Dr. Kathleen Garces-Foley is a Professor of Religious Studies at Marymount University, and has been a faculty member since 2006.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n <\/p>\n
\u201c<\/span>A lot has changed since the NSCM was conducted,\u201d Dr. Garces-Foley explained. \u201cAt the time of the study, the impact of the Great Recession had not been fully realized. Evangelicals still outnumbered the religiously unaffiliated on campus. The smartphone and social media did not dominate undergraduate social life, and the campus interfaith movement was still in its infancy. More students on campus today face mental health challenges, and there is heightened attention to racial injustice and religious bigotry.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBut amidst the coronavirus pandemic, access to campuses for research has been limited. Yet, the team has found a creative way to move forward.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cCampus ministers and students are now very familiar with Zoom and comfortable using it,\u201d Dr. Garces-Foley said. \u201cWe have saved money and time working online. I expect to conduct more interviews online in the future even after the pandemic because it’s so convenient.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nFor her part in the study, Dr. Garces-Foley plans to study Catholic, Muslim and Hindu campus ministries and religious student groups at Georgetown University and George Mason University.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhile she has been able to watch several religious services streamed online for research, Dr. Garces-Foley admits it can be difficult to get a deeper sense of campus ministry through virtual formats. Still, she notes how the higher education community is adjusting to the change.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201c<\/span>Most events have been moved online, either over Zoom or livestreamed on YouTube, but they are just not the same,\u201d Dr. Garces-Foley explained. \u201cThough I don’t get to see the students participating, it’s fascinating to see them use the chat function during a service. The online medium creates new opportunities for connection.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nResearchers are hopeful that they will be able to visit campuses in person as soon as it is safe to do so.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nThe full team also includes Dr. Catherine Hoegeman from Missouri State; Dr. Rebecca Kim at Pepperdine University; Dr. David Sikkink at the University of Notre Dame; and Missouri State University religious studies graduate student Cody Yanez. The grant\u2019s project manager is J. Dane Wallace from Missouri State.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When Dr. Kathleen Garces-Foley, Professor of Religious Studies at Marymount University, began work on a new campus ministry study alongside an impressive team of co-investigators in 2019, she never could have imagined conducting research during a pandemic. \u201cWe expected to meet as a team in May of 2020 to develop the research protocols, but […]<\/p>\n
Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":87,"featured_media":7132,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[393,395,40,15,394,311],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMU professor, team of researchers continue campus ministry study during COVID-19 pandemic - Marymount University<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n