Posted: 5/02/08

Posted: 5/02/08

Research findings to be presented
at social work colloquium

WACO—Catherine Sykes, who is graduating with a master’s degree in social work from Baylor University, received inspiration for her research project sitting at breakfast one morning.

Because she had at one time suffered from an eating disorder and saw many of her friends still suffering, she wondered what she could do to address the situation. Her cereal box gave her the answer.

“Next to a picture of a morsel of the cereal were the words ‘not actual Size,’” Sykes said. “Here they have regulations on acknowledging the actual size for a bit of cereal, but never mind about the entire human being that gets published in advertisements. Where’s her ‘not actual size’ label?”

Sykes’ research on photo labeling as it applies to truth-in-advertising regulations, completed in cooperation with the Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Eating Disorders will be presented May 7 in Waco at the Baylor School of Social Work’s master of social work practice colloquium.

Sykes’ presentation will be one of 66 research and/or practice reports given that day— each on a topic regarding social justice issues.

Sykes conducted an online survey made available on the ANAD website (www.anad.org).

Survey questions measured self-perception in terms of thoughts, feelings and behaviors after viewing fashion models representative of current cultural ideals in photographic advertising.

Two hundred and thirteen participants viewed photos of fashion models of both genders, and then answered a series of questions, responding according to a four-point scale. The participants then viewed the same photographs with photo-labels and responded to the same set of questions.

Findings from the research study provide evidence that photo-labeling has a positive impact on self-perception for the population and in the context studied.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that examines a point-of-contact intervention in photographic advertising,” Sykes said. “The findings are exciting because they show that it is possible to negate some of the psychological damage that can occur when individuals view unrealistic media images and then attempt to hold themselves to those same unrealistic standards.”

Registration for the School of Social Work’s colloquium begins at 7:30 a.m., May 7, in the Cashion Academic Center on the Baylor University campus in Waco. Presentations are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There is no cost for the colloquium. For more information, contact Krista_Barrett@baylor.edu or call 254-710-6400.

Posted: 5/02/08

Bible Studies for Life Series for May 11

Communication is key in relationships

• Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 2 Samuel 14:23-24,28-33; Proverbs 4:3-6

By Gary Long

Willow Meadows Baptist Church, Houston

Communication is the most difficult part of any relationship. As soon as we think we understand the other person, we realize we don’t. We think we’ve been heard, only to have our loved one act as if we’d never dealt with the issue at all. Or, the last resort—known as the silent treatment—happens when we shut down and cut off all communication.

But God has a different plan. Good communication is an important key to unlocking your best relationships.

Biblically speaking, intentional communication with another person about God and his ways builds a solid relationship and helps us avoid wrongdoing. Communication is critical for all healthy relationships, and God makes it possible for humans to interact in meaningful ways that increase communication and strengthen all relations.

This lesson is designed to help you build strong, godly relationships by identifying reasons people in relationships stifle or lack communication and by considering your own relationships that may need some attention and time.

Communicate: Divine example and exhortation (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

In this first selection, Moses is instructing the Israelites not only to love and obey God but also to teach regularly to their children God’s promises and provisions. These old words of our faith give us a target for effective communication with our family and in particular with our children, especially verse 7: “Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

The key to communication is talking to one another about important things, especially faith. Whether we’re running around in the minivan to soccer, dance and piano, or taking a road trip for vacation, being “on the road” offers great chances for communication between family members.

A nightly ritual in our house is bedtime prayers and blessings. I ask my children to reflect on what they did well that day, and on what they could have done better or differently. After a period of reflection, we say prayers of thanks, forgiveness and intercession.

Moses says that talking about the precepts of God “when you lie down” is important, and it is a wonderful way to end a day with family. We are able to tell important things about our successes and failures and to build a relationship through sharing. Morning is another great time to accomplish this kind of communication in families.

Communicate: Life and protection (Proverbs 4:3-6)

This second passage is part of an appeal from the writer to a young person to pursue wisdom. In exhorting the listener, the writer harkens back to words of his father’s wisdom spoken to him “when I was still tender.”

Pursue wisdom, his father told him. The writer is remembering words from his father at a very young age, and it illustrates to us that important communication takes place early on in life. We hear this same man now telling his own children, indicating that communication between generations continues throughout life.

