Contemporary Status of Religion and Spirituality in Counselor Education

Abstract

The purpose of this descriptive study was to investigate the integration of spirituality in CACREP-accredited counselor training programs, particularly the overall percentage of curricula that addressed religion and spirituality. This investigation explored the (1) specific course content that addressed religion and spirituality, (2) how educators delivered that training; (3) confidence level of educators in integrating religion and spirituality and whether formal training, degree of ASERVIC spiritual competencies awareness, perceived importance to address RS in counselor education, and perceived importance of RS in one’s life are related to that level of confidence, (4) factors that contributed to the incorporation or infusion into training courses, and (5) factors that interfered with the incorporation or infusion of religion and spirituality into training courses. Additionally, the descriptive study determined how this may differ across a) geographical locations, b) years of teaching experience, c) years of clinical experience, d)training in spirituality and/or religion, and e) religious and/or spirituality affiliation, in light of CACREP standards and the new ASERVIC spiritual competencies.