A welfare agency runs a government-funded youth program to address the needs of at-risk young people. One of the youth workers is also a volunteer youth leader at his place of worship, in his own time. The welfare agency manager becomes aware that the youth worker has been talking to various clients of the youth program about his religious activities and how they could become involved.
When the manager raises this with him, the youth worker says that religion can be a powerful tool for good in young people's lives, and points to the example of one of the agency's ex-clients whose new-found faith has completely transformed her life for the better.
The manager acknowledges that there is some truth in what the youth worker says, but still feels uneasy.
What would you do if you were the manager?
This might just be the most complex ethical dilemma yet! In my experience it's not that uncommon, particularly with new youth workers, for there to be a need to learn about the boundary between personal and professional life. And I've seen cases where youth workers have talked about their personal life in terms of sexual activity, drug use, and of course religious persuasion.
ReplyDeleteI would treat the example the same way I would treat any other example of disclosing or discussing an activity that is inappropriate in the context: proselytising anything as a youth worker beyond the scope of your work is inappropriate. I would sit the worker down and explain in detail that faith is a deeply personal matter. If a young person asks you a questioning pertaining to God (and no pun intended, but God knows how many times I’ve been engaged in religious discussions by young people over the course of my career), then the professional approach is to explain that you believe what you believe, but also make it clear that there are a variety of views and that it’s up to the individual to explore them and find the answer for themselves This kind of conversation might lead to more specific questions, such as “well when’s your church service on” or “what’s the right religion”, but I think these kinds of questions need to be answered carefully with a “here are the variety of options” and anything that is more detailed should be prefaced with “this is what I believe and you may agree or disagree with it.”
Having said all this, we need to be mindful as youth workers always to act in a way that is inclusive, but also to honour that being a young person is probably the most active time for these types of questions to surface. I would never encourage a “we don’t discuss religion” approach to this issue. Like any other controversial topic (sexuality, politics, ethics, etc), religion is often a topic of interest to young people, and in many cases, a youth worker might happen to be the person that a young person feels most comfortable discussing it with.
I agree with DJ Kinetic. It is the practice in our organization that we initiate the conversation around religion, however if a young person asks, we can share our understanding. As for me, I am pleased to have the knowledge & faith that enables me to best function in the field of youth work, which I believe brings healing, light & love in the dark situations we may be in or have come from. AD.
ReplyDeleteI assume the previous person actually meant to say: "It is the practice in our organization that we DON'T initiate the conversation around religion...
ReplyDeleteI think it is fine to discuss religion in all its manifestations, however, recruiting for a religious youth group and using your work as a means to access young people for that is overstepping the boundaries. I have seen youth workers 'grooming' young people for this purpose and have had to intervene. Young people at risk can be very vunerable and easy targets.
ReplyDeleteI chose to intervene because we are a non-religious youth service run by local government. Our purpose is to provide social and recreational options for local kids - not indoctrinate religious teachings. That is what the church youth groups have been established for. I don't have a problem with kids using our service and attending a church youth group as well.
Intervention has included talking to the staff member about the purpose of their role in the service and where our boundaries lie. The staff member has been monitored to ensure compliance.
In this instance I would do the same and offer to put up a flier in the centre about when the other group is on. People are entitled to their beliefs however, it is about the role of your youth centre and ensuring that the young people attending are safe.
If Religion is ok to discuss in youth centres, can I talk about my political leanings and all the benefits of joining one particular political party? If No, then what hypocrisy! Why is religion so special? Is using religion as a means of improving a young person's life "evidence based"? or are we are sector that only works on hunches?
ReplyDeleteAs a Social Worker who works with youth and previously trained Minister who left the church (altogether) this is deffinately a dillema for me. I guess I would only introduce religion to young people by saying to them "what in your life gives you meaning or do you believe that you have a purpose to be on this planet?" but I would then advise them that they will have to find this for themselves and that each person will find things that are simmilar and different to the way that other people answer this question. If I was asked my personal belief I would say that I believe in God but not in religion and that at times my belief in God has helped me in hard times and at times my belief in a God that others belive in has made my life harder. No one has a monopoly on knowing more about what God is than someone else.
ReplyDeleteIf the youth worker wants to convert people (young or old) to his religion, he should do it in his own time - not when he is being paid to be secular. Can I talk about my views on abortion to young women in the centre or do i have to give the organisations policy on the matter???? When you sign on the dotted line to accept a position you accept that you can't do everythying your way and that the organisations policies will override your personal feelings at times. That's what policy and procedures are for, so that a consistent message is given to young people who attend the centre. I can't tell young people my thoughts on religion (that it's all a load of bull, that there is no god and that i believe people who have "spiritual experiences" are actually just having a brain malfunction and we should stop enabling those kinds of people), because the organisations policy overrides my thoughts on the topic.
