Dancy, T. E. (2010). Faith in the Unseen: The Intersection(s) of Spirituality and Identity Among African American Males in College. The Journal of Negro Education,79(3), 416-432.

The author explored spiritual identity constructions and intersections among 24 African American male undergraduate students enrolled across 12 different colleges and universities. The author drew on grounded theory, phenomenology, and case study approaches in all aspects of qualitative research design. After conducting semi-structured interviews, three major findings are reported: (a) spirituality is a source of support and dependency, representing one of few vulnerabilities about which participants are open in discourse; (b) spirituality anchors other identities; and (c) tensions exists among these participants’ spiritual selves and the other selves they identify. Implications include college and church partnerships toward influencing educational outcomes among this participant group. Furthermore, faculty are offered suggestions regarding curricula, assignments, advising, and pedagogy while collegiate personnel writ large are offered strategies for campus diversity, mentoring, and service.

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