This paper will explore the ways in which schools of social work, social work professional organizations and educational accrediting bodies address the challenges of and need for knowledge and skill related to the topic of religion. Historic and recent events in the United States are affecting the lives of students and professionals in the classrooms, internship and workplaces, prompting consideration of how to address issues of religious identity, human rights and religious freedoms. This paper will examine the perspectives of social work student, social work professionals and those “clients” being served by them through institutions (i.e. schools, hospitals, treatment centers, long term care facilities, jails and prisons). Social workers also have an impact on community systems and society through their policy advocacy efforts. These policy advocacy efforts often consider and have an impact on issues of religious belief, identity, affiliation and practice.
Social Work as a profession relies on knowledge and skills that come from the study of human culture, including the study of religion. Both the National Association of Social Workers code of ethics and The Council on Social Work Education accrediting standards specifically address the domain of religion as an area where social workers must demonstrate competency of knowledge and skill in serving individuals, families, groups, organizations and communities.
The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated in 2023 there were 750,000 social work jobs. Similarly, the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration data noted that over 200,000 social workers represent the largest professional provider group of mental health services in the country. This number is larger than psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychiatric nurses combined. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics in 2023 predicted a deficit of 74,000 social workers annually for the next decade, highlighting a need for educational planning and workforce development. As the demand for services continues to rise with an aging population in the United States, there is a need for informed social work professionals who can address complex issues using scholarship from academic religious studies programs. Religious literacy in professional education offers critical resources for addressing these issues of human freedom which social workers encounter in their daily work with clients and the institutions in which they serve.
Professional associations and accrediting bodies are increasingly aware that addressing social determinants of physical and mental health and social well-being are critical competencies for professionals to possess. These competencies include addressing the potential for disparities in service outcomes, particularly affecting people and communities at the margins of our society. Issues of discrimination based on real or perceived religious identity are explicitly being identified as areas to be addressed in preparing professionals for their work with an increasingly diverse religious population.
This paper will include examples of social policy issues where religion has been a significant factor in the professional educational discourse of social work. Social work as a profession is facing the challenges of how to respond and adapt to the changing political and legal environment on topics such as climate change, reproductive rights, sexual orientation, gender identity and religious expression/religious identity. Social workers are often one of the few advocates present to assure the right to freedom for people living with compromised levels of freedom within institutions. This includes vulnerable populations such as children living in residential or foster care situations; adults who are living in long term health care facilities due to physical, emotional or cognitive impairments; or youth or adults who may be detained within the criminal justice system who are awaiting trial or serving a sentence following conviction.
This paper will present three case studies based on actual experiences of social work students and their social work supervisors from three institutional settings: a high school, a long-term health care facility and a state prison. The case studies represent three unique contexts in which students and their internship supervisors have engaged with issues of religious freedom in relation to belief, identity, affiliation and practice of the clients served and/or the professionals working in the institution. The paper will examine philosophical and practical approaches for how the teaching about religion can strengthen professional and inter-professional educational learning outcomes for students and practitioners in a variety of educational and professional settings.
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This paper will present three case studies based on actual experiences of social work students and their social work supervisors from three institutional settings: a high school, a long-term health care facility and a state prison. The case studies represent three unique contexts in which students and their internship supervisors have engaged with issues of religious freedom in relation to belief, identity, affiliation and practice of the clients served and/or the professionals working in the institution. The paper will examine philosophical and practical approaches for how the teaching about religion can strengthen professional and inter-professional educational learning outcomes for students and practitioners in a variety of educational and professional settings.