Nick Jost
Mat Wenzel
July 22, 2019
ENC2135
Annotated Bibliography
1. Okwara, MariaOlisaemeka Rosemary. “The Renewal and Reform of the Catholic Church’s Relationship with the Religious Others: Prospects and Challenges for a Theological Humanistic Turn in Christian‐Muslim Dialogue.” New Blackfriars, vol. 99, no. 1080, Mar. 2018, pp. 206–218. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1111/nbfr.12348.
This article discusses the relationship between the Catholic Church and various other religions like Islam and Protestant forms of the Christian religion. It pays special recognition to Islam in the idea that it is a “vital religion,” (Okwara). Catholics look upon Muslims with dignity and respect because they “worship the one God, living and subsistent, merciful and almighty…” (Okwara). An important piece of information in this article is when Okwara talks about Catholic article author, Jacques Dupuis, is mentioned in the article, states that he believes that new age religions are starting to no longer be based on the theological idea that we are basically all part of God’s plan and he will grant us all salvation. Although these ideas challenge the traditional beliefs of Catholicism, most of these religions root their faith in God and have some sort of moral code.
2. Erickson, Debra. “Adjunct Unionization on Catholic Campuses: Solidarity, Theology, and Mission.” Journal of Moral Theology, vol. 8, Jan. 2019, pp. 51–74. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=136193840&site=ehost-live.
This article is about unionization of students on Catholic campuses. According to the author, Debra Erickson, Catholic campuses (private Catholic schools) are having problems with regards to participation of students in Catholic social teaching. Erickson refers to this problem as an “adjunct crisis” (Erickson). She claims that this is a direct result of the role of the religious faculty (priests, nuns, etc.) In the eyes of the author, there is a clear problem with the ratio of faculty to students. In fact, she mentions that for Catholic universities in the US, “fewer than 10 percent have faculty union representation,” (Erickson) and even cites the Catholic Labor Network, which is a reputable source. Another key point discussed in this article is a legal matter. Since these universities are exercising their right to religion, it is almost impossible for the unions to gain any legal recognition at all.
3. Nduka, Emmanuel-Lugard, and John McGuire. “The Effective Use of New Media in Disseminating Evangelical Messages Among Catholic College Students.” Journal of Media & Religion, vol. 16, no. 3, July 2017, pp. 93–103. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/15348423.2017.1361707.
This article is about spreading the Catholic message through a new way that the Catholic church has never seen before- modern technology. This is something that is aimed mostly at American Catholic youth because, as the author mentions, “the use of new media… can be used for dissemination of the Gospel,” (Nduka). Nduka refers to a survey done by the Pew Research Center about how more and more young people (30 and under) are losing belief in God. However, the author finds hope that this will start to rise again soon through spreading God’s message through modern means of communication like social media and television. Nduka even claims that “communication is not simply one dimension of evangelization,” but “without communication, there can be no evangelization,” (Nduka). Overall, the author believes that most effective method of spreading the message of God is for college students to use new media to evangelize and get the percentage of religious youth as high as it used to be.
4. Plante, Thomas G., et al. “The Association Between Strength of Religious Faith and Psychological Functioning.” Pastoral Psychology, vol. 48, no. 5, May 2000, pp. 405–412. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1023/A:1022040605141.
This article is about the relationship between religious faith in college students and their mental health. More specifically, a study done by Santa Clara University came to the conclusion that there is a “benefit of religious faith on mental and physical health outcomes,” (Plante). The author does mention that there is a clear nationwide issue of stress and mental health problems directly linked to college work. However, this study took participants from over 342 universities, both religious and non-religious, and the results showed that religious students had a more optimistic, positive outlook on life, which in turn, makes them more mentally healthy and much less likely to become suicidal or depressed. The author also mentions the procedure and methods of the study, which gives more information regarding the actual participants and how religion affected them based on their gender, age, race, etc. Overall, Plante believes that the rate of depressed or mentally unhealthy college students in America could decrease drastically if they took some part in religious activities.
5. Clydesdale, Timothy T. “Toward Understanding the Role of Bible Beliefs and Higher Education in American Attitudes Toward Eradicating Poverty, 1964-1996.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, vol. 38, no. 1, Mar. 1999, pp. 103–118. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2307/1387587.
This article is about the close relation of the Catholic church and helping out the poor. The author finds that this has some correlation to higher educated Catholics, and even, in particular, conservative Catholics. Clydesdale recognizes that those who are ideologically liberal hold the view that conservatism “reduces tolerance towards the poor,” (Clydesdale) due to the conservatives favoring capitalism. However, the claims of the author show a clear difference, even a polar opposite. Having a higher education usually is related to being more economically stable, which explains why they would not have a monetary issue with helping the poor. Another explanation for this is Catholic people mostly are ideologically conservative, based on their religious beliefs. A key point in this article is not only that Catholics are especially willing to help out the poor in any way possible, but also to find the causes of poverty and solve this national issue.
6. Union, Catholic Student. YouTube, YouTube, 14 Apr. 2019, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRnEuGLOlJU.
This video is about the men’s retreat from 2017 that was hosted by the Catholic Student Union. The retreat goes from Friday to Sunday and acts as an escape from the stressful life of a college student and even helps those who attend grow in their faith and have some fun while doing it. It is clear from this video that the men that went on this retreat all had a great time and enjoyed themselves. The group did numerous activities like hiking, praying, singing, having barbeques and even had mass services every night before bed. Even though there is a lot going on during the day, they do not fail to keep religion in the retreat. A priest even joins the men on their retreat and, from the video, it portrays that he reads Bible verses from time to time by the camp fire, while everyone is gathered around.
7. “Catholic Student Union at FSU (@Catholicnoles) • Instagram Photos and Videos.” Instagram, Catholic Student Union, 21 Sept. 2013, www.instagram.com/catholicnoles/?hl=en.
This source is the official Instagram account of the Catholic Student Union. It is evident that members of the union do a lot of travelling, not only for recreational purposes, but for religious purposes as well. One of the posts is a picture of the priest and two members of the union with their table set up at FSU orientation, which already gives a lot of information. All of them have smiles on their faces, which shows that they are willing to go out and find new members, with caring looks on their faces. Another post is a picture of a group of people playing the game, “tug of war.” Although they have competitive looks in their eyes, you can always see a smile on their faces and the enjoyment in their eyes as they take part in recreational games with their friends. Overall, the Instagram of the Union shows that the members are always having a good time in their activities and are always welcoming to everyone who wants to participate.