Jason King is the Beirne Chair of Catholic Studies and Director of the Center for Catholic Studies at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, TX. He received his Ph.D. from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He currently serves as editor emeritus of The Journal of Moral Theology. His publications include Faith with Benefits: Hookup Culture on Catholic Campuses (Oxford University Press, 2017), the coedited Sex, Love, and Families: Catholic Perspectives (Liturgical, 2020) with Julie Rubio which won the Catholic Media Association’s 2021 first place award in Marriage and Family Living and the Association of Catholic Press’ 2021 first place award in Theology, and the co-authored (with Sara Lindey) The Green Mister Rogers: Environmentalism in Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (University Press of Mississippi, 2022).
The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universiti... more The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universities has been to ensure students encounter and appropriate the Catholic tradition. Thus, to have a full account of Catholic identity, one needs to attend to students and their perspectives. This paper attempts to address this aspect of the work. Data were gathered and compiled from more than 1,000 students at 26 different Catholic colleges and universities concerning their perceptions of their institutions' Catholic culture. From these two data sets a linear regression was conducted to examine which institutional characteristics of a college or university affected student perceptions of Catholic identity. Findings show that institutional factors account for approximately 25 percent of the variation in student perceptions and that the aspects that have the greatest impact are those that students encounter on a regular basis.
International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 2019
ABSTRACT In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborh... more ABSTRACT In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – which ran for 900 episodes from 1968 to 2001 and won a Peabody Award and 4 Emmy Awards and received 25 Emmy Award nominations – ran a series of episodes on ‘Caring for the Environment.’ The show grappled with how children might face the looming environmental crisis. In these episodes, Rogers offers a spirituality for children that enables them to grasp the severity of the issue but does so by situating the concern in a hopeful worldview and indicating ways that children can take action. Instead of instilling fear and apathy as popular environmental apocalypticism does, Rogers prepares children for the new social order that must emerge to address the environmental crisis. It is an approach that prevents children from being overwhelmed by anxiety in the face of the environmental crisis but instead develops in them a sense of responsibility for the environment.
In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis links environmental degradation and the poor, writing that “the poor... more In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis links environmental degradation and the poor, writing that “the poor and the earth are crying out.” Appalachia complicates the pope's claim, however, because it is an area that suffers from environmental degradation but also supports the Trump administration's dismantling of environmental regulations. Thus, Pope Francis’ understanding of the poor in Laudato Si’ needs development in three ways. First, he needs to explore how environmental degradation causes spiritual harm in addition to physical harm. Second, the pope needs to note that spiritual harm often causes the poor to cry out in ways that are sexist, racist, homophobic, and hostile toward the environment. Finally, the pope should note that the voices to be heeded in responding to environmental degradation are those voices marginalized within poor communities because they are most likely to address the spiritual harm and avoid scapegoating others.
This paper explores how The Rule of Saint Benedictine (RB) orders the exercise of obedience and a... more This paper explores how The Rule of Saint Benedictine (RB) orders the exercise of obedience and authority toward forming monks in the love of God and others. RB does this in three ways. First, authority is not for controlling people but guiding them toward God. As such it depends more on the character of those in authority, typically the abbot in the monastery, rather than the ability to coerce people. Second, obedience is more about serving others than compliance. Monks are to do the good for another joyfully, avoiding self-righteousness, self-indulgence, and resignation. Finally, listening is essential for keeping both authority and obedience oriented toward God and others.
Praxis: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Faith and Justice, 2018
While many believe that service should be connected to the religious identity of Catholic college... more While many believe that service should be connected to the religious identity of Catholic colleges and universities, little research has been done to see if this is in fact the case. To test this commonly-held belief, we surveyed students at and gathered information about twenty-six different Catholic campuses in the United States. We find no correlation between students’ frequency of service and their perception of Catholic identity. In addition, we find that students perceive their school to be less Catholic the more institutions link service to Catholicism. The only characteristic of service that is positively correlated with Catholic identity is the percentage of service learning courses offered. In other words, students do not see anything intrinsically Catholic about volunteering, but rather that Catholicism means that you should volunteer more. We believe this suggests how Catholic colleges and universities can link service to their Catholic identity.
