May 2008
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| Littau |
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| Mason |
Research paper “Time to ‘get’ religion?
An analysis of religious literacy among journalism students” was
selected for presentation at the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communication annual convention Aug. 6-9, 2008, in Chicago,
Ill.. Authored by CORP director Dr. Debra
Mason and graduate research assistant Jeremy Littau,
a journalism doctoral student, the paper is based on a survey of 513
students from journalism and other majors at University of Missouri.
CORP is co-sponsoring a pre-conference
program at the AEJMC convention, “Teaching Religion & Media:
Best practices and models for the 21st Century,” Aug.
5, 2008. The workshop includes models for innovative course designs,
strategies for incorporating new media, resources for students, discussion
of ethical quandaries, research about teaching religion and media, tips
for approaching religion as diversity, syllabi to swap, and a networking
reception.
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| Hienz |
Justin Hienz, a CORP research assistant
in 2006-07, has been hired by the National Public Radio Digital
Media group. Hienz, who started as an intern with the organization,
is working on the NPR web site, as well as on stories on NPR in partnership
with the NPR religion correspondent. In addition, he is doing production
and has the opportunity to do on-air enterprise stories. Hienz earned
a B.A. in religious studies from MU, as well as master’s degrees
in journalism and religious studies.
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| Johnstone |
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| Anderson |
CORP Spirituality and Health team members Dr.
Brick Johnstone and Dr. Clay Anderson were
interviewed for a program on KOMU about their ongoing spirituality
and health research. “Keeping
your spirits up” aired on May 11, 2008. Johnstone,
who heads the team, is chair of the MU Department of Health Psychology.
Anderson is an associate professor and oncologist with the Missouri
School of Medicine. Their research looks at what parts of the brain
are active or inactive during religious experiences; other results
show religion helps many with disabilities adjust to their impairments
and gives new meaning to their lives.
CORP director Dr. Debra Mason authored
the cover story, “Keeping the Faith,” in
the May 2008 issue of “Quill,” a publication of the Society
of Professional Journalists. The article is about how journalists
balance their private faith and covering religious issues.
CORP co-sponsored a seminar on “China,
Religion & Human Rights” May 14, 2008, at The
National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The seminar aimed
to equip journalists who are reporting on issues such as human rights,
religious freedom and the Beijing Olympics – in China or from
the U.S. See more about the event here.
March
7, 2008
Institute on Religion in Curriculum & Culture
of Higher Education
A team affiliated with MU's Center
on Religion & the Professions will attend the six-day
Institute on Religion in Curriculum & Culture of Higher Education
in June. CORP submitted a project proposal and application to be
considered for the institute.
The approved project is to develop and teach an online
course in religious literacy for professionals, beginning in 2008-09.
The course aims to address religious illiteracy on American campuses
and in the public sphere. It is designed to give students religious knowledge
as it relates to their daily lives in an increasingly pluralistic society.
Assessment of the project will be distributed nationally through a monograph
by the institute's sponsor, the Society
for Values in Higher Education.
CORP's team includes Debra Mason, director
of the Center on Religion & the Professions; Dan Cohen and Justin
Arft, adjunct professors in the MU Department of Religious Studies;
and Tim Walker, a master’s student in the Missouri
School of Journalism who earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism
and religious studies at MU. The team was one of 10 selected to participate
in the institute, which will be June 15-20 at Trinity Conference Center
in Cornwall, Conn.
New book
 L.
Scott Smith, a 2004 senior fellow with the Center on Religion & the
Professions, has published a book, “America Unraveling: A Politically
Incorrect Analysis of Public Faith and Culture.” In the book,
Smith defends “public faith,” which he argues has been
a source of inspiration and solidarity in American history. At the
same time, he offers a critique of the current state of American culture,
including the “sacred cows” of diversity, multiculturalism,
secularism, liberalism and relativism.
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| Smith |
Smith, an attorney, has also served as an adjunct professor,
a hospital chaplain, and a parish minister. He holds degrees in government,
law and theology, as well as a Ph.D. in philosophy of religion from Columbia
University. He has taught courses in philosophy, religion and law, and
his scholarship in these subjects has been published throughout
the United States.
During his fellowship at the Center, Smith described
and analyzed the various ways in which the term "religion" has
been jurisprudentially defined in the United States. For more information
about L. Scott Smith, see http://www.LScottSmith.com/. |
April
3, 2008
|
| Mason |
CORP Director Debra Mason was a featured
speaker at The Forum on Covering Religion held April
2, 2008, at Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. Mason participated
in a session focusing on “Religion in the News: What Future Reporters
and Editors Need to Know.” See an article about the conference
in Poynter Online here and
in The Northeastern Voice here.
The forum was hosted and moderated by Stephen Burgard,
director of the School of Journalism at Northeastern University and author
of “Hallowed Ground: Rediscovering Our Spiritual Roots.” Mason
was joined by Benjamin Hubbard, chair emeritus of comparative religion
at California State University, Fulton, an expert on religion and media;
and Munir Shaikh, executive director of the Institute on Religion and
Civic Values, which aims to promote accurate depictions of Islam in media.
Michael Paulson, religion reporter at the Boston Globe, spoke on “Covering
the Big Religion Story” in the forum’s second session.
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| Hienz |
Justin Hienz, a CORP research assistant
in 2006-07, has been hired as an intern with the National Public Radio
Digital Media group. Hienz is working on the NPR web site, as well as
on stories on NPR in partnership with the NPR religion correspondent.
In addition, he has the opportunity to do his own on-air enterprise stories.
Hienz earned a B.A. in religious studies from MU, as
well as master’s degrees in journalism and religious studies, cultivating
a specialty in Islam. His journalism thesis is “Representations
of Islam in American Newspapers: An Analysis of Bias and Fairness.” His
religious studies thesis is “A Tour of Traditions: Seventh Century
Near and Middle Eastern Religions and Cultural Influences on Muhammad’s
Institution of Salat.”
Hienz credited CORP directors Debra Mason and Ed Lambeth
with guiding his education, as well as the opportunities afforded by
the Missouri School of Journalism. “I’m proud and grateful
to have worked with the Center (on Religion & the Professions),” Hienz
said. “Journalism is only one aspect of what the Center influences.
The core purpose, as I see it, is to speak to academics and professionals,
and remind and reinforce the importance of understanding religion.”
Former CORP director Lambeth, a mentor to Hienz at
MU, said: “I can’t think of a stronger affirmation of the
need for the Center on Religion & the Professions – and
the research and professional training it offers our students – than
the internship at NPR Digital Media Group awarded to (Hienz).”
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| Johnstone |
CORP’s Spirituality and Health research
team recently published two papers relating to their research on the
role of spirituality in rehabilitation and coping with serious injury
and illness:
• Mahalik, J.L., Johnstone, B., Glass, B.A., & Yoon, D.P. (2007). Spirituality,
psychological coping, and community integration for persons with traumatic
brain injury. Journal of Religion, Disability, and Health, 11 (3), 65-77.
• Johnstone, B., Glass, B., & Oliver, R.O. "Religion and
Disability: Clinical, research and training considerations for rehabilitation
professionals." Disability and Rehabilitation.
The research also was picked up in a variety of popular
and professional publications in print and online. Spirituality and Health
research team leader Brick Johnstone is included as
an expert on spirituality/religion and health by ReligionLink, a national
Internet news service on religion, public policy and culture. Johnstone
also recently spoke about the research to the Columbia Rotary Club and
was interviewed by
David Lile on KFRU. |
