Teaching and Learning > DOCUMENTS
Spirituality, Identity and Responsibility
Simon Robinson
This paper proposes that identity and responsibility are at the core of spirituality; that spirituality develops through reflective practice; and that the teaching of spirituality is most effectively focused on group reflection on identity and responsibility in practice.
In the first part, it looks at personal and organisational identity as essentially based around plural relationships: cultural, religious; familial and so on (Taylor; Cooper White). It argues that generic spirituality is not about holistic focus on one settled identity, but rather about how the person develops: responsibility for being aware of, and critically appreciating, plural identity, internal and external; responsibility for decision-making and response in the light of this plurality; accountability to the different communities of practice; shared liability for wider communities.
The second part looks at examples of teaching based in reflection on identity and responsibility in practice. The first example is through personal development planning, in which spirituality becomes part of broader reflection on employability and communities of practice. The second example is from professional training for social workers and counsellors. A third brief example looks at spirituality, engineering and ethics.
This page was originally on the website of The Subject Centre for Philosophical and Religious Studies. It was transfered here following the closure of the Subject Centre at the end of 2011.
