Center on Religion & the Professions

Improving religious literacy among professionals.

Mysteries of the Jewish Calendar: Pesach (Passover)

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Come explore the Jewish holy day of Pesach, or Passover, as part of the “Mysteries of the Jewish Calendar” lecture series at Carpe Diem in Columbia. Dianna Long, an attorney who holds degrees in Sociology and Religious Studies, will lead the class at noon on Thursday, March 25.

“Mysteries of the Jewish Calendar” is an exploration of the Jewish calendar and an explanation of the historical and religious significance of the holy days falling within each month.

The class will be held at Carpe Diem, 807 Locust St., Columbia. The cost is $15 or, for regular attendees, one punch on the class card. Students pay $5.

For more information or to RSVP, call (573) 268-5989.

Online "Religious Literacy" course under way

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June 17, 2009 – “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions,” a new online course offered through MU Direct: Continuing and Distance Education, is under way. The course (REL ST 3100) teaches students to engage and encounter religion in day-to-day life and in the professional workplace. Its primary goal is to examine religious diversity in private and professional contexts from a practical standpoint by examining a variety of case studies. The course is open to University of Missouri students who are absent from campus for the summer or unable to attend day classes and to nontraditional students.

The course is offered through the University of Missouri’s Department of Religious Studies. The course was created by the department and the Center on Religion & the Professions at University of Missouri. The instructor is Justin Arft. The eight-week class runs June 8-July 31.

Textbooks for the course include “Religion and the Workplace” by Douglas A. Hicks and “How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook” by Stuart M. Matlins and Arthur J. Magida.

After the course is completed and assessed, a team from the Center on Religion & the Professions (CORP) will author a chapter for a monograph about the project that will be distributed nationally through the Institute on Religion in Curriculum and Culture of Higher Education.

The Center on Religion & the Professions was founded in 2003 with a mission of improving religious literacy among professionals, to help them serve a diverse public. For more information about the Center, contact Director Debra L. Mason at (573) 882-9257 or MasonDL@missouri.edu.

The Ill Girl

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Lia Lee, a young child of Hmong immigrants, has been brought to the emergency room of a California medical clinic. It took several days for the doctors to diagnose the case because the interpreter, a Hmong whose English was poor, was inadequate. The problem was made worse because the parents considered Lia’s illness to be both a threat to her health – hence their trip to the clinic – and a sign that she may be destined to be a shaman. The doctors prescribed a drug regimen. The parents said they understood how to administer the medicine, although they couldn’t understand English or read what was written on the bottles.

Issues and Study Questions

  • Based on the overview above, what are the issues?
  • What beliefs are at issue here?
  • Were the parents “noncompliant?”
  • What could the doctors/nurses do differently?
  • What do you feel the doctors/patient/parents should do here?
  • How could a social worker or skilled interpreter assist in this situation?
  • Was religion an issue in this situation?
  • What is the responsibility of the health care community in such a situation? What about other professions?
  • Do you think there is a “right” and “wrong” way to handle this situation? Why? Why not?
  • Have you faced similar issues in your own profession or personal life? If so, what were they? Were they resolved?
  • What can be learned?
  • Do you think education about religious literacy would have helped/harmed in this situation? How so?

Source: Religion and the Professions (General Honors 1030) taught by Dr. Jill Raitt, University of Missouri

Faithful Reporting

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Jeff Reynolds has been sent to do a follow-up article on an accident in Cairo, Ill. A school bus approaching a railroad crossing stopped as it must by law. A semi truck did not slow and struck the bus from behind, sending it into the path of an oncoming train. Eleven school children between the ages of six and twelve were killed and fifteen others were injured. The bus driver was also killed. The truck driver was slightly injured, was taken to the hospital, treated and released.

Jeff decided to interview parents of the dead and injured children. Several pairs of parents refused to talk with him; their pain was not a public matter, they said. Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Buckton did agree to speak with Jeff. He went to their home for the interview. Mrs. Buckton showed Jeff a picture of Jenny, aged 8, their beautiful, intelligent, playful daughter, their only child. She wept and continued to speak about her wonderful, dead child. Mr. Buckton remained stolidly silent, arms crossed, eyes down. Jeff turned to him to ask what sustained him during this terrible tragedy? Mr. Buckton looked at his wife and then said that only their faith kept them from going to the truck driver’s house to confront him and perhaps, admitted Mr. Buckton, do him physical harm. He was angry, deeply angry, but he was controlling it and trying to find the strength to forgive the truck driver whom the Bucktons felt was responsible for their Jenny’s death.