ReplyDeleteWhatever the solution, all staff would need to be briefed on the agency's position- once clients start asking these questions, it involves the whole team.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, I have generally encouraged at-risk young people to keep contact with their cultures. Whether I like it or not, this includes their religious gatherings.
a major factor in the resilience of young people is their sense of belonging to a supportive community. Another is having support from individuals who offer unconditional acceptance of them. (Yes, this is evidence based). I have run Church youth groups which offered this- I considered my group a success when participants learnt to think things through, and, for example, unconditionally accept each other, regardless of opinions, sexualities and ethnicities. I have seen those that offer the exact opposite, and I do not wholeheartedly endorse all religious youth groups.
I'd assess the religious group, meeting with the person in charge, offering agency to agency support, advice etc to volunteers. Some will welcome this. The most 'toxic' already have all the answers, see no limits to their own knowledge, abilities etc, or any need to work with other organisations.
as manager, I would have the conversation with the worker described above by anonymous (October 11). I would also:
- ensure that everyone gets the same service delivered to them, regardless of workers' other roles. I have ongoing discussion of this (and any other dual roles workers have) in supervision sessions. Knowing the untamed enthusiasm of some young evangelists, I would ask the worker to consider whether he can honestly, morally and ethically be paid to work within agency limits.
- ensure that it is clearly stated that the two services are distinct, and that there is no endorsement of the other service or the workers' behaviour.
As a manager I would sit down privately with the youth worker and take a positive stanse by commending them for their interest and caring attitude toward the clients.I would discuss with them their interpretation of the service's policies on providing an inclusive service. If necessary I would go through a copy of the policy with the employee.
ReplyDeleteIt is not stated whether the religion discussed is Christian or otherwise. I believe it is important to allow young clients to discuss and explore religion, if they bring up the subject, as they are developing their own ideas at this age. I don't believe it is appropriate for a worker to discuss theirs. The contact details for local youth groups of various religions could be made available along with other appropriate services. I don't believe it is ethical for any particular one to be marketed above others.
As a manager i would like to deal with issues as soon as possible so everyone is clear on the policy and procedure of this workplace they are in now so everyone in this agency feels safe and comfortable. I would make it very clear that religion can be very powerful,but that we are not here today to debait those issues and we have to respect wishies of all backgrond and religions that are in this agency.
ReplyDeleteWhen raising this issue with the youth worker one of the first things I would investigate is whether he has discussed all the youth programs on offer in the area or just the one offered at his place of worship. If he has neglected to present all the available options I would then be obligated, as the manager, to review the centres policies and procedures with him and discuss the importance of presenting young people with all the relevant information needed for them to be able to make an informed decision. (We are all different and what may work for one may not necessarily be the right thing for another). Other topics I feel would need to be discussed include:
ReplyDelete- The roles of a youth worker. Providing information, support and a safe environment ect...
- The importance of young people making their own decisions. After being presented with all the tools to make an informed decision a young person has the responsibility to decide what they think is best for them so they have a sense of ownership and control over their life, this will empower and build confidence in young people. If the decisions of a young person are influenced they may lose their sense of identity which could cause more harm than good.
- The youth worker may need to update his skills and qualifications, be retrained in some areas and might need to be supervised while working with young people until appropriate training has been provided and skills are updated. A formal warning may also need to be documented if he has breached policies and procedures of the agency and if there was no breach the agencies PP may need to be reviewed and updated.
When raising this issue with the youth worker one of the first things I would investigate is whether he has discussed all the youth programs on offer in the area or just the one offered at his place of worship. If he has neglected to present all the available options I would then be obligated, as the manager, to review the centres policies and procedures with him and discuss the importance of presenting young people with all the relevant information needed for them to be able to make an informed decision. (We are all different and what may work for one may not necessarily be the right thing for another). Other topics I feel would need to be discussed include:
ReplyDelete- The roles of a youth worker. Providing information, support and a safe environment ect...
- The importance of young people making their own decisions. After being presented with all the tools to make an informed decision a young person has the responsibility to decide what they think is best for them so they have a sense of ownership and control over their life, this will empower and build confidence in young people. If the decisions of a young person are influenced they may lose their sense of identity which could cause more harm than good.