International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 2019
In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – whi... more In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – which ran for 900 episodes from 1968 to 2001 and won a Peabody Award and 4 Emmy Awards and received 25 Emmy Award nominations – ran a series of episodes on ‘Caring for the Environment.’ The show grappled with how children might face the looming environmental crisis. In these episodes, Rogers offers a spirituality for children that enables them to grasp the severity of the issue but does so by situating the concern in a hopeful worldview and indicating ways that children can take action. Instead of instilling fear and apathy as popular environmental apocalypticism does, Rogers prepares children for the new social order that must emerge to address the environmental crisis. It is an approach that prevents children from being overwhelmed by anxiety in the face of the environmental crisis but instead develops in them a sense of responsibility for the environment.
The extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops explicitly referenced gradualism three times in... more The extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops explicitly referenced gradualism three times in the Relatio post Disceptationem. Is this moral theology concept helpful for analyzing relationships? This question is more difficult than it first seems. One needs to first ask “which gradualism,” as the three references imply three different understandings: Gradualism as Growth in Holiness, Gradualism as Pastoral Practice, and Gradualism as Inclusivism. Second, one must ask “whose relationship” it can help. I turn to hookup culture as it is a ubiquitous phenomenon on college campuses. As only Gradualism as Inclusivism proves helpful in hookup culture, it has the best potential to help those pursuing good relationships that might not readily align with church teaching.
The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universiti... more The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universities has been to ensure students encounter and appropriate the Catholic tradition. Thus, to have a full account of Catholic identity, one needs to attend to students and their perspectives. This paper attempts to address this aspect of the work. Data were gathered and compiled from more than 1,000 students at 26 different Catholic colleges and universities concerning their perceptions of their institutions' Catholic culture. From these two data sets a linear regression was conducted to examine which institutional characteristics of a college or university affected student perceptions of Catholic identity. Findings show that institutional factors account for approximately 25 percent of the variation in student perceptions and that the aspects that have the greatest impact are those that students encounter on a regular basis.
Over the last decade, new research on the role of feelings in decision making has emergence. Mart... more Over the last decade, new research on the role of feelings in decision making has emergence. Martha Nussbaum’s Upheavals of Thought, Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence, Barry Schwartz, Paradox of Choice, Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, Dan Arliely’s Predictably Irrational, and Jonah Lehrer’s How We Decide are perhaps the most well know, comprehensive, and important works in this area of study. When this literature—which spans philosophy, economics, sociology, and psychology—is read alongside Bernard Lonergan's understanding of feelings as intentional responses to values, it confirms the basic contours of his thought and refines it, clarifying the role of feelings in decision making. This paper synthesizes this new research to present a Lonerganian account of feelings, one that draws upon but also develops Lonergan’s original work. It argues that feelings: a) “frame” one’s experience in b) an eudaimonistic way and, in doing so, c) propose a script, a possible course of action, that is then d) evaluated by a judgment of value.
In this essay, I set about explaining what I understand to be the most significant claim of Berna... more In this essay, I set about explaining what I understand to be the most significant claim of Bernard Longeran's 1943 essay “Finality, Love, Marriage": one can only understand marriage by situating it in “the general field of human process... the context of nature, history, and grace.” It is this move that I believe enables Lonergan to understand the multidimensional aspect of marriage, the relationship between these aspects, and thereby provide a framework that not only anticipates current scholarship but provides a way to synthesize it. My main purpose in this essay is to retrieve Lonergan’s insights on marriage.
This essay explores the conversations about Catholic identity that emerged after Ex corde Ecclesi... more This essay explores the conversations about Catholic identity that emerged after Ex corde Ecclesiae and The Application of Ex corde Ecclesiae for the United States in 2001. It reveals numerous ways that people have sought to understand and advance Catholic identity. The first part of the essay begins with the history of Catholic higher education in the United States and, in so doing, contextualizes Ex corde Ecclesiae and its reception. The second part of this essay surveys five of the major research trends that emerged after Ex corde Ecclesiae: 1) the Status of Catholic identity, 2) the Philosophy of Catholic identity, 3) the Sociology of Catholic identity, 4) the Policies for Catholic identity, and 5) the Teaching Catholic identity. Together, these lines of research point to ways Catholic higher education has sought to produce students “capable of rational and critical judgment and conscious of the transcendent dignity of the human person.”
