Tenth International Conference on Religion & Spirituality in Society

Abstract

At least 20% of young people have a neurodevelopmental disability, and while religion and spirituality are embedded in social history, identity and culture the world over, spiritual and religious development in this population has been without substantive scientific investigation. The neurodevelopmental disabilities serving as inclusion criteria are Autism Spectrum Disorder, Specific Learning Disorder, Intellectual Disability, Trisomy 21 and Cerebral Palsy. This paper calls attention to the importance of breaking down the disciplinary silos of religion and science to enhance the understanding of religious experience in this population, a group of young people and families in need of adaptive coping and access to faith communities. Applying findings from brain science and theology, this paper serves as a call to broaden our methodological toolbox for measurement of spiritual and religious development by answering three questions: (1) What are the religious and spiritual beliefs and experiences of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disabilities, and those of their families? (2) To what extent are individual characteristics and ecological factors associated with and predictive of these beliefs and experiences? (3) In what ways are faith leaders’ conceptualizations of religious and spiritual development in those with neurodevelopmental disabilities similar to or different from those of the young people and families? Standard neuropsychological testing, surveys, focus groups, observation and audio recording are employed, and specific avenues for theology and neuroscience scholars to work together fruitfully elucidated.