While reflecting on his own upbringing, this father is communicating to his children about life and the pursuit of wisdom.

It is essential as you teach this lesson to remind your learners that instruction about God is essential in the lives of children, and continued conversation and reflection on God is essential between adults.

By keeping the traditions of the faith in front of our families, we help create a space for holy conversations to happen, and in those holy conversations, we grow closer to one another. Sharing the Spirit of God increases harmony in the home and makes communication come together. People who live in wisdom relate in harmony. Finally, it’s important to remember that what we communicate and that we communicate are equally essential to healthy relationships.

Communicate: A case study (2 Samuel 14:23-24,28-33)

Exiled five years from his father, David, Absalom sought to communicate face to face with him but this story ultimately doesn’t end well. Your learners may not be familiar with this portion of David’s family life, so it will be good to briefly summarize the struggles between Absalom and David found in 2 Samuel 13:1 to 14:22. In the end, Absalom is killed at the hands of Joab, and the story of David and his son is a negative example of communication. In effect, it is a story of “too little, too late.”

This may be a painful topic for those who have adult children—for it will remind them that displaying affection for a moment cannot make up for years of neglecting communication. What’s more, the cutoff between David and Absalom fostered bitterness that lasted a lifetime.

Cut-off is a wrong way to handle relationship mishaps, but it’s certainly popular for folk who like to avoid hard conversations and conflict. Cut-off feels easy at first. It’s easier to just not talk or relate. But in the long run it is very difficult and costly because of lost time and lost love. The dismally gloomy truth is that we cannot make up for lost time in relationships, even if there is reconciliation at the end.

Posted: 5/02/08

Explore the Bible Series for May 11

Work toward reconciliation

• Genesis 44:1-2, 32-34; 45:1-9, 14-15

By Donald Raney

First Baptist Church, Petersburg

When someone has hurt us, particularly if we feel it was intentional, typically the furthest thing from our mind is to seek reconciliation. We would much rather seek revenge.

After a little time has passed, most people tend to settle into one of several attitudes. Some choose to “leave well enough alone,” thinking somehow the breach in the relationship will heal itself. Others consciously write the person off and avoid any contact with the one who has hurt them. Still others go about their lives waiting for the other person to seek their forgiveness.

Each of these approaches most often end with a relationship that is permanently broken. Such an outcome breaks the heart of God who created us to be in mutually edifying relationships with each other.

In the biblical account of Joseph and his brothers, we see an extreme case of broken relationships. Joseph’s pride and poor judgment along with his brothers’ jealousy and harsh reactions led to a seemingly irreconcilable split. Indeed, Joseph’s brothers had assumed Joseph was dead and had gone on with their lives. When they ultimately were brought back together, Joseph found himself in a position to exact revenge. Yet as we read the story, we can see how we might fulfill God’s desire that we always work toward reconciliation.

Seeking confirmation (Genesis 44:1-2)

Because they had assumed Joseph had died in slavery, Jacob’s sons did not recognize Joseph when they came to Egypt for help. Joseph, however, did recognize his brothers. But before he would reveal his identity to them, he wanted to see if they had changed. He wanted to assess what their reaction might be to learning the one they had sold was now in a position of power. He wanted to know if they still harbored resentment or jealousy against a son of Rachel, Jacob’s favored wife.

Before he would give them grain, he required that they bring their youngest brother, Rachel’s son Benjamin, to Egypt. He then arranged to make it look as if Benjamin had stolen a chalice. Would the brothers simply allow Benjamin to be imprisoned or would they fight to protect him?

Often when someone has hurt us, we may feel God prodding us to seek reconciliation, but we are not sure the other person would be receptive. While we may not be in a position of influence like Joseph, we still can determine the heart of the other person by regularly praying for him or her, performing some act of kindness for him or her, or complimenting him or her on some accomplishment. While these efforts may not lead to the desired response, we must still be the one to act.

Receiving verification (Genesis 44:32-34)

Joseph’s plan worked as he had desired. When it was discovered Benjamin had “stolen” the chalice, his brothers immediately came to his defense. Indeed, it was Judah, who had led in the initial plot to get rid of Joseph (Genesis 37:26-27), who spoke first and even offered to remain in prison if Joseph would allow Benjamin to return home. It was clear to Joseph from such a reaction his brothers had changed and he could reveal himself to them and seek to restore the relationship.

