Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences Applied to Religion
With a Master’s in Early Childhood Education and years of experience working in classrooms, I am fascinated by the diverse means children utilize to learn and retain information as well as achieve intellectual pursuits. One afternoon this past fall, after having attended a class at Union Theological Seminary taught by Dr. Jerusha T. Rhodes entitled, “Religions in the City,” I felt compelled to apply my knowledge of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences to religious pluralism. A major component of the class involved planning visits to various religious centers of worship throughout New York City and, in private and according to our own levels of comfort, embodying particular rituals from the religion of the sites we visited.
I typed in Google’s search bar, “Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences applied to Religion” and did not find anything relating to the exact “theory” that was brewing in my mind. I did, however, find one scholar’s article about applying Multiple Intelligences to teach the Gospel, yet this was not remotely what I was interested in.
Essentially, what I am proposing, is that an approach similar to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences can be applied to how individuals can potentially most authentically experience the Divine: especially individuals who feel “lost” and unsure of what they believe about the nature of the Divine.
Differentiated learning, in the case of religion, assumes that every human being has an individual psyche or psychological makeup, as well as a unique physical make-up, and the Divine is experienced in the intersecting “Venn diagram space” between the two. Therefore, each individual inherently has a way in which they can most authentically experience the Divine.
Words/concepts crucial to understanding this “theory” are:
Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences: The theory suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited. Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. These intelligences are:
Linguistic intelligence (“word smart”)
Logical-mathematical intelligence (“number/reasoning smart”)
Spatial intelligence (“picture smart”)
Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence (“body smart”)
Musical intelligence (“music smart”)
Interpersonal intelligence (“people smart”)
Intrapersonal intelligence (“self smart”)
Naturalist intelligence (“nature smart”)
Source: http://www.institute4learning.com/resources/articles/multiple-intelligences/
2. Differentiated Instruction: Differentiation means tailoring instruction to meet individual needs. Whether teachers differentiate content, process, products, or the learning environment, the use of ongoing assessment and flexible grouping makes this a successful approach to instruction.
Source: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/what-differentiated-instruction
3. Conversion experience: The experience that occurs, not necessarily within the realm of chronological time, when a person feels divinely inspired to adopt a set of beliefs identified with one particular religion to the exclusion of others. For the sake of this article, a person need not identify strictly to a particular religion first in order to join another; therefore, instead of religious conversion the term could also be understood as a religious joining experience, e.g. when a religious “none” converts to Judaism. In other words, a “conversion” can occur from “nothing” to “something” as well as from “something” to “something else.”
Facts to be accepted as premises for this theory:
1) Religious Pluralism
2) Nones, people who do not align or affiliate with an organized religion.
By no merit or fault of one’s own, a person is born into a religious culture (singular or multiple) or a culture influenced by the absence of religion. Based on Fowler’s Stages of Faith, one also finds oneself in a stage of personal faith development. For “nones,” the parallel to being in a Stage of Faith is being in a stage of developing how one views one’s purpose or role in this life.
Various criteria affect how one comes to have an awareness or understanding of religion, the Divine, God, etc. This is related to the fields of child development and psychology ( see Human Development and Faith, Kelcourse, 2004).
I propose that people who indeed seek to know, experience, or have a connection with the divine—who do not have a strong sense already—can benefit from being exposed to various faith traditions. Initially, this is done through interreligious engagement, or scholarly learning. Next, an individual engages in a ritual that is a technique of the faith tradition.
In experiencing multiple faith traditions, one can come to understand them better and may realize that he or she can most authentically experience the Divine through the means of one or more particular traditions, aside from what one was initially born into.
Collecting qualitative data from people who have had self-defined conversion experiences is a crucial next step to understanding this concept better. I could ask, for example, what about the religion you converted to is more appealing to you than the religion (or lack of religion) you practiced or belonged to before? Do you think there is something about your personality type, learning type, or psychological makeup that makes you drawn to this particular faith tradition as opposed to another?
I ultimately aim to discover whether or not there are direct correlations: Are certain personality types best suited for Buddhism versus Christianity, e.g.? Can any personality type be “successful” in any religion? How do you define successful? What is an “authentic” experience of the Divine?
My rationale for conducting a collection of qualitative data pertaining to religious conversion experiences has to do with the ultimate goal of alleviating human suffering. I take as fact that nothing pertaining to the human being is static and that all humans experience suffering and pain. I believe that formulating some form of a spiritual “personality test” could inform a person who is “searching,” who wants to alleviate suffering/have sin forgiven/be happier, as to what religion might be best suited for them to most authentically experience the Divine.
Throughout life I have met mostly two types of people: those who venerate the Divine, and those who denigrate the Divine (with a handful of indifferent people in between). How might religion be more readily accessible to people who yearn to alleviate their suffering but do not know where to begin and do not come from a religious community in which they feel comfortable? I strongly believe there is something that a connection with the Divine—or to a Higher Power (to use Alcoholics Anonymous vocabulary)—can do for the psyche that no other method or technique can do in terms of alleviating suffering and pain.
I presume that some people firmly planted in a religious tradition may find my goal—to guide people toward religious traditions that can guide them to a more fulfilling life—to be disrespectful, or insensitive to what goes into “being” a certain religion. I have parents belonging to two different faith traditions, however, and I understand what it feels like to grow up without a clear notion as to what I should believe about God or who my community is. Aspects of multiple faith traditions influence how I understand my purpose in the world. The moments in which I most felt connected to the Divine involved an amalgamation of religious beliefs and spiritual traditions because all of those teachings have influenced how I think. Specifically, concepts from Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism and the practice of yoga, Buddhism, Native American animal medicine tradition, and qigong have brought me closer to the Divine. I do not claim to be a sole adherent to any one of these traditions, but rather, I have been able to understand my suffering better through embodying rituals and practices from these traditions. What would it take for me to “convert?” Is a conversion necessary in order to understand my own perception of the Divine?
I believe that creating some sort of guidebook designed for “searching” people could help alleviate suffering of others similar to me who do not come from a clearly delineated religious community. The guidebook would provide step-by-step instructions as to how to go about experiencing different religious traditions in order to hone in on one that best suits one’s learning needs, parallel to Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. This is not a learning process that one can undergo alone, but rather, it requires the respectful visitation of religious communities in one’s larger community, and therefore, interreligious engagement. Ultimately, my goal is inclusivity--helping people to feel loved and accepted through engaging in religious experiences that feel most authentic to a person.