Much of the concern of Catholic identity revolves around students’ experiences of Catholicism at ... more Much of the concern of Catholic identity revolves around students’ experiences of Catholicism at Catholic colleges and universities. Given this concern, it is surprising how little attention has been given to student perceptions of Catholic identity. In the spring of 2013, I gathered data from over 1,000 students at over 20 different institutions on their understanding of the religious identity of their Catholic college or university. This research yielded two main results. First, across institutions, students note the presence of Catholicism in the classroom as well as opportunities for worship and service. Second, student perceptions of Catholic identity is affected by their residential life and, even more so, the presence of Catholic students on campus. The conclusion of these findings is that, regardless of an institution’s curriculum and policies, students have a significant role in defining the institution’s Catholic identity.
This article attempts two tasks. First, to clarify how the claim that colleges and universities m... more This article attempts two tasks. First, to clarify how the claim that colleges and universities may “shove religion down students’ throats” has a historical background. Second, to indicate how pedagogical strategies—like service learning, discussions, paper revisions, and “Just in Time Teaching” exercises—can be used in ways that both effectively teach theology and address the claim of students that classes in theology are coercive.
I have set out two tasks in this paper. First, I outline the dating scripts from the pre-1920’s ... more I have set out two tasks in this paper. First, I outline the dating scripts from the pre-1920’s era to today. Scripts are the culturally narratives that people rely on to make sense of specific and recurring social encounters. As I am applying it to dating, scripts are those narratives the set the cultural assumptions for how people should date. While obviously there are several factors at play that lead to violence, by focusing on dating scripts, I intended to explore one of these important factors: how we arrive at dating scripts that, while they do not advocate violence, provide ready legitimation for them. The second task of this paper is to respond to the cultural dating scripts with a theological dating script. Since the Church must labor to stop violence and since so many people in the United States experience violence in their dating relationships, there is a great need to offer an understanding of dating in light of the Christian call to love God and neighbor. While a theological dating script will not stop violence in and of itself, it is a valuable resource for the Church to confront this rampant problem.
In this paper, I primarily argue that responses to the sexual abuse scandal fail to adequately ad... more In this paper, I primarily argue that responses to the sexual abuse scandal fail to adequately address the ecclesiological issues arising from it. I analyze three of the many works on the sexual abuse scandal that together are representative of the literature. One approaches the sexual abuse scandal from a liberal Vatican II ecclesiology, the other a conservative one, and the third a combination of the two. While noting their relative merits, I discuss their two major limitations. First, the ecclesiologies address only a part of the problems arising from the sexual abuse scandal, that of accountability, and neglect issues of healing and reconciliation. Second, the authors neglect at least one very key aspect of Vatican II that would seem to be extremely relevant for dealing with the sexual abuse crisis, that of the Pilgrim Church. The conclusion is thus two-fold. Not only do the commentators on the sexual abuse crisis rest on inadequate ecclesiologies, but their ecclesiologies also rest on an incomplete appropriation of Vatican II. After critically analyzing the deficient ecclesiological interpretations of Vatican II by both conservatives and liberals during the past 40 years, I offer a proposal for the church of the future.
When scholars apply the term "ecumenical" to marriage, they often seem to use it to mean marriage... more When scholars apply the term "ecumenical" to marriage, they often seem to use it to mean marriages full of discord and division. Ecumenical marriages, however, should be understood as a potential resource for Christian reunion. This essay, which is a revision of the 2005 Lourdes College Ecumenical Lecture, examines how ecumenical marriages might fulfill this role. It begins by investigating how marriages unite people physically, interpersonally, socially, and theologically, all through love. Then, it indicates how these unifying dimensions of marriage can reconcile differing denominations through ecumenical marriages.
The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universiti... more The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universities has been to ensure students encounter and appropriate the Catholic tradition. Thus, to have a full account of Catholic identity, one needs to attend to students and their perspectives. This paper attempts to address this aspect of the work. Data were gathered and compiled from more than 1,000 students at 26 different Catholic colleges and universities concerning their perceptions of their institutions' Catholic culture. From these two data sets a linear regression was conducted to examine which institutional characteristics of a college or university affected student perceptions of Catholic identity. Findings show that institutional factors account for approximately 25 percent of the variation in student perceptions and that the aspects that have the greatest impact are those that students encounter on a regular basis.