- The youth worker may need to update his skills and qualifications, be retrained in some areas and might need to be supervised while working with young people until appropriate training has been provided and skills are updated. A formal warning may also need to be documented if he has breached policies and procedures of the agency and if there was no breach the agencies PP may need to be reviewed and updated.
As the manager, I would recommend to the youth worker that he not push any particular religious denomination onto the youth but if they asked any religious questions he could talk of God and how he is also known as a loving and caring Heavenly Father who answers prayers.
ReplyDeleteToday in the home many parents choose to let their children grow up without any talk of God but I reason that too many children have nothing to believe in or are without the nurturing of a mother or father and it seems that this is what youth need most.
I would speak to the worker and explain that although I respect their religous beliefs this organisation which we represent is a government run program. That promotes equlity. This means we respect people regardless of their religion and we do not actively promote any religion or religous views to our clients. I would also want to call a meeting of employees to discuss the issue and to remind the rest of the staff that this is not accepted. Government and religion should be seperated in a democracy not using one another to promote what some in the community may see as propaganda aimed at the vulnerable. Also promoting a particular religous view or belief may isolate the service from different religous groups.
ReplyDeleteI was once a young person in a refuge where a youth worker invited me to come with her to a church event. I was never religious and I didn't realise that this event was a new-age-evangelical church which took their worshipping very seriously. I was very uncomfortable at the event and found that this caused a breakdown of rapport with the worker at the refuge afterwards.
ReplyDeleteNow as a Youth Worker I definitely would say that personal religious beliefs be kept personal. If a young person asks about a religion perhaps tell them how they can find out more information for themselves but not put your own beliefs at their disposal. Young people are immpressionable and you may think it could help, but it may actually be counter-productive as it was in my case.
each individual facility has a way in which they present the lessons for the youth attending, upon finding that the worker is talking to the youth about the workers religion the manager should approach the worker and express his views without offending the worker or upsetting the way in which the worker has gained a rapport. in doing this the worker will become aware that the inclusion of his religion to his work at the facility has become a distraction to the way in which things are normally dealt with. however this may be of assistance to some of the youth at the facility
ReplyDeleteAs the manager I would be having a discussion with the youth worker, then I would make a staff memo to any other members or staff associated with our service in regards to this situation.
ReplyDeleteThe youth worker needs to understand that the youth worker's religion and beliefs are his own and all individuals are entitled to this.
There are so many choices of religion that are available and the youth worker should give a wide variety of choices of religions and beliefs to the client to research to make his/her own decision that will help him/her spirituality.
Youth workers should be tapping in to what Young People are already interested in and passionate about and encouraging them/supporting them in that. Or UNBIASEDLY helping them work out what they are into.
ReplyDeleteThe point is that this should be focused on on the YOUNG PERSON. I love martial arts and (with my companys permission and training) use this with my clients- but I don't go around to all my clients encouraging them to take up kickboxing. If they mention it I'll tell them about the benefits it can have for them. But I'll do the same thing for a scrapbooking class, or motorcycle club, or, yes, a church or youth group if thats what THEY ARE GETTING BENEFIT from.
Preaching religion can cause conflict in the workplace because it does not promote equality for multi-faith practice. The rights of the young people should be paramont,therefore, the needs of the youth worker are secondary. The youth worker is acting inappropriately by attempting to indoctrinate and impose his beliefs upon the young people. Young people should be supported to make their own decisions by youth workers.
ReplyDeleteCWC Youth work Level 2
I would hold a stone-throwing ceremony for this youth worker. How dare he try and help this young person when everything else has failed!
ReplyDeleteI think avoiding religious discussions is impossible when young people are growing up and some want to explore the spiritual side of things. So care and a form of neutrality is the best way to go as highlighted by so many comments above.
ReplyDeleteHowever, for a Youthorker to then take a young person to a church, etc outside of his job is where I would obviously draw the line.
Looking at it from another angle, what would we say if a Youthworker took a young person home with them to "offer them a better shot at life"?
What if a Youthworker took a yp to their home to counsel them about their drug abuse?
The spiritual/religious side of things is not an excuse to involve yourself with the young people you work with, in a non-work environment.
I think most youth workers are scared of what to say/not to say regarding spirituality and religion. But it's a crucial issue to understand particularly as our society becomes more multicultural with associated plurality of religious and non-religious worldviews, and young people who hold those worldviews. Simply advocating an approach which assumes religion is 'private' is not going to cut it. Some of the responses reflect a sacred/secular divide which is does not reflect real life.
ReplyDeleteAt the very least, youth work training needs to get youth workers to reflect deeply on their own perceptions of spirituality and religion: both for themselves and our culture.