As we work toward reconciliation, our efforts may not have the same positive results Joseph’s actions had. The other person may simply not want to reconcile. We should never allow that to prevent us from trying. We also should be sure we are sensitive to their responses and be ready and willing to pursue reconciliation should their response indicate their openness to it.

Making reconciliation (Genesis 45:1-9, 14-15)

Joseph clearly was overcome by Judah’s response to the threat to Benjamin. He had all his servants leave the room in order to reveal himself privately to his brothers. Once the room was cleared, Joseph spoke to his brothers. The temptation likely was there to yell and criticize them for what they had done to him years earlier. He could have gone into a long speech about all of the ways he had suffered and all of the things he had missed by not being with his family.

But Joseph did not do that. Instead he began by reassuring them he no longer bore any grudge. They need not fear him. Time had taught Joseph that God had been at work guiding him there so he might be able to help save the lives of many people. He told them he would make arrangements for the entire family to come and live in a prosperous area within Egypt.

Joseph understood that if reconciliation was to be made, he would not only have to make the first move, but he would also have to forgive his brothers and let go of all the hurt of the past.

The same is true for us. If we want to truly be reconciled with others, we must move beyond past wrongs and hurt. Romans 12:18 instructs us to do all we can to live at peace with others. Peace cannot coexist where there is any trace of tension, conflict or hurt feelings. Reconciliation between individuals always is part of God’s will for their lives. Sometimes we simply have to be willing to turn the hurt over to God and look for ways to be God’s instrument for bringing about reconciliation.

Posted: 5/01/08

Baylor nursing students meet
life-and-death needs in Africa

By Rebekah Hardage & Matt Pene

Baylor University

The six-hour journey from a remote Ethiopian village was not easy for a woman pregnant with twins and going into labor. Making matters more difficult was her mode of transportation—being carried by several men.

The woman arrived at the medical clinic frightened and bleeding, but she was assisted by a group of students from Baylor University’s Louise Herrington School of Nursing who were ready to help.

Michelle Sanders, a Baylor University alum, teaches a group of children from an orphanage in Uganda the “Sic ’Em Bears” cheer.

The first twin to arrive was born healthy. However, the second twin was born with several life-threatening complications. The team of Baylor nurses worked through the night providing medical care to make sure the baby survived.

“I really view it as a child who was able to survive due to the Baylor team that assisted the mother,” said Lori Spies, a lecturer in nursing at Baylor who coordinated the mission trip.

“It was a matter of life or death, and the students used what they had learned to save the baby.”

The women who helped save the life of the child were five Baylor nursing students on a month-long medical mission trip to Ethiopia and Uganda.

Ethiopia and Uganda

The trip was created to increase the capacity of nurses as health care providers and designed to enhance their education while serving the health needs in a developing country.

The trip began in Addis Abbaba in Ethiopia, where Spies and her students worked along side Kim Scheel, a graduate of Baylor’s family nurse practitioner program.

The students worked in an established medical clinic in a predominantly Muslim area and treated a wide variety of tropical diseases like anthrax, trachoma, malaria, intestinal worms and amoebic infections. The students also provided prenatal care and assisted in labor and delivery, a first for the annual trip.

Inspiration for the trip

After leaving Ethiopia, the group traveled to Uganda, where they toured the International Hospital and its associated nursing school. Rose Nanyonga, the hospital’s nursing director, is a former student of Spies at Baylor who traveled with the group several years ago. Nanyonga was the inspiration for starting the annual trip to Uganda, Spies said.

“Rose could have held a powerful position in the hospital system in this country, yet she felt called by Christ to return to Uganda and work for the benefit of her people. I have tremendous respect for that,” Spies said.

The Baylor students also worked in an orphanage in Uganda, providing medical care and health education to nearly 500 children, primarily orphaned because of the AIDS epidemic. They provided each child with one-on-one counseling and guidance on topics ranging from hand washing to staying in school.

“By returning each year we are working to create a sustainable outreach to improve the lives of some of the neediest people in God’s kingdom,” Spies said. “It is a blessing to serve the needs of some of the poorest people in the world. This trip just fits perfectly into Baylor’s mission.”

