How Religious Jewish and Muslim Students of Social Work Cope in a Secular College

Abstract The social work profession’s worldview, which is expressed through education and practice, is ‘almost exclusively secular in colour and context’. This qualitative study in the phenomenological tradition of ten religious Jewish and ten religious Arab-Muslim students of social work in Israel found that both groups coped similarly with the secularity, despite their ethnic, national and religious differences. Most of them adopted emotion-focussed coping strategies that isolated them from their academic surroundings. The religious students who adopted a problem-focussed strategy opened themselves to new knowledge. Knowing about these strategies may help faculty and other personnel in social work schools not only to be better acquainted with this minority but also to provide an environment that is receptive to and respectful of the religious student.