Spirituality and leadership

Research has confirmed a link between student's exposure to different cultures and their efficacy in leadership, a dynamic that is likely mirrored after the college years. Spirituality is a type of diversity that is now garnering greater attention, evidenced by the publication of Spirituality and Leadership in the New Directions for Student Leadership series. Having shared my own journey in a chapter for this book (Discovering Purpose: a Life-long Journey), I believe that the exploration of faith and spiritual difference may actually be a necessary, and perhaps easier path, to introducing diverse cultures and backgrounds. I describe parallel paths of understanding diverse cultures and faiths in this chapter, although my reflections are that exploring diverse faith perspectives offered my first deeper dive.

As the focus on diversity throughout cultures around the world increases, spiritual diversity may be one of the more promising and critical areas to explore. However, a gap in understanding across faiths was captured in a recent survey of college students. The survey found that college students lack religious literacy saying that "...student participation in formal courses and activities that build interfaith skills is low and, in some cases, declined over students' college years. And while nearly three-quarters of students in college agreed with the statement that they dedicated time in college to learning about people of a different race or ethnicity (74 percent) or from a different country (73 percent), far lower percentages said they dedicated time to learning about people of different religions." The report went on to say that interfaith understanding can be enhanced through courses, experiences outside of class, through positive friendships that explore religious difference, and by fostering a campus culture that welcomes diverse faith groups. 

My own collegiate experience validates these research findings. I have realized that another element of my own journey is music, which served as an introduction to other faith perspectives while I was studying music as an undergraduate student. Once I saw how the music of different religions inspired similar feelings and insights, it became only natural to explore the similarities and differences of the cultures I began to encounter in graduate school and beyond. Life as a student affairs educator and university administer in multiple locations in the U.S.A. and then abroad in Qatar allowed for the exposures of my undergraduate and graduate school years to deepen over a lifetime.