This webinar explores the interplay between religious beliefs, personal values, and professional ethics in social work practice. Through guided discussions, participants will reflect on how personal faith and moral convictions shape their worldview, while examining the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics as a framework for professional responsibility. The course will focus on fostering understanding and reconciliation between personal and professional values to maintain ethical and inclusive practices when serving diverse populations.
As the title suggests, the course facilitators have witnessed social workers experiencing this values reconciliation process in a Christian spiritual context and while that will be the basis for many of the examples used in the course, the content is applicable to other spiritual traditions and values systems.
This course incorporates agreements for dialogue, encouraging respectful, open, and nonjudgmental communication to create a safe space for exploring sensitive topics. Participants will examine the connection between dialogue and religious beliefs, using shared conversations as a tool to bridge differences. Practical exercises and case studies will guide participants in identifying tensions between their personal beliefs and social work values, while offering strategies to align these areas in ways that uphold equity, dignity, and justice for all clients.
University of Michigan
School of Social Work
1080 South University Avenue
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1106