Religious Faith in Relation to a College Education
The average college or university of today is a unique atmosphere where students can gain knowledge about their desired field and meet new people from many different races, ethnicities and religions. The average institution’s student body may consist of young adults from every religion, from Christianity to Buddhist and even Atheists. Although some may believe that a college education will have a negative effect on a student’s religious faith, the students and researchers seem to believe otherwise.
Over the past decade, there has been a significant decline in religious affiliation and attendance. Some people believe that a college education is the main contributor to the declination of attendance at religious services. This common belief is both true and false.
“The assumption that the religious involvement of young people diminishes when they attend college is of course true: 64 percent of those currently enrolled in a traditional four-year institution have curbed their attendance habits. Yet, 76 percent of those who never enrolled in college report a decline in religious service attendance” (Regnerus and Uecker).
The religious attendance of college students has declined, but the rate of decline from non-college students is greater.
“Researchers at the University of Texas at Austin found that college attendance appears to prevent young adults from losing their religion” (Kwon).
This same research, from the University of Texas at Austin, concluded that “those who had never attended college had the highest rates of decline in church attendance, diminished importance placed on religion, and disaffiliation from religion” (Kwon). This study also found that an overwhelming majority of 82 percent of college students maintain a certain level of religiosity as young adults and 86 percent retain their religious affiliation (Kwon).
The average college student does not experience a decline in the importance of faith in their lives. The beliefs of most students “go largely untouched for the duration of their education” and “lies dormant, waiting to be awakened at some point after graduation” (Regnerus and Uecker).
A study conducted by the administrators of many prestigious universities, including the University of Wisconsin and the University of California, shows that current college students are displaying a more fervent interest in religion and spirituality than ever before. Professor Peter J. Gomes, a professor of 37 years at Harvard University, said, “There is probably more active religious life now than there has been in 100 years”. (Finder) Statistically speaking, out of the 112,000 students surveyed by the Higher education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles, more than two thirds admitted to having indulged in prayer and 80 percent admitted that they believed in God. Nearly half of the freshman poled in this survey said they wished to seek opportunities in order to grow spiritually (Finder).
“Universities are no longer viewed as hostile toward religion.” Recently, they have been described “not as a breeding ground for apostasy, but as ‘a breeding ground for vital religious practice and teaching,” (Kwon).
Across the country, colleges are developing discussion groups for students who seek answers to hard life questions and matters of faith, such as the happenings of the afterlife. These discussions are not forced on the students, but can provide an intellectually stimulating discussion on some frequently debated questions of spirituality. At Berkley, for example, 50 to 60 Christian groups have been established on campus. (Finder) These groups helped students find ways to stay true to their faith. In the article “How Not to Lose Your Faith in College”, Thabiti Anyabwile lists six ways to keep your faith while in college. These steps are to find and join a good church, to choose your friends with biblical criteria in view, to remain sexually pure at all costs, to study, to call home and to remember the counsel of God. According to the article, if these things are followed, a student should be in good spiritual shape (Anyabwile).
Some campus officials attribute this growth in religious interest to the rise of the religious right in politics (Finder). More political candidates take their political stances based on their religious beliefs which allow the topic of religion to be more widely talked about. Another possible contributor could be the traumatizing events of September 11, 2001 and the war in Iraq. These violent events increased the religious influence in many people’s lives and renewed their faith (Finder).
Rev. Lloyd Steffen, the chaplain of Lehigh University, said:
“My theory is that the baby boomers decided they weren’t going to impose their religious life on their children…The idea was to let them come to it themselves. And then they get to campus and things happen… Real issues arise for them, and they sometimes feel that they don’t have resources to deal with them. And sometimes they turn to religion and courses in religion” (Finder).
“Some of the nation’s largest campus ministry groups are expanding their campus chapters and exploring new colleges, recognizing the growing interest in religion and spirituality on campuses” (Kwon).
It has also been proven through a research study that was released by the University of California that “students who integrated spirituality into their lives experienced significantly lower levels of psychological distress as compared with students who had little or no involvement in spiritual or religious activities” (Sullivan). The study focused on activities such as reading sacred texts, attending religious services or joining religious organizations on campus. TIME magazine also conducted a study which concluded that meditation increases mood stabilizers in the brain, and most people believe in meditation as a source of prayer and reflection.
While many people may believe that a college education can corrupt the religious influences in a student’s life and increase the decline in religious attendance, it has been proven through research that religious faith “is rarely seen as something that could either influence or be influenced by the educational process” (Regnerus and Uecker). “Faith remains in the background of students’ lives as a part of who they are, but not a part they talk about much with their peers or professors.” Students may not always be open about their faith, but that does not mean that the student has abandoned all religious affiliation.
Works Cited
Anyabwile, Thabiti. “How Not to Lose Your Faith in College.” Boundless.org. 1 Feb. 2007. 3 Apr. 2008
<http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001439.cfm>.
Finder, Alan. “Matters of Faith Find a New Prominence on Campus.” NY Times 2 May 2007. 3 Apr. 2008
<http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/02/education/02spirituality.html>.
Kwon, Lillian. “College Not ‘Public Enemy’ for Religiosity.” Christian Post Reporter (Jan. 2007). 3
Apr. 2008 <http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070614/
27982_College_Not_’Public_Enemy’_for_Religiosity>.
Regnerus, Mark D., and Jeremy E. Uecker. How Corrosive is College to Religious Faith and Practice? 3
Apr. 2008 <http://:religion.ssrc.org/reforum/regerus_uecker.pdf>.
Sullivan, Valerie. “Can religion reduce college students’ stress?” Tuftsdaily.com. 18 Nov. 2004. 3
Apr. 2008 <http://www.tuftsdaily.com/media/storage/paper856/news/2004/11/18/features/can-religion.reduce.college.students.stress-1489535.shtml>.