Posted: 5/01/08

Howard Payne students learn
about Islam firsthand in North Africa

By Kalie Lowrie

Howard Payne University

Before Grace Davis traveled to North Africa, she expected to be immersed in the Muslim culture and to be tested and challenged in ways she had never experienced. The journey did not disappoint.

Davis, a junior at Howard Payne University, traveled to North Africa with seven classmates as part of a cross-cultural studies program. The group, led by Mary Carpenter, assistant professor of Christian studies, worked primarily with Muslim university students—helping them with their English and building relationships.

Working directly with Muslims allowed the Howard Payne students to learn about Islamic culture. Although Davis thought she understood the culture before leaving, she found that it was not like what she expected. She felt humbled by the experience as she worked with students her own age.

“They were very friendly, loving and welcoming. In spite of all of our differences, it was still easy to connect with them,” she said.

Evangelism looked quite different to the students, as they grew to recognize the value of simple conversations about their faith in the Islamic culture, not traditional methods of personal evangelism. And they discovered the importance of prayer.

“The best impact and strongest influence that we could have was on our knees praying for these lost people,” she said. As they drove across the foreign land, Grace would look out the window of the bus and pray for each person she saw.

Howard Payne University students Ovi Reyna (left) and David Kampfhenkel (right) explore caves in North Africa.

Jami Oliver, another student on the trip, also shared about the significance of prayer. “There is a spiritual darkness in North Africa that I can’t even describe,” she said, “but I gained an understanding on the importance of prayer – the greatest way for us to shine a light in the darkness was to saturate every area with prayer.”

Through their class, an international missions practicum, the students have been learning all semester about all of the details involved in planning a mission trip.

“Many of our students will be workers in cross-cultural settings or as leaders of global missions in their local churches,” Carpenter said. “Students need to be trained in how to discern and work effectively in diverse types of partnerships.  They also need to know the practicalities of budgeting, raising support, orientation and re-entry. More than just a trip to North Africa, this course is designed to offer them hands on experience on how to create those connections both locally and globally, and give toward kingdom goals.”

The students left North Africa encouraged by the work that God is doing there, they said. “It was very overwhelming to see the multitudes of people who are lost,” Oliver said. “But it is awesome to be able to confess that we serve a God who is much bigger than the multitudes and perfectly capable of reaching these people through his power. I was honored to be an instrument used for his glory.”

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Sen. Chuck Grassley insists he’s not trying to impose his Baptist theology on Pentecostal and Charismatic ministries; he simply wants them to obey the tax laws.

The Iowa Republican has drawn fire for using his position as ranking minority member of the Senate Finance Committee to investigate six ministries — most of them embracing so-called “prosperity gospel” theology — for their financial habits.

The ministries had already drawn scrutiny from former followers and media outlets for allegedly inappropriate spending habits. In an echo of the televangelist scandals of the late 1980s, the charges include using ministry funds to purchase private jets, multi-million dollar homes and a $23,000 marble-topped chest.

Request for information

Grassley’s office sent letters to the ministries Nov. 6 asking them for information on their receipts, expenditures and holdings.

“The allegations involve governing boards that aren’t independent and allow generous salaries and housing allowances and amenities such as private jets and Rolls Royces,” he said at the time. “I don’t want to conclude that there’s a problem, but I have an obligation to donors and the taxpayers to find out more. People who donated should have their money spent as intended and in adherence with the tax code.”

Grassley set a Dec. 6 deadline for response. While all of the ministries produced statements saying they complied with all tax laws, only the St. Louis-area Joyce Meyer Ministries provided the information Grassley sought.

Benny Hinn Ministries provided information Feb. 25, but Grassley's office said it would take time to look through the information and determine if it satisfied the senator's request.

At a Feb. 1 press conference following his appearance at a Baptist meeting in Atlanta, Grassley said his office planned to send a second round of letters to the ministries that were not cooperating, asking again for the information and threatening further action. However, the senator said at the time, “it would be a while before I would think about a subpoena.”

Some vow to fight

But leaders of several of the targeted organizations have vowed to fight Grassley, with some even going so far as to say they’d go to jail rather than answer a congressional subpoena.