International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 2019
ABSTRACT In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborh... more ABSTRACT In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – which ran for 900 episodes from 1968 to 2001 and won a Peabody Award and 4 Emmy Awards and received 25 Emmy Award nominations – ran a series of episodes on ‘Caring for the Environment.’ The show grappled with how children might face the looming environmental crisis. In these episodes, Rogers offers a spirituality for children that enables them to grasp the severity of the issue but does so by situating the concern in a hopeful worldview and indicating ways that children can take action. Instead of instilling fear and apathy as popular environmental apocalypticism does, Rogers prepares children for the new social order that must emerge to address the environmental crisis. It is an approach that prevents children from being overwhelmed by anxiety in the face of the environmental crisis but instead develops in them a sense of responsibility for the environment.
In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis links environmental degradation and the poor, writing that “the poor... more In Laudato Si’, Pope Francis links environmental degradation and the poor, writing that “the poor and the earth are crying out.” Appalachia complicates the pope's claim, however, because it is an area that suffers from environmental degradation but also supports the Trump administration's dismantling of environmental regulations. Thus, Pope Francis’ understanding of the poor in Laudato Si’ needs development in three ways. First, he needs to explore how environmental degradation causes spiritual harm in addition to physical harm. Second, the pope needs to note that spiritual harm often causes the poor to cry out in ways that are sexist, racist, homophobic, and hostile toward the environment. Finally, the pope should note that the voices to be heeded in responding to environmental degradation are those voices marginalized within poor communities because they are most likely to address the spiritual harm and avoid scapegoating others.
This paper explores how The Rule of Saint Benedictine (RB) orders the exercise of obedience and a... more This paper explores how The Rule of Saint Benedictine (RB) orders the exercise of obedience and authority toward forming monks in the love of God and others. RB does this in three ways. First, authority is not for controlling people but guiding them toward God. As such it depends more on the character of those in authority, typically the abbot in the monastery, rather than the ability to coerce people. Second, obedience is more about serving others than compliance. Monks are to do the good for another joyfully, avoiding self-righteousness, self-indulgence, and resignation. Finally, listening is essential for keeping both authority and obedience oriented toward God and others.
Praxis: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Faith and Justice, 2018
While many believe that service should be connected to the religious identity of Catholic college... more While many believe that service should be connected to the religious identity of Catholic colleges and universities, little research has been done to see if this is in fact the case. To test this commonly-held belief, we surveyed students at and gathered information about twenty-six different Catholic campuses in the United States. We find no correlation between students’ frequency of service and their perception of Catholic identity. In addition, we find that students perceive their school to be less Catholic the more institutions link service to Catholicism. The only characteristic of service that is positively correlated with Catholic identity is the percentage of service learning courses offered. In other words, students do not see anything intrinsically Catholic about volunteering, but rather that Catholicism means that you should volunteer more. We believe this suggests how Catholic colleges and universities can link service to their Catholic identity.
International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 2019
In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – whi... more In 1990, when Earth Day was set to go international, the iconic Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood – which ran for 900 episodes from 1968 to 2001 and won a Peabody Award and 4 Emmy Awards and received 25 Emmy Award nominations – ran a series of episodes on ‘Caring for the Environment.’ The show grappled with how children might face the looming environmental crisis. In these episodes, Rogers offers a spirituality for children that enables them to grasp the severity of the issue but does so by situating the concern in a hopeful worldview and indicating ways that children can take action. Instead of instilling fear and apathy as popular environmental apocalypticism does, Rogers prepares children for the new social order that must emerge to address the environmental crisis. It is an approach that prevents children from being overwhelmed by anxiety in the face of the environmental crisis but instead develops in them a sense of responsibility for the environment.
The extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops explicitly referenced gradualism three times in... more The extraordinary meeting of the Synod of Bishops explicitly referenced gradualism three times in the Relatio post Disceptationem. Is this moral theology concept helpful for analyzing relationships? This question is more difficult than it first seems. One needs to first ask “which gradualism,” as the three references imply three different understandings: Gradualism as Growth in Holiness, Gradualism as Pastoral Practice, and Gradualism as Inclusivism. Second, one must ask “whose relationship” it can help. I turn to hookup culture as it is a ubiquitous phenomenon on college campuses. As only Gradualism as Inclusivism proves helpful in hookup culture, it has the best potential to help those pursuing good relationships that might not readily align with church teaching.
