Family and Friends
Friendship, Difference, and the Common Good
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Margaret Gower
Connecting to the themes of religious commonalities and differences, religious community and socialization, and the politics of religion, this paper draws on texts from within the Christian tradition and literature to argue that friendship, especially interreligious friendship, can be a kind of formation for an "ecstatic" politics and the common good. I offer particular attention to the notion of ekstasis at work in specific spiritual and literary texts. The term's roots are in the Greek ἔκστασις, meaning to put out of place. I consider the possibilities for displacing the self and remapping identity that are present in friendship. I argue for a notion of friendship as an ongoing encounter with difference that both reveals the limits of the self, where the self meets the other as the other, and expands the self, offering attention, mapping differences, and displacing the borders and boundaries of the self. In the end, I suggest the notion of "ecstatic" friendship, an expression of the human person, acting on something that could be called the law of ekstasis – driving beyond the self toward an other, facing difference, participating in displacing the self and remapping identity – that may inspire a kind of "ecstatic" politics. An "ecstatic" politics, in this sense, necessarily moves away from tyranny and toward the common good.
Parenting Strategies of Religious Families to Foster Religious Beliefs in a Secular Society
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Quinn Galbraith
This study delves into the struggles faced by religious families in adapting to a non-religious culture, particularly concerning for parents who aim to raise their children with religious values in a secular environment. Through qualitative interviews with 130 highly religious individuals in Ireland and the UK, the researchers analyze the perceived challenges experienced by religious families in a secular society and the coping mechanisms they employ to counteract secular influences. The study identifies three common challenges: outside pressure to conform, media misrepresentation, and immoral messages in media. Additionally, three potential coping mechanisms are identified: controlling access to media, building religious community, and teaching critical thinking. By providing an insider perspective on the issues faced by religious families, this analysis has implications for how they can navigate secular society while still upholding the core principles of their religious culture.
The Spiritual Power of Immigrant Children: Spirituality in Times of Crisis and Conflict View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session David Escobar Arcay, Wilma Robles Melendez
In their so-called magic years, children’s special way to respond to experiences highlights their capacity to move beyond in their interpretation and sense-making of realities. A time of special sensibility, during the early childhood years children perceive realities and experiences that adults may struggle to understand. This allows children to deepen beyond realities in ways that describe their special capacity. Many agree this is what describes the unique spiritual connection that children exhibit through their behaviors and expressions. It is the nature of the response and hopeful demeanor observed by the youngest immigrant that leads many to consider the deep-spiritual character of children of immigration. With children’s spirituality still one of the least researched areas, current experiences of immigrant children call attention to their spirituality and the role it plays in their responses to challenges and social conflict. How do children manifest spirituality and what drives their understanding? What are the pedagogical implications of children’s funds of knowledge? How can pedagogies of hope help children’s educators? Are there examples? Continuous and unprecedented movement of people across the globe opens vistas towards new understandings of spirituality exhibited through children’s behaviors, attitudes, and responses to the immigrant experience. Grounded in ecological, sociocultural, and funds of knowledge theoretical lenses, this study explores the spirituality of immigrant children as exhibited through analysis of narratives in selected children’s literature and informal open-ended interviews of early childhood professionals working with immigrants. Findings reveal the critical need to understand and value children’s spiritual conceptualization of reality.
Learning and Values of Purisimians: The Heart of Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion's Diamond Jubilee Celebration View Digital Media
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Glenn Bermejo Baes
Among institutions of learning, knowing how their school-training developed their alumni gives a premium in commemorating their school jubilee celebrations. Considering the diamond jubilee anniversary of Colegio de la Purisima Concepcion (CPC), this phenomenological qualitative study looked into the values learned, developed, and practiced by its alumni (i.e. the Purisimians) for the past seventy-five years. It probed the things Purisimians felt happy and grateful being a part of CPC. The study involved a non-probable sample of 60 Purisimians from different batches (i.e. from Academic Year 1948 to 2023) and educational units of the college (i.e. Basic Education, Higher Education, and Post-Graduate Programs). Qualitative data gathered were based on three researcher-made and open-ended questions validated by three experts in the academe. The Qualitative Data Content Analysis Method of Parveen, Huma, Showkat, and Noyeem (2017) guided the process of data analysis. Three major results were obtained: (1) values related to self and others were learned by Purisimians while studying in CPC; (2) Purisimians demonstrated the values they learned from CPC in their personal and social life; and (3) Purisimians were pleased for the growth and development they achieved in their lives out of their CPC Catholic education. Given these results, three conclusions were drawn: (1) good values are learned in CPC; (2) the personal and social lives of Purisimians are the locus where the values they learned in CPC are manifested; and (3) Purisimians are happy and grateful to acknowledge their personal growth and development because of their CPC Catholic education.
