{"title":"Theological Education with Neurodiversity in Mind: Research Insights and Future Possibilities","authors":"Michael Paul Cartledge, Erin Raffety","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2217187","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2217187","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"658 ","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135869634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A Spiritual Journey through Cancer and Beyond: Prayer, Pilgrimage, and Faith in Lisa Ray’s <i>Close to the Bone</i>","authors":"Snigdha Subhrasmita, Rashmi Gaur","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2270953","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2270953","url":null,"abstract":"AbstractThis paper examines the efficacy of incorporating spiritual practices, such as prayer and pilgrimages, into patient-centered care to enhance the healing journey of individuals experiencing illness. Using Lisa Ray’s cancer memoir, Close to the Bone (2019), we seek to investigate the impact of spirituality, sacred spaces, and faith on maintaining an individual’s religiosity during times of ailment. Our analysis of the potential salubrious effects of incorporating practices like prayer and pilgrimages, as well as the ameliorative influence of storytelling and community, aims to shed light on the utility of these practices in healthcare. Furthermore, we aim to situate prayer as a healing modality and examine the pertinence of Hindu pilgrimage sites in India to the case study. By evaluating the spiritual practices and sacred spaces that facilitated Lisa’s healing journey, we hope to contribute to the understanding of the importance of including spiritual practices and beliefs in patient care within the interdisciplinary framework of medical humanities, which encompasses a wide array of disciplines concerned with the human pursuit of health and well-being.Keywords: Cancer memoircommunityfaithhealingpilgrimageprayerstorytelling Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by the University Grants Commission, India.","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"44 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135883575","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, & the Gifts of Neurodiversity <b> <i>On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, & the Gifts of Neurodiversity</i> </b> . Daniel Bowman Jr. (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos, 2021). 256 pp. Paperback. 19.99 USD. ISBN 978-1-5874-3506-5.","authors":"David Guo Xiong Han","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2270966","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2270966","url":null,"abstract":"\"On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, & the Gifts of Neurodiversity.\" Journal of Disability & Religion, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"73 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"136032949","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Introduction: Centering Neurodiversity in Theological Education","authors":"Michael Paul Cartledge, Erin Raffety","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2270965","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2270965","url":null,"abstract":"Click to increase image sizeClick to decrease image size Disclosure StatementThe authors declare there is no Complete of Interest at this study.","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135902221","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dismantling the Supercrip Prof: Theological Education and Faculty Accessibility","authors":"Natalie Wigg-Stevenson","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2270975","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2270975","url":null,"abstract":"AbstractMost research around neurodiversity in higher education focuses on students, with little attention paid to faculty. This essay deploys autoethnographic narratives to (a) ground anti-ableist pedagogy in decolonizing pedagogy; (b) argue that cognitive- and neuro-diversity among faculty should be valued similarly to—and in intersection with—other forms of diversity, (c) explore barriers to disclosure among disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent faculty, and (d) call for a structural approach to anti-ableism in theological education that not only accommodates disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent faculty needs, but also scales up those accommodations to create a workplace environment in which all faculty can flourish.Keywords: Accessibilitydecolonialdecolonizingdisabilitydiversityfacultyneurodivergenceneurodiversitytheological education Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Notes1 Autoethnographers use their personal experiences to bring wider cultural practices into view in ways that critique those practices and seek to transform them. While often dismissed as solipsistic, autoethnography has the potential to illuminate the affective, experiential dynamics of cultural practices. Its goal is less to convince the reader to think differently using an argument, and more to compel the reader to act differently using a story. Autoethnography therefore disrupts and re-configures dominant academic epistemologies; hence its inclusion in my scholarly toolkit. For more on autoethnography see: Adams et al., Citation2022; Ellis & Bochner, Citation2006; Holman Jones et al., Citation2013; Walford, Citation2021; Wigg-Stevenson, Citation2017).2 UDL stands for “Universal Design for Learning,” an approach that provides learners with multiple means of engagement, representation, action and expression in the learning process so that they access, build, and internalize their learning in ways that activate their affective, recognition and strategic networks. Its goal is to make learning accessible for all learners. Where learning is not accessible, learners require learning accommodations to have equitable access to their learning.3 I should admit that I didn’t know what UDL was when I received these comments. As I scoured articles about these techniques on the internet, I came across multiple graphics that summarize UDL’s core principles. These graphics made me physically nauseous because the amount of information they conveyed overwhelmed me. Put differently, my students’ frustrations didn’t just start my journey to learn about neurodiversity: their frustrations began my journey to learning I was neurodivergent!4 The most common version of this that I have experienced is when a student who has ADHD is given an extra week to finish their assignment. But when that student’s particular executive function struggle is around starting their assignment, the extra week actually makes things worse for them. For m","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"15 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135901778","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Armand Léon van Ommen, Henna J. Cundill, Krysia Emily Waldock, Catherine Tryfona, Grant Macaskill, Christopher Barber, Sarah Douglas, Bryan W. Fowler, Harry Gibbins, Ian Lasch, Brian Brock