“Where do you look for such strength?” Jeff asked.

Mrs. Buckton looked at her husband who said, “In our faith. Jesus forgave his executioners. I wonder if he could have forgiven them if they had killed his daughter?”

Jeff wasn’t sure what to do at this point. He knew that his editor was against any mention of God in the paper and especially against stories that seemed to support any particular faith. Jeff wrote the story of the Buckton’s struggle pretty much as they had told it to him.  The story appeared without any mention of faith, only of the Bucktons’ anger at the truck driver.

Issues and Study Questions

  • Based on the overview above, what are the issues?
  • What are the beliefs at issue here?
  • Should Jeff have mentioned religion in his story? If so, how should he have done so?
  • What could Jeff or his editor do differently?
  • What do you feel the newspaper/parents should do here?
  • Why was religion an issue in this situation?
  • What do you think the parents’/readers’ reaction was to this story?
  • What is the responsibility of journalists in such a situation? What about other professions?
  • Do you think there is a “right” and “wrong” way to handle this situation? Why? Why not?
  • Have you faced similar issues in your own profession or personal life? If so, what were they? Were they resolved?
  • What can be learned?
  • Do you think education about religious literacy would have helped/harmed in this situation? How so?

Source: Religion and the Professions (General Honors 1030) taught by Dr. Jill Raitt, University of Missouri

The Ill Boy

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The 7-year old son of African immigrants has a chronic disease. Although the condition is serious, it is easily treated with medications and changes in diet. The family frequently misses scheduled appointments. After six months of treatment, the child shows little improvement, and the American doctors have determined that the family is noncompliant. Translators have attempted to bridge the gap between the doctors and the family, with only limited success. The nurses wonder whether a well qualified social worker could help the situation. The hospital administrators are looking for a social worker with the skills and educational background to help improve the situation.

Issues and Study Questions

  • Based on the overview above, what are the issues?
  • What beliefs are at issue here?
  • Why were the parents “noncompliant?”
  • What could the doctors/nurses do differently?
  • What do you feel the doctors/admistrators should do here?
  • How could a specialized social worker assist in this situation?
  • Was religion an issue in this situation?
  • What is the responsibility of the health care community in such a situation? What about other professions?
  • Do you think there is a “right” and “wrong” way to handle this situation? Why? Why not?
  • Have you faced similar issues in your own profession or personal life? If so, what were they? Were they resolved?
  • What can be learned?
  • Do you think education about religious literacy would have helped/harmed in this situation? How so?

Source: Religion and the Professions (General Honors 1030) taught by Dr. Jill Raitt, University of Missouri

Enrollment open for religious literacy class

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May 28, 2009 – There are a few days left to enroll in “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions,” a new online course offered through MU Direct: Continuing and Distance Education. The course (REL ST 3100) teaches students to engage and encounter religion in day-to-day life and in the professional workplace. Its primary goal is to examine religious diversity in private and professional contexts from a practical standpoint by examining a variety of case studies. The course is open to University of Missouri students who are absent from campus for the summer or unable to attend day classes and to nontraditional students.

Five seats remain available for the course, which is offered through the University of Missouri’s Department of Religious Studies. The course was created by the department and the Center on Religion & the Professions at University of Missouri. The instructor is Justin Arft. Students can register up to June 8 for the eight-week class, which runs June 8-July 31. MU summer registration is June 3-5. A late fee is assessed if registering June 5-8.

Textbooks for the course include “Religion and the Workplace” by Douglas A. Hicks and “How to Be a Perfect Stranger: The Essential Religious Etiquette Handbook” by Stuart M. Matlins and Arthur J. Magida.

The Center on Religion & the Professions was founded in 2003 with a mission of improving religious literacy among professionals, to help them serve a diverse public. For more information about the Center, call (573) 882-9257.

CORP achievements featured in J-School newsletter

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May 12, 2009 – Recent accomplishments of the MU Center on Religion & the Professionsjournalismlogo are featured in the May 2009 Missouri School of Journalism Graduate Studies Newsletter. These include speaking engagements by Dr. Debra Mason, CORP director; large turnouts at recent CORP-sponosred events; and information about the new “Religious Literacy for the Public and Professions” class to be taught online this summer.

Download the newsletter at the Missouri School of Journalism Graduate Program page, under Graduate Publications. The article appears on Page 11.

The Center on Religion & the Professions, which works to improve the religious literacy of professionals, including journalists, is an affiliate of the Missouri School of Journalism.