The Journal of Community Psychology is publishing a special issue exploring the intersection of spirituality and religion with community research and action. As was discussed in several symposia at the 1997 Biennial Conference of the Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA), spirituality and religion are elements of human experience which have received relatively limited consideration in psychological literature generally, and in community psychology specifically. Seymour Sarason and others have noted that this "blind spot" is surprising given the large number of people for whom a sense of spirituality is important, the significant numbers of people who participate in religious settings on a regular basis, and the work of many religious movements for social change. The special issue is an effort to: (1) initiate conventions and definitions for including these perspectives within the discourse of community psychology, and (2) to document and establish the value of incorporating considerations of religion and spirituality into our work.
We are seeking papers that contemplate the roles of religion and spirituality in human experience and address the value for community psychology of considering religion and spirituality. The first section of the special issue will focus on conceptual and theoretical issues, such as theoretical frameworks for incorporating aspects of spirituality into research and action projects, definitions of spirituality and religion, and the relevance of these phenomena for both individual and social change. A second section will feature exemplary empirical research that integrates dimensions of spirituality or religious settings into its inquiry. A final section will focus on noteworthy action projects that include considerations of religion and spirituality in their interventions. We hope to include a diversity of thought on these topics that reflects not only a range of faith traditions, but also understandings of spirituality from varying academic disciplines.
If you have a project or paper that you feel would be appropriate for the special issue, please submit two copies of a proposal consisting of a working title, a brief description of your article (300-500 words) and, on a separate page, the title and a list of the authors and their affiliations to one of the guest editors by February 1, 1998.