I’ve found that the subject matter of psychology affords natural opportunities to discuss my faith in Christ.
At first, I had never considered that there might be connections or even contradictions between the two because I had always kept faith in one box of my brain and psychology in another. But when I applied to the Clinical Psychology graduate program at Biola and was asked during the interview, “How do you integrate your faith with psychology?” I didn’t have a good answer at that interview because I had never thought about integrating the two.
But now I think about integration all the time and it helps open doors for great discussions
Discussions that Integrate My Discipline and My Faith
God allows me to integrate my faith into my discipline when I lecture about developmental changes in higher order thinking over the college years. I talk about integrating and synthesizing material from various classes rather than pigeonholing each class.
I also often asked students to consider the different theories in psychology and to challenge themselves to show which ones (or maybe none) align best with their faith background. I then mention that I am a Christian, and I reveal my understanding of the major theories of psychology and where they fit with or contradict Christianity.
Assignments that Trigger Thought
One of the ways I can share the Christian worldview is by having my students write an essay about what they would do “if they only had one month to live.” Or I have students write a response to the question, “What is one thing you would do if you could get away with it?”
When I discuss the students’ responses to these questions, I have the opportunity to talk about altruism (and how rarely any student will mention altruistic acts), selfishness, deindividuation, values, and ethics from a Christian worldview.
I tell students in my classes that as a Christian, I view one month on earth as a mere dot on the line of my eternal life. I also write many comments on their papers and require them to respond to my comments to spark meaningful conversation with them.
Assignment Responses that Trigger Change
For example, if a student answers the first question, “What would I do if I only have one month to live?” by saying, “Get right with God,” or “I’ll go back to church,” I might say, “What are you waiting for?”
If they say, “I would apologize to everyone I’ve hurt,” I’ll write back, “What are you waiting for?”
Many times, I’ll direct students into ethical discussions because they’ll say, “I would max out my credit cards.” I might write, “Who is liable for this bill and does this matter to you? Should it?”
I am thankful to have such assignments that make it easy to challenge students’ thinking in ways related to faith.
My boldness in bringing up my faith in such assignments has increased because I know I am not alone in taking a stand for Christ in the university. God had, from the beginning, provided Faculty Commons staff to connect me to a great movement of Christian faculty.
Susan Siaw
Cal Poly Pomona