{"title":"United by Neurodiversity: Postgraduate Research in a Neurodiverse Context","authors":"Armand Léon van Ommen, Henna J. Cundill, Krysia Emily Waldock, Catherine Tryfona, Grant Macaskill, Christopher Barber, Sarah Douglas, Bryan W. Fowler, Harry Gibbins, Ian Lasch, Brian Brock","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2276112","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2276112","url":null,"abstract":"This article contributes to the discussion of neurodiversity and theological education by presenting a self-reflection by a group of researchers affiliated with the Centre for Autism and Theology at the University of Aberdeen. Literature on postgraduates’ experiences is missing from the current discussion on neurodiversity in higher education. This article offers first-hand accounts as a start to address this gap in the literature. Through the self-reflection exercise, it became clear how this group goes beyond policy documents on equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) by embodying what it means to be a neurodiverse group and what working together looks like in practice. This was characterized by the following themes: all are valued, students feel well-supported, and space for multiple perspectives enabled challenging the status quo in churches, theology, and the wider autism discourse. Theologically, the group interpreted their experiences along the images of the body of Christ and the imago Dei.","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"35 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135902674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"“Misfitting” and Friendship in the Virtuous Life: Neurodiversity and Moral Formation","authors":"Elizabeth Agnew Cochran","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2261438","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2261438","url":null,"abstract":"AbstractThe self-reported experiences of autistic individuals invite ways of thinking about moral character and moral formation that challenge Christians to rethink a number of traditional claims regarding the virtues. This paper argues that attention to autism requires rethinking accounts of growth in virtue that depend on normative views of social interactions such as friendship. Drawing on scholarship in disability studies and testimony from autistic participants in an IRB-supported research study, I contend that the phenomenon of “misfitting” put forth in the work of Rosemarie Garland-Thomson (Citation2011) plays a constructive and essential role in shaping virtuous character.Keywords: virtueethicsautismneurodiversity AcknowledgmentsThe research and writing of this essay were supported by Collaborations in Christian Theological Anthropology, a project affiliated with Villanova University and the John Templeton Foundation, and New Visions in Theological Anthropology, a project affiliated with St. Andrew’s University and the John Templeton Foundation. I am grateful to colleagues from both projects who read and provided feedback on versions of these arguments, and particularly to John Bowlin and Elizabeth Fein.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.Notes1 Premack and Woodruff (Citation1978) first used this term to describe a cognitive ability to infer the perspective of others. Simon Baron-Cohen, Alan Leslie, and Uta Frith (Citation1985) assessed theory of mind in autistic children on the basis of a false-belief task in a laboratory setting, and concluded that the capacity for theory of mind in autistic children is diminished. This study had a significant influence on subsequent research. Baron-Cohen’s subsequent work turned explicitly to empathy, demonstrating a presumption that empathy builds on and requires a capacity to interpret other people’s mental states. He developed a psychological questionnaire called the Empathy Quotient (EQ), designed to measure empathy in adults with IQs in the normal range. In an early publication communicating results of a study that made use of this questionnaire, Baron-Cohen and Wheelwright (Citation2004) argued that autism is associated not simply with a diminished theory of mind, but more explicitly with a deficit in empathy.2 See, for example, Barnbaum, Citation2008, Shoemaker, Citation2015.3 See, for example, Dempsey et al., Citation2020.4 John Swinton (Citation2012) contends that autistic voices have historically been excluded from Christian accounts of love in particular.5 This research study, “Friendship, Spirituality, and Autistic Well-Being,” is conducted at Duquesne University and was initially approved by Duquesne University’s Institutional Review Board on May 1, 2021. The IRB number is 2021/02/7.6 Barnes (Citation2016), drawing on the work of Miranda Fricker, explains that “testimonial injustice,” dismissing the testimony and experience of disabled persons, ","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135816195","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Reflective Being, Being Reflective: 25 Years of Multi-Faith Perspectives on Disability and Spirituality in Australia and Aotearoa New ZealandReflective Being, Being Reflective: 25 Years of Multi-Faith Perspectives on Disability and Spirituality in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. A. Calder, J. Clapton, and T. Parmenter. ( <i>Victoria</i> : <i>Uniting Church in Australia; Synod of Victoria and Tasmania</i> , 2022). 119 pp. $25, ISBN 978-0-6454932-9-0.","authors":"Bill Gaventa","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2255862","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2255862","url":null,"abstract":"\"Reflective Being, Being Reflective: 25 Years of Multi-Faith Perspectives on Disability and Spirituality in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand.\" Journal of Disability & Religion, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"70 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135817357","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Sustaining Hope: Friendships and Intellectual Impairment","authors":"Petre Maican","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2257183","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2257183","url":null,"abstract":"\"Sustaining Hope: Friendships and Intellectual Impairment.\" Journal of Disability & Religion, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print), pp. 1–2","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"137 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135396163","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Disability and Youth Ministry: The Book I’m Not Going to Write","authors":"Benjamin T. Conner","doi":"10.1080/23312521.2023.2257198","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2023.2257198","url":null,"abstract":"Since Amplifying Our Witness: Giving Voice to Adolescents with Developmental Disabilities was published in 2012, little else has been written on disability and youth ministry. This article reflects on the ministry behind the book eleven years later, considers some of the important changes in the landscape of youth culture and disability in that time period, and calls for resources that address this reality written by scholars/practitioners who share life with disabled youth, are themselves disabled, and preferably both.","PeriodicalId":38120,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Disability and Religion","volume":"19 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-09-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135735188","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}