Studējošo garīgā labizjūta un praktiskas ievirzes teoloģijas studiju programma

The publication offers research and the obtained results on an alternative way of organizing the study process – an out-of-practice internship, within the framework of which the spiritual well-being of the students of the Faculty of Theology (TF) is improved. Spirituality is one of the components that ensures the sustainability of interfaith/intercultural dialogue. Further components include an inclusive learning environment that promotes the development of individual spirituality and spiritual well-being; the dialogical practice of participating in interfaith dialogue, which allows the articulation of the “core identities” of different (non)religious traditions and the acceptance of “dignified disagreements” between different worldviews, is spiritually transformative. The focus of dialogue is based on such principles. It is not founded in the formation of common views, but instead – on the mutual enrichment of each other’s experience, which promotes the individual spiritual growth of each participant in the study process. A set of spiritually transforming and otherness-promoting pedagogical methods was tested in August 2019 at the University of Latvia (UL) TF field trip – an applied theology training practice “Sandbija 2019”, Sweden. During the approbation process, a quasi-pedagogical experiment was performed with a mixed research methodology – two measurements of the spiritual well-being of the research participants (before and after the pedagogical intervention) were performed, supplemented with qualitative data (participants’ diary entries) to explain the quantitative data. The results of the study reveal that the internship programme, which was developed according to E. J. Tisdella’s principles, improves participants’ spiritual well-being and is positively assessed by students.