For the Adventurous

Seoul Christian University is seeking doctoral students to teach one or two semesters in courses such as pastoral counseling. They ask that you be enrolled in a doctoral program, and have English fluency. Your duties would be to teach three courses per semester, in return for housing, a stipend, and the adventure of living in Korea. Contact Dr. Jacob Lee for more information at Jacob4jx/at/scu.ac.kr
(change the /at/ to @)

Thanks to Steve Bauman for the tip!

Robert Emmons on Gratitude

Robert Emmons offers an op-ed on gratitude published in the Sacramento Bee. In it he summarizes research on the benefits of gratitude for one's physical and mental health. Read it, and share it with your friends and students.

Faculty Position, Lausanne

The University of Lausanne is conducting a search for a full professor or tenure track position in the social science of contemporary religion. Click here for details.

Catholic Universities

The intersection of doctrinal purity and academic freedom is in the news in this article from Inside Higher Ed. At question is a religious institution's concern over theology being taught in a manner consistent with its beliefs, and what -- if any -- latitude faculty have in pursuing questions related to doctrine. If you are interested in such questions, the article is worth a read. My own experience with the matter is limited to a job interview I had, many years ago, at a Catholic college. A couple of different times, during two separate interviews, the interviewer asked how I would respond to a student who sought advice about abortion. A look at my c.v. will reveal that I have never taught at a Catholic-affiliated college, so I am left to conclude that my answer (that it was a matter between her and God) wasn't sufficiently orthodox. It would be interesting to know how that school would handle an interview for a theology position.

Unitarian-Universalist Jokes

If you are in the mood for a laugh, visit the Unitarian Universalist Joke site. You'll be sure to smile at the humor. After that, see my collection of jokes if you haven't viewed them. Start your Monday with a smile.
:-)

Exorcism and Institutional Distinctiveness

An article in the New York Times reports on a conference in Baltimore focusing on exorcism in the Catholic Church. The article has a significant social science element. For instance, it quotes Scott Appleby as saying,

“What they’re trying to do in restoring exorcisms,” said Dr. Appleby, a longtime observer of the bishops, “is to strengthen and enhance what seems to be lost in the church, which is the sense that the church is not like any other institution. It is supernatural, and the key players in that are the hierarchy and the priests who can be given the faculties of exorcism.

“It’s a strategy for saying: ‘We are not the Federal Reserve, and we are not the World Council of Churches. We deal with angels and demons.’ ”

It may be useful reading for students.

SPSP - Psych of Religion Pre-Conference Events

2011 SPSP Pre-conference on Psychology of Religion-Spirituality

8am-4:30pm, Thursday, January 27, 2011, Room 213 Concourse Level, San Antonio Convention Center, San Antonio, Texas, USA

Final Call for Posters: We have space for only about 15 more posters that present psychology of religion research, preferably from a social-personality perspective. The next 15 reasonable submissions will likely be accepted. Decisions will be made on a rolling basis. To submit a poster for consideration, please send a pdf file containing title, 250 word abstract, author(s), affiliation(s), and email address of presenter to Kevin L. Ladd (kladd@iusb.edu). Data must be collected and analyzed before submission; we will not consider abstracts for incomplete studies. If the first or sole author is a student, please indicate whether or not you would like to be considered for the student poster award.

PRELIMINARY PROGRAM (presenter order may change) (updated September 15, 2010)

8:00 - 8:55: Continental breakfast (coffee, juice, fruit, pastries)
9:00 – 9:30: Ian Hansen (John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY)
9:30 – 10:00: Eric Hill (Arizona State University)
10:00 - 10:30: Michael Inzlicht (University of Toronto-Scarborough)
10:30 - 11:00: Break with snack/drinks
11:00 - 11:30: Larisa Heiphetz (Harvard University)
11:30 – 12:00: Margaret Evans (University of Michigan)
12:00 – 2:00: Box lunch and poster session
1:00 – 2:00: Assigned SPSP check-in time
2:00 – 2:30: Ariel Malka (Yeshiva University)
2:30 – 3:00: Karina Schumann (University of Waterloo)
3:00 – 3:30: David Rosmarin (McLean Hospital/Harvard Medical School)
3:30 – 4:00: Christopher Ellison (University of Texas - San Antonio, Sociology)
4:00 - 4:30: Edward Slingerland (University of British Columbia, Asian Studies)