{"id":22940,"date":"2019-05-16T15:36:59","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T22:36:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=22940"},"modified":"2019-05-16T15:53:18","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T22:53:18","slug":"safe-spaces-within-the-church-when-segregation-still-pervades-the-sanctuary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/safe-spaces-within-the-church-when-segregation-still-pervades-the-sanctuary\/","title":{"rendered":"Safe Spaces within the Church: When Segregation Still Pervades the Sanctuary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The beginning introduction enraptures readers on a fictitious narrative that weaves in and out of the relativistic, nationalistic, and idealistic nature of the foundation of one\u2019s American culture. Greg Lukianoff, attorney and author[1]<\/a> and Dr. Jonathan Haidt, social psychologist at New York University\u2019s Stern School of Business[2]<\/a> challenge their readers to understand that the very nation that stands for freedom is the very epitome of enslavement.<\/p>\n

Society has always stemmed from a diversified perspective, and words have always held the power to unite or divide. However, they have always had the privilege of being spoken, masticated, and either spewed or adopted. \u201cWhat is new today is the premise that students are fragile. Even those who are not fragile themselves often believe that others are in danger and therefore need protection.\u201d[3]<\/a> This produces a high rate of advocacy; however, it also presents a high rate of codependence. If one\u2019s only preference is blame, then they\u2019ll never own their own ideas, their own convictions, or their own actions. This also produces a stance of hierarchal redemption, whereby victimization is encouraged because it supports subjection and segregation of people groups.<\/p>\n

According to Lukianoff, \u201cMany university students are learning to think in distorted ways, and this increases their likelihood of becoming fragile, anxious, and easily hurt.\u201d[4]<\/a> Hence, according to the authors, one\u2019s ability to think differently does not simply impact one\u2019s future ambition, but one\u2019s present perspective. Therefore, it is not positive thinking that protects our identity, but positive debate that grounds our purpose.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, which came first? The chicken or the egg? Those who are perpetuating an insular form of leadership theory within the classroom are not tied to one generation, but all generations. Hence, it is the quest to beat one\u2019s drum more loudly than the rest.<\/p>\n

Dr. Hayden Shaw, intergenerational expert, and author reveal:<\/p>\n

Religious organizations spent ten years fighting over whether you had to wear a tie to church, and millions of Boomers just quit going. (Unlike previous generations, Boomers didn\u2019t wait their turn; they dropped out of church or joined congregations that didn\u2019t require ties.)[5]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In many ways, choices and differences have not always encouraged tolerance or diversity, but separation and stringency. However, Millennials and Generation Z are the specimens under the glass, because they are abiding within the walls of progress and navigating within the constraints of inclusive speech. For instance, \u201cFew Americans had ever heard of a \u2018safe space\u2019 in an academic sense until March of 2015, when The New York Times published an essay by Judith Shulevitz about a safe space created by students at Brown University.\u201d[6]<\/a> According to Shulevitz:<\/p>\n

Some people trace safe spaces back to the feminist consciousness-raising groups of the 1960s and 1970s, others to the gay and lesbian movement of the early 1990s. In most cases, safe spaces are innocuous gatherings of like-minded people who agree to refrain from ridicule, criticism or what they term microaggressions \u2014 subtle displays of racial or sexual bias.[7]<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

However, this type of separation is not just prevalent within secularity but within Christendom. The church mirrors the same image. For instance, the church is one of the only entities to perpetuate the idea of segregated learning and leadership. We have relegated groups for men, women, young married couples, dating couples, singles, children, divorced, and the list goes on. This type of isolation was not birthed from Millennials or Generation Z – it was birthed by Traditionalists and Boomers. \u201cBy the mid-19th century, Sunday school attendance was a near universal aspect of childhood.\u201d[8]<\/a> This occurred because children were given their own segregated space within the church.<\/p>\n

The authors begin their assessment of today\u2019s culture, by giving a defense of their research and emphasizing, \u201cWe are not blaming iGen. Rather, we are proposing that today\u2019s college students were raised by parents and teachers who had children\u2019s best interests at heart but who often did not give them the freedom to develop their antifragility.\u201d[9]<\/a> Yes, some within this generation might struggle to discuss the variant of perspectives with those who differ; however, if one looks at the curriculum of yesteryears, it\u2019s evident that we\u2019ve actually progressed when it comes to globalized understanding and diversified thought.<\/p>\n

For instance, racial segregation was still legal until 1979[10]<\/a>, homosexuality was considered a mental disorder until 1987[11]<\/a>, and it\u2019s been over fifty-years since students were forced to adhere to the Christian faith that was not their own[12]<\/a>. Although safe spaces have become a phenomenon in many university settings, I don\u2019t see this as a response to the student\u2019s needs, but humanity’s preference for segregation. Therefore, antifragility is not tied to generational norms, but the personal bias that infiltrates our campuses, our communities, and our churches.<\/p>\n

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[1]<\/a>\u201cAbout Greg Lukianoff,\u201d www.thecoddling.com, accessed May 16, 2019,\u00a0https:\/\/www.thecoddling.com\/about-greg-lukianoff<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a>\u201cAbout Jonathan Haidt,\u201d www.thecoddling.com, accessed May 16, 2019,\u00a0https:\/\/www.thecoddling.com\/about-jonathan-haidt<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt,\u00a0The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure<\/em>\u00a0(New York City: Penguin Press, 2018),\u00a013.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt,\u00a0The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure<\/em>\u00a0(New York City: Penguin Press, 2018),\u00a014.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>Haydn Shaw,\u00a0Sticking Points: How to Get 4 Generations Working Together in the 12 Places They Come Apart<\/em>\u00a0(Carol Stream, Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2013),\u00a021.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt,\u00a0The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure<\/em>\u00a0(New York City: Penguin Press, 2018),\u00a021.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a>Judith Shulevitz, \u201cIn College and Hiding from Scary Ideas,\u201d www.nytimes.com, March 21, 2015,\u00a0https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/03\/22\/opinion\/sunday\/judith-shulevitz-hiding-from-scary-ideas.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a>Timothy Larsen, \u201cWhen Did Sunday Schools Start?,\u201d www.christianitytoday.com, August 28, 2008,\u00a0https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/history\/2008\/august\/when-did-sunday-schools-start.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[9]<\/a>Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt,\u00a0The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas Are Setting up a Generation for Failure<\/em>\u00a0(New York City: Penguin Press, 2018),\u00a041.<\/p>\n

[10]<\/a>William Celis, \u201c40 Years After Brown, Segregation Persists,\u201d www.nytimes.com, May 18, 1994,\u00a0https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1994\/05\/18\/us\/40-years-after-brown-segregation-persists.html?pagewanted=all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[11]<\/a>Neel Burton, \u201cWhen Homosexuality Stopped Being a Mental Disorder,\u201d www.psychologytoday.com, September 18, 2015,\u00a0https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/us\/blog\/hide-and-seek\/201509\/when-homosexuality-stopped-being-mental-disorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

[12]<\/a>Jerry Newcombe, \u201c50 Years Without Official School Prayer,\u201d www.christianpost.com, June 20, 2012,\u00a0https:\/\/www.christianpost.com\/news\/50-years-without-official-school-prayer.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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