“You can go get a subpoena, and I won’t give it to you,” said Texas-based evangelist Kenneth Copeland at a January pastors’ conference. “It’s not yours, it’s God’s and you’re not going to get it, and that’s something I’ll go to prison over. So, just get over it. … And if there’s a death penalty that applies, well, just go for it.”

Copeland’s remarks were taped and posted on the video-sharing site YouTube, as well as reported by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call.

Copeland and other targeted evangelists have said the investigation is violating their religious freedom. While most nonprofits organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal tax code have to file information about receipts and expenditures with the Internal Revenue Service, churches do not.

Religious organizations under investigation might be able to claim a First Amendment violation based on a theory of excessive entanglement in church affairs or discrimination based on religion — if they can show they were targeted on the basis of their religious beliefs, said Holly Hollman, general counsel with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.

No blanket exemption

“Of course, the stated purpose of the investigation is congressional oversight for the tax laws that govern nonprofit entities. The First Amendment certainly does not provide a blanket exemption from the tax laws that govern nonprofits, including many religious entities,” she added.

Grassley stressed he is not targeting churches per se but simply investigating whether they comply with laws that apply to them.

“Here’s the bottom line: The tax laws that apply to nonprofits, there’s no difference between those tax laws as a nonprofit or ABC church as a nonprofit,” he said at the Atlanta news conference, adding that the only difference between the Red Cross and a church is that churches don’t have to report in the same way to the IRS.

Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, who is close to Copeland, has also criticized the investigation. In an appearance on NBC’s Meet the Press, the former Baptist pastor said it was “a little chilling” to him.

“Is Congress going to start going after nonprofit organizations?” he asked. “And if so, are they going to do all nonprofits? Are they going to start looking at [liberal group] MoveOn.org?”

But Grassley has repeatedly investigated secular nonprofits, including the Nature Conservancy and the Red Cross. At the press conference, he said he has almost always gotten cooperation from nonprofits whose finances he’s investigated.

“Except for Jack Abramoff and his nonprofits — and he’s in prison now — every time I asked nonprofits for information, I got it,” he said, referring to the disgraced former GOP lobbyist.

A former religious adviser to President Bush has said Pentecostals and charismatics view the investigation as an assault by more mainstream evangelicals like Grassley — potentially driving a wedge between Republicans and part of their conservative Christian base.

Doug Wead, in a Feb. 16 Des Moines Register story, said, “the Grassley probe, by the time it is full-blown and the media does its job of attacking these ministries, will have Pentecostals feeling demeaned and helpless and dirty and targeted.”

Wead, a former board member of one of the targeted ministries, said the investigation would cause Pentecostals to feel that the media had been “used by a Baptist to settle a score.” In a blog entry, he accused Grassley and other mainstream evangelicals of elitism in pursuing the investigation.

Grassley, for his part, has repeatedly denied a theological agenda in the investigation.

“I’m not interested in what they’re preaching; they can call their gospel anything they want to,” he said in Atlanta. “This nonprofit investigation is nothing about Pentecostalism. … It’s about obeying the tax laws and being a trustee of the money of the people that contribute.”

He’s gotten some backing from at least one prominent charismatic source. Lee Grady, editor of the flagship magazine for charismatic and Pentecostal Christians in the United States, used his February column to call on such ministries to be transparent.

“Perhaps the Lord is offended that our beloved gospel of prosperity has created a cult of selfishness,” he wrote in Charisma magazine. “If so, our best response is to open our account ledgers and welcome correction.”

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WASHINGTON (RNS)—The vast majority of Americans believe sin exists, but they differ on which behaviors are sinful, according to a new survey by Ellison Research.

The Phoenix-based marketing research company found 87 percent of Americans believe in the concept of sin. While most Americans think adultery is sinful (81 percent) and consider racism to be a sin (74 percent), far fewer Americans would put gambling (30 percent) or telling a “little white lie” (29 percent) in that category.

A majority agreed other activities described as sinful include:

• Using “hard” drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, LSD—65 percent.

• Not saying anything if a cashier gives you too much change back—63 percent.

• Having an abortion—56 percent.

• Homosexual activity or sex—52 percent.

• Underreporting income on your tax returns—52 percent.

