Should Spirituality be Taught?                        September 2001

Public administration professionals, both practitioners and educators, have long taken pride in their ability to be objective, analytical, fair, and competent in carrying out their duties. Values, especially those associated with religious or spiritual belief systems, are widely regarded as taboo in the context of the work and mission of one's public agency or employer. Moreover, the historical church-state separation upon which America was founded reinforces this outlook.

After all, public administrators serve a collective clientele, not individuals with specific needs of body and soul. Or do they? Are social agencies and social workers, for example, committed to serving those whose needs are "objectively" defined and measured (e.g., food, shelter, abuse)? Or, should they serve the needy in a more wholistic, even spiritualistic way?

Some observers contend that professional social workers can and should treat only the afflictions of the body, not the mind or soul. Others are not so sure and even suggest that social workers in practice have no choice but to treat the afflictions of mind and body. This is particularly so, says Professor Edward R. Canada of the University of Kansas, when there is "a crisis or occasion of grief and loss."

The challenge of treating mind and body in professional social work has reached the stage where there are now 50 accredited university social-work programs that offer courses on spirituality and social work. This educational need is driven by what many believe is the reality of practicing spirituality in one's work. For example, a 1999 survey of members of the National Association of Social Workers found that 71 percent of the respondents said they "help clients consider the spiritual meaning and purpose" of their current life situation and 63 percent said they help clients develop spiritual or religious rituals as part of their treatment. Surveys also show that many social workers pray for their clients, often without their permission.

Is there a place for teaching spirituality in public administration programs that prepare men and women for public service careers? Or, does this cross over the line of acceptable professional education?


----source "Programs in Social Work Embrace the Teaching of Spirituality," The Chronicle of Higher Education, May 18, 2001