Four out of every five college freshmen believe in a monotheistic God and many pray on a regular basis, a new major study on student spirituality has reported.
Spiritual study:
Based on answers from 112,000 freshmen of various religious backgrounds studying at 236 universities, the new data gathered by UCLA’s Higher Education Research Institute present a unique view of student religious and spiritual beliefs, according to the institute’s director, Alexander Astin.
The report was the first of its kind, according to HERI postdoctoral fellow and research analyst Alyssa Bryant.
“Our rationale in undertaking the study was that, for too long, higher education has tended to ignore the ‘interior’ lives of students, focusing instead on the exterior — grades [and] test performance,” Bryant stated in an e-mail. “We believe that there are additional dimensions — purpose, meaning, personal values and beliefs — that deserve attention as well.”
The study revealed that 79 percent of the students surveyed believe in God and that 60 percent pray often. In addition, the survey concluded that 80 percent of the students discuss spirituality with other students and friends. The report also showed that 74 percent of students said they feel they have a personal connection with God.
“I think [we] did the report because we feel the universities have focused too much on the cognitive aspects of education,” Association of American Colleges and Universities President Carol Schneider said. “The idea was to focus on the quest for meaning that students go through during college.”
Schneider, who helped prepare the report, said her organization’s goal is to help ensure that students receive an education that will help them become mature citizens and prepare them for their future careers. The group has previously advocated for a more “holistic” approach to higher education.
Not all of the results, however, were as she had hoped, Schneider said.
“I had mixed feelings about the findings,” she said. “I thought it offered us an optimistic view on students, but on the negative side, only 14 percent said they were interested in an ecumenical world view and only 15 percent scored high on charitable involvement.”
However, Schneider said that the study suggests that universities should shift some of their current focus on academics and job skills to include a broader array of topics connected to students’ spirituality and religiosity.
“Universities teach students to think well,” Schneider said. “But we know that college students are in a major state of development, yet we do not do nearly enough to offer students reflection during these developmental years.”
Bryant said that she also believes the data indicates that universities should be more effective in facilitating student spiritual development.
“One initial step might be simply beginning the dialogue and supporting relevant programs: encouraging students to reflect on larger issues of meaning in the classroom,” Bryant stated. “[Universities should] provide a space for multi-faith conversations and interactions, or institute service-learning curriculum.”
However, public universities shouldn’t be in the business of teaching students to be religious, according to John H. Evans, UCSD sociology professor and faculty member at the campus’ Program for the Study of Religion.
“I try to make a subtle distinction,” Evans said. “Public universities should teach students about religion and spirituality, but they should not to teach them to be religious or spiritual because that it is in violation of [the division between] church and state.”
In addition, he said that freshman data might not reflect the opinions of all students because it is common for college students to become less religious than the general population.
“After students graduate high school there tends to be a period of less religiosity in college, then people go back [to religion] once they have children,” Evans said.
Though there are student-organized religious groups on campus, Thurgood Marshall senior Alexis Helesher said that UCSD does little to help students develop their spirituality.
“If you are in a religion like Judaism or Christianity, there are niches for you to fit in,” Helesher said. “But there is no formal forum where you can go and just talk about what you believe in that is not associated with a certain religion.”
