Religion and spirituality in Adolescent Lit.

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 Essential Question: What impact does religion have on adolescents' confidence and sense of self?

Focus Questions: What is the difference between religion and spirituality? Are each represented differently in various forms of literature? How is religion and spirituality portrayed in adolescent literature? Does religion and spirituality have a positive or negative impact on an adolescent's confidence? How does religion and spirituality impact an adolescent's identity and search for self? Is there a wide enough inclusion of different faiths in media? Is religion and spirituality viewed or mentioned in different ways in literature than it is in media? Is there an expectation to be Christian and, if so, how does this impact adolescents?

Overview: I want to dive into religion in this paper and it's large impact on adolescents. Religion can influence even an adult's morals and view on the world. It can lead to a sense of comfort and community for many people. However, I also know that Christianity often is what is portrayed in literature, media, and our schools. Very rarely is there representation for people of other faiths. This can also lead adolescents to maybe feel ashamed or embarrassed by following or looking into a different faith. When addressing such an important factor for some adolescents, it's important to support these different paths and recognize their impact.

Why: I personally have become largely more spiritual and religious in recent years. It has been a way for me to make sense of the world around me as well as my own mind. However, due to my family being largely atheist and allowing me to have free rein in regards to religious ideas, this spiritual growth hasn't been in Christianity. While I'm fine with not fitting in with the "norm," I've also noticed that most literature, when religion is mentioned, tends to lean more towards Christian practices, holidays, ideas, etc. Diverse spirituality can be easier to find, but the differences in religion and faith are often rarely shown. I know this can be isolating especially for younger readers who are trying to gain a grasp on who they are.

Titles: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian By Sherman Alexie

The Secret Life of Bees By Sue Monk Kidd

Sold By Patricia McCormick

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe By C.S. Lewis (using this one loosely. There is just a lot of symbolism in it.)

If anyone else has some more ideas, please let me know.

Resources: Along with these novels, I plan to look for resources that possibly discuss the correlation between faith and self-confidence in adolescents as well as look into the amount of students who are actively religious and/or spiritual. I'm still in the process of nailing down my exact research question, so I just have broad ideas for now.

Claim: Religion and spirituality can have a very positive impact on adolescents, however anything apart from Christianity is not represented anywhere near enough in literature and in media. Diversity in faith should be encouraged as it is capable of being a large part of an adolescent's life.

Challenges: I think the main challenge for me will be finding research related to minority faiths. With a quick google search on faith and spirituality, you will come across almost only Christianity-related books and articles. I think it will take a bit of digging to break past that barrier and find more diverse resources.

Comments

  1. Mikayla TaylorNovember 12, 2020 at 7:11 PM

    I think that this is a really interesting topic. I feel like religion is not represented throughout a lot of adolescent literature. Another focus question could be: what is the most prominent religion found represented among adolescent literature?

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  2. Emily BridgesNovember 12, 2020 at 7:34 PM

    Hi Nalayna, I really like the topic that you have chosen. I feel as though this is a topic that not many people are willing to break down and analyze and I think it's very interesting. I do agree in the idea that it will be difficult to find a lot of adolescent resources regarding your topic. I would keep your research broad and then narrow it down once you have done the bulk of your reading. I feel as though that would make it easier for you to determine the true focus.

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  3. Candace BeebeNovember 12, 2020 at 9:16 PM

    Nalayna, I love that you chose this topic. My faith is a huge part of my life and it is very dear to me. I would like to mention that there are many many types of Christianity and just because I am a Christian, I don't always feel like a part of the "norm". I would just like you to consider the many different factions of Christianity before looping everyone into the same category.
    Some books you might could include:
    "The Diary of Anne Frank", and "Night" both include protagonists that stick to their Jewish roots. And just by doing a quick google search, there are many more books about Jewish adolescents. I also have a copy of "The Tattooist of Auschwitz" if you would like to borrow it.
    Sadly all of my Christian novels are creative non-fiction and are usually told from the perspective of adults. But I would love to help you in any way that I can!

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