The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universiti... more The implicit aim of much of the work on the Catholic identity of Catholic colleges and universities has been to ensure students encounter and appropriate the Catholic tradition. Thus, to have a full account of Catholic identity, one needs to attend to students and their perspectives. This paper attempts to address this aspect of the work. Data were gathered and compiled from more than 1,000 students at 26 different Catholic colleges and universities concerning their perceptions of their institutions' Catholic culture. From these two data sets a linear regression was conducted to examine which institutional characteristics of a college or university affected student perceptions of Catholic identity. Findings show that institutional factors account for approximately 25 percent of the variation in student perceptions and that the aspects that have the greatest impact are those that students encounter on a regular basis.
Over the last decade, new research on the role of feelings in decision making has emergence. Mart... more Over the last decade, new research on the role of feelings in decision making has emergence. Martha Nussbaum’s Upheavals of Thought, Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence, Barry Schwartz, Paradox of Choice, Malcolm Gladwell’s Blink, Dan Arliely’s Predictably Irrational, and Jonah Lehrer’s How We Decide are perhaps the most well know, comprehensive, and important works in this area of study. When this literature—which spans philosophy, economics, sociology, and psychology—is read alongside Bernard Lonergan's understanding of feelings as intentional responses to values, it confirms the basic contours of his thought and refines it, clarifying the role of feelings in decision making. This paper synthesizes this new research to present a Lonerganian account of feelings, one that draws upon but also develops Lonergan’s original work. It argues that feelings: a) “frame” one’s experience in b) an eudaimonistic way and, in doing so, c) propose a script, a possible course of action, that is then d) evaluated by a judgment of value.
In this essay, I set about explaining what I understand to be the most significant claim of Berna... more In this essay, I set about explaining what I understand to be the most significant claim of Bernard Longeran's 1943 essay “Finality, Love, Marriage": one can only understand marriage by situating it in “the general field of human process... the context of nature, history, and grace.” It is this move that I believe enables Lonergan to understand the multidimensional aspect of marriage, the relationship between these aspects, and thereby provide a framework that not only anticipates current scholarship but provides a way to synthesize it. My main purpose in this essay is to retrieve Lonergan’s insights on marriage.
This essay explores the conversations about Catholic identity that emerged after Ex corde Ecclesi... more This essay explores the conversations about Catholic identity that emerged after Ex corde Ecclesiae and The Application of Ex corde Ecclesiae for the United States in 2001. It reveals numerous ways that people have sought to understand and advance Catholic identity. The first part of the essay begins with the history of Catholic higher education in the United States and, in so doing, contextualizes Ex corde Ecclesiae and its reception. The second part of this essay surveys five of the major research trends that emerged after Ex corde Ecclesiae: 1) the Status of Catholic identity, 2) the Philosophy of Catholic identity, 3) the Sociology of Catholic identity, 4) the Policies for Catholic identity, and 5) the Teaching Catholic identity. Together, these lines of research point to ways Catholic higher education has sought to produce students “capable of rational and critical judgment and conscious of the transcendent dignity of the human person.”
Much of the concern of Catholic identity revolves around students’ experiences of Catholicism at ... more Much of the concern of Catholic identity revolves around students’ experiences of Catholicism at Catholic colleges and universities. Given this concern, it is surprising how little attention has been given to student perceptions of Catholic identity. In the spring of 2013, I gathered data from over 1,000 students at over 20 different institutions on their understanding of the religious identity of their Catholic college or university. This research yielded two main results. First, across institutions, students note the presence of Catholicism in the classroom as well as opportunities for worship and service. Second, student perceptions of Catholic identity is affected by their residential life and, even more so, the presence of Catholic students on campus. The conclusion of these findings is that, regardless of an institution’s curriculum and policies, students have a significant role in defining the institution’s Catholic identity.
This article attempts two tasks. First, to clarify how the claim that colleges and universities m... more This article attempts two tasks. First, to clarify how the claim that colleges and universities may “shove religion down students’ throats” has a historical background. Second, to indicate how pedagogical strategies—like service learning, discussions, paper revisions, and “Just in Time Teaching” exercises—can be used in ways that both effectively teach theology and address the claim of students that classes in theology are coercive.
