Young Adult Faith, Spirituality and Leadership

3 credits · Graduate School

This seminar explores the faith, spirituality, and leadership of the "nones" and the "somes" - young adults who do not (readily) identify with traditional and/or mainline religious identities. Drawing on primarily a postfoundationalist spirituality, young adults are creating alternative communities, ministries, and non-profits of social, economic, and ecological justice. As such, the seminar asks the question: What is the young adult witness (or testimony) to human life discovered in the narratives of personal, political, and societal resistance to structures of abuse and oppression? The seminar suggests that the witness can be summarized as: embracing anxiety, loss, and trauma; believing in belonging (or community); nurturing one's spiritual life; seeking racial, social, political, economic, and environmental accountability while working toward a just society; and, making a positive difference in the world. In these foci lie hidden The Good Life, which can be distinguished from The Good News (of personal salvation in Jesus Christ and the traditional focus of mainline Christianity). The seminar draws primarily on philosophical, sociological/cultural, ethnographic, anthropological, psychological, economic, theological, and biblical sources. Guests of and visits to innovative ministries and non-profit work in Nashville will explore the importance of place. Students will be encouraged to identify and create an action plan to guide their cause engagement, advocacy, activism, and leadership. [3] Mr. J. Hamman