Utilizing the Serenity Prayer to Teach Psychology students about Stress Management

This paper is a response to requests from Christian psychologists for subject-specific class activities that integrate Christianity and psychology. Although Christian/ psychology integration is highly valued by many as an overarching pedagogical goal, few examples are available of how to achieve such integration in specific class activities. This paper describes an example of a subject-specific, Christian/psychology integration class activity by utilizing the serenity prayer to teach psychology students about stress management. The activity is described for the purpose of justification and replication. Conclusions and future directions are also discussed. ********** The value of teaching Christian integration in undergraduate psychology courses has been well documented (e.g., Entwistle, 2010; Watson & Eveleigh, 2014). Christian psychology instructors, particularly those teaching at Christian universities, widely express commitment to integration at a broad curricular level (Koch & Doughty, 1998). Despite the high value placed on teaching Christian/psychology integration, recent scholars have pointed out that specific methods are lacking for how to implement such integration in specific class activities (e.g., Garzon & Hall, 2012; Garzon, Hall, & Ripley, 2014). Without examples of integration methods, it is challenging for instructors to fulfill curricular integration goals to build a repertoire of class activities. The current lack of models can be particularly problematic for new instructors and those transferring from secular to Christian education. As Garzon and Hall (2012) warned, a lack of clear models for activities could "easily encourage individualistic, new age, or eastern mystical faith instead of a deepened relationship with Jesus Christ" (p. 158). Accordingly, scholars have requested descriptions of classroom activities that exemplify valuable Christian/psychology integration. For example, Garzon and Hall (2012) reviewed research on teaching Christian/ psychology integration and their recommendations included a need for "increasing applied integration resources in subject-specific areas" (p. 158). They placed particular emphasis on resources that incorporated, "active involvement and interaction with peers as key elements" (Garzon & Hall, 2012, p. 157). Thus, their conclusions suggest a need for Christian instructors to share examples of subject-specific class activities targeted at integrating Christianity and psychology. Subject-Specific Christian/Psychology Integration Activities Subject-specific class activities aimed at integrating Christianity and psychology serve multiple purposes. Class activities serve as concrete models that counteract messages students may have previously received about the incompatibility of faith and learning and introduce the idea that meaningful interaction can take place between the two fields (Garzon et al., 2014). In fact, class activities such as the one presented in this article can demonstrate to students how Christian/ psychology integration can actually strengthen their understanding and incorporation of faith-based principles into their daily lives. Providing modern psychological explanations and empirical support for biblical proclamations can help students understand and connect with their faith in new and powerful ways and can encourage a desire to learn more about both psychology and religion. The field of psychology, in particular, can benefit from explicit examples of faith integration since the field is often criticized for being fundamentally incompatible with Christianity, despite countless examples to the contrary (e.g., Adams, McMinn, & Thurston, 2014; Butman & Yarhouse, 2014; Cook & Leonard, 2014; Ripley & Dwiwardani, 2014). It follows that an introductory psychology course would benefit most from subject-specific Christian/psychology integration activities, since this is typically the first and most widely attended psychology course among college students and can foster students' expectations for integration in subsequent courses. …