and I think that\u2019s what brings us together," he observes.<\/p>\n
For me, that realization stands out as one of the study\u2019s most striking and resonant outcomes. As someone who continues to serve as an adjunct faculty member, InFORM serves as a timely reminder that my colleagues, too, are complex, multifaceted individuals whose daily work is likely motivated by deeply held religious, spiritual, or secular commitments. <\/p>\n
Although they may not walk the halls proclaiming that they "love Jesus and like the ladies," the study suggests that I likely have far more in common with my faculty peers than I once assumed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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