Religious and Spiritual Trends among Female Students of Different Ethnic Origins and Fields of Study at a Secular Academic College in Israel

Anat Feldman,Dikla Barak

doi:10.3390/rel12060453

Abstract

The current study examined trends regarding religion and spirituality among Jewish and Bedouin female students studying education and sciences at Achva Academic College, a rural secular college in southern Israel. The Bedouin women all originated from an isolationist traditional society, vigilantly maintained over many years. Contrastingly, the Jewish women come from a secular or traditional society, which is not isolationist. Science and education are two completely different worlds of content. Science studies include analytical research, with the students carrying out experiments in laboratories and within the community, whereas education studies focus on pedagogy and transfer of knowledge. The study employed a questionnaire with Likert items regarding religion and spirituality. We found the Bedouin students were more religious than the Jewish ones, but spirituality levels were similar. This finding indicated that the Bedouin students have indeed broken down the barriers to academic education, but still have retained their traditional community framework. Likewise, we found that the students of science were less observant of religious practices in comparison to those studying education, but they were similar regarding spirituality and the theoretical aspects of religion. This finding showed that practical aspects of religion can be a factor influencing the choice of field of study.

Highlights

There are two primary characteristics that set the Achva Academic College apart from other Israeli academic colleges: the first is that there is a higher percentage of Bedouin female students studying there than at other colleges, and the second is that it offers the study of education alongside sciences
This study was pioneering in its examining of the attitudes toward religion and spirituality among female students from different ethnic communities and fields of study
The study found that among the students of education, the Bedouin students were more religious than the Jewish ones, but their spirituality level was similar

Summary

Introduction

The Encyclopaedia Britannica defines religion as “human beings’ relation to that which they regard as holy, sacred, absolute, spiritual, divine, or worthy of especial reverence. It is commonly regarded as consisting of the way people deal with ultimate concerns about their lives and their fate after death”. The Attitude towards Religion among Jews and Muslims in Israel. In 2016, the population of Israel was 8,628,600 Of this population, 75% were Jewish, 18% Muslim, and 7% belonged to other religions (Central Bureau of Statistics 2018a). In 2016, when we carried out the study, 47.5% of Jews aged 20 and over defined themselves as secular, 26.5% as traditional, 13.8% as religious to very religious, 8.6% as ultra-Orthodox, and 3.6% as “unknown” (Central Bureau of Statistics 2018b)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion