The Effects of Spirituality On Social Justice Orientations Among Young Adults

Background:

Emphases on inequities concerning resources and opportunities in society have led to concerns about social justice in society; especially among social workers. However, the relationship between spirituality and social justice has received little empirical attention in the literature (Canda & Furman, 2010). In particular, research focused on the spirituality of young adults and its influence on their attitudes toward social justice is rare. This gap is notable in academia since the student bodies in universities, including social work programs, are composed largely of those in early adulthood. The purpose of the current study is to test the effects of spirituality on social justice oriented attitudes and behaviors among university students. In addition, the study explores how these effects vary according to students' career goals (helping professions vs. others.

Methods:

The study examines causal relationships between spirituality, religion, and social justice using two-waves of longitudinal data from a sample of 14,527 students at 136 universities. The data for this study was gathered by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA. A scale was developed to measure social justice orientation (SJO) among young adults. Factor analysis results on the SJO scale revealed two factors which are entitled social justice orientation: 1) attitudes and 2) projected behaviors. Subsequently, a series of cross-lagged panel models were estimated using structural equation modeling techniques with the Mplus program.

Results:

The findings revealed that spirituality had a positive causal effect on SJO attitudes and SJO attitudes had a positive causal effect on projected SJO behaviors longitudinally. The same type of analysis was performed for subgroups of students according to their career goals. Results showed that spirituality had significant effects on projected SJO behaviors among those who aspire to join social work and other helping professions and on the SJO attitudes of those who sought to enter fields identified as ‘non-helping professions.'

Implications:

There are many implications of the findings for social work practice and social work programs. For instance, social justice is one of the pillars of social work practice and social work education. It is a core social work value in the profession and a core competency that is to be integrated throughout the curriculum in all accredited social work programs (CSWE, 2008; NASW, 2008). This study addresses these professional and academic emphases by empirically identifying antecedents to social justice attitudes and behaviors among young adults. Since spirituality appears to be an important antecedent to social justice orientation; implications will be offered concerning both elements of social work practice and content on spirituality in the curriculum within social work programs. The importance of incorporating content on spirituality with articulated linkages to social justice in the social work curriculum is one of the primary implications supported by this study.