But only 18 percent believe playing the lottery is sinful, and just 16 percent cited failure to tithe—to give 10 percent of income to a church or charity—as sinful. And only 4 percent named dancing as sinful behavior.

Ron Sellers, president of Ellison Research, said the survey showed inconsistent thought patterns.

“For instance, over a third of all Americans believe failing to take proper care of their bodies is sinful,” he said. “Yet far fewer believe tobacco or obesity are sins—even though medical science consistently shows using tobacco and being overweight are two of the most harmful things they can do to their bodies.”

The survey was based on a sample of 1,007 adults with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

WASHINGTON (RNS)—An Army Reserve chaplain has decided to do his individual part in the war on terror. He co-founded an Internet ministry to pray for terrorists.

“Adopt a Terrorist for Prayer” was launched in March and features a catalog of photos of people designated by the FBI or the State Department as participants in or sponsors of terrorism.

“In a sense, it’s a spiritual conflict, and we’re not using spiritual resources,” said Thomas Bruce, a co-founder and spokesman for the ministry at www.myatfp.com. “I felt that the church of Jesus Christ was not engaged.”

Bruce, whose ministry is based in Colorado Springs, Colo., said he was inspired to start the effort after attending a conference of Christian military ministries last year. Soon, he will have to leave the work to other co-founders—who include a retired school administrator and a retired Coast Guard officer—when he is deployed to Iraq.

Bruce’s voice is on the two-minute YouTube video that promotes the idea of praying for terrorists.

“If they start converting, as did the Apostle Paul, then terrorism as a strategy for advancing militant Islam will fail, and the whole world will know something spectacular about the one true God,” he says in the video.

The website encourages readers to choose from a catalog of dozens of photos of people labeled as “at-large” or “captured” terrorists or terrorism sponsors. Each photo includes a link to more information, such as an FBI poster.

“Select and pray daily for a change in the heart of your chosen terrorist,” the site recommends. “Enlist others to join this initiative!”

Bruce said he has received mostly positive reactions to the project.

“Some people are very enthusiastic and can’t wait to participate,” he said. “No one has told me that it’s stupid or wrong, but some have told me it won’t be for them.”

Posted: 4/28/08

Cancer survivor, age 4, throws out first pitch

By Kalie Lowrie

Howard Payne University

Payton Chumbley, age 4, threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a recent Howard Payne University and University of Mary Hardin-Baylor baseball game.

Howard Payne Head Coach Stephen Lynn said his team wanted to help Payton and his family celebrate the news that his cancer is in remission.

Payton was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in February 2007 while his parents, Terry and Robin Chumbley were serving as missionaries in Prague, Czech Republic with WorldVenture. When doctors discovered his condition, the Chumbley family moved back to the United States for his chemotherapy treatments.

Lynn read about Payton’s condition in an e-mail several months ago, and he shared the story with the baseball team. Payton’s father, a 1991 graduate of Howard Payne, had been a member of the baseball team. 

The players signed five baseballs, as well as a team picture, for Payton and his four brothers.

TORONTO (RNS)—Spirituality contributes significantly to a child’s overall happiness—even more so than for adults, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

The study tested 315 children ages 9 to 12, measuring spirituality and other factors such as temperament and social relations that can affect an individual’s sense of happiness.

“Our goal was to see whether there’s a relation between spirituality and happiness,” said Mark Holder, associate professor of psychology and the study’s co-author. “We knew going in that there was such a relation in adults, so we took multiple measures of spirituality and happiness in children.”

Past studies have shown that in adults, spiritual feelings and higher levels of religious behavior typically account for about 5 percent of a person’s overall happiness, said a university statement.

The results of the study came as a surprise to researchers: 6.5 to 16.5 percent of children’s happiness can be accounted for by spirituality.

“From our perspective, it’s a whopping big effect,” said Holder. “I expected it to be much less. I thought their spirituality would be too immature to account for their well-being.”

Children in the study were asked to rate statements such as: “I feel a Higher Power’s presence.” They also answered questions including, “How often do you pray or meditate privately outside of church or other places of worship?”

Parents also were asked to describe each child’s apparent happiness and spirituality, and teachers rated each child’s happiness level.

The study’s authors plan to conduct the same research in India to see whether children score similar results in a country not dominated by Christianity.