I have set out two tasks in this paper. First, I outline the dating scripts from the pre-1920’s ... more I have set out two tasks in this paper. First, I outline the dating scripts from the pre-1920’s era to today. Scripts are the culturally narratives that people rely on to make sense of specific and recurring social encounters. As I am applying it to dating, scripts are those narratives the set the cultural assumptions for how people should date. While obviously there are several factors at play that lead to violence, by focusing on dating scripts, I intended to explore one of these important factors: how we arrive at dating scripts that, while they do not advocate violence, provide ready legitimation for them. The second task of this paper is to respond to the cultural dating scripts with a theological dating script. Since the Church must labor to stop violence and since so many people in the United States experience violence in their dating relationships, there is a great need to offer an understanding of dating in light of the Christian call to love God and neighbor. While a theological dating script will not stop violence in and of itself, it is a valuable resource for the Church to confront this rampant problem.
In this paper, I primarily argue that responses to the sexual abuse scandal fail to adequately ad... more In this paper, I primarily argue that responses to the sexual abuse scandal fail to adequately address the ecclesiological issues arising from it. I analyze three of the many works on the sexual abuse scandal that together are representative of the literature. One approaches the sexual abuse scandal from a liberal Vatican II ecclesiology, the other a conservative one, and the third a combination of the two. While noting their relative merits, I discuss their two major limitations. First, the ecclesiologies address only a part of the problems arising from the sexual abuse scandal, that of accountability, and neglect issues of healing and reconciliation. Second, the authors neglect at least one very key aspect of Vatican II that would seem to be extremely relevant for dealing with the sexual abuse crisis, that of the Pilgrim Church. The conclusion is thus two-fold. Not only do the commentators on the sexual abuse crisis rest on inadequate ecclesiologies, but their ecclesiologies also rest on an incomplete appropriation of Vatican II. After critically analyzing the deficient ecclesiological interpretations of Vatican II by both conservatives and liberals during the past 40 years, I offer a proposal for the church of the future.
When scholars apply the term "ecumenical" to marriage, they often seem to use it to mean marriage... more When scholars apply the term "ecumenical" to marriage, they often seem to use it to mean marriages full of discord and division. Ecumenical marriages, however, should be understood as a potential resource for Christian reunion. This essay, which is a revision of the 2005 Lourdes College Ecumenical Lecture, examines how ecumenical marriages might fulfill this role. It begins by investigating how marriages unite people physically, interpersonally, socially, and theologically, all through love. Then, it indicates how these unifying dimensions of marriage can reconcile differing denominations through ecumenical marriages.
Hookup culture has become widespread on college campuses, and Catholic colleges are no exception.... more Hookup culture has become widespread on college campuses, and Catholic colleges are no exception. Indeed, most studies have found no difference between Catholic colleges and their secular counterparts when it comes to hooking up, despite the fact that most students report being unhappy with casual sexual encounters. Drawing on a survey of over 1000 students from 26 institutions as well as follow-up interviews, Jason King argues that religious culture on Catholic campuses can, in fact, have an impact on the school's hookup culture, but the relationship is complicated.
In Faith with Benefits, King shows the complex way these dynamics play out at Catholic colleges and universities. There is no straightforward relationship, for example, between orthodoxy and hookup culture--some of the schools with the weakest Catholic identities also have weaker hookup cultures. And not all students see hookup culture the same way. Some see a hookup as just a casual encounter, but others see hooking up as a gateway to a relationship.
Faith with Benefits gives voice to students and so reveals how their faith, the faith of their friends, and the institutional structures of their campus give rise to different hookup cultures. In doing so, King addresses the questions of students who don't know where to turn for practical guidance on how to navigate an ever-shifting network of hookups.
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Papers by Jason King
In Faith with Benefits, King shows the complex way these dynamics play out at Catholic colleges and universities. There is no straightforward relationship, for example, between orthodoxy and hookup culture--some of the schools with the weakest Catholic identities also have weaker hookup cultures. And not all students see hookup culture the same way. Some see a hookup as just a casual encounter, but others see hooking up as a gateway to a relationship.
Faith with Benefits gives voice to students and so reveals how their faith, the faith of their friends, and the institutional structures of their campus give rise to different hookup cultures. In doing so, King addresses the questions of students who don't know where to turn for practical guidance on how to navigate an ever-shifting network of hookups.