Generation Bridge
Spirituality
and College Students
Recently, the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA
reported a summary of initial findings of a study entitled "A
National Study of College Students' Search for Meaning and
Purpose." For more detailed information see http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/ (this article
summarizes their findings). This ongoing study will track the
attitudes and beliefs of college students as they progress from
their freshman to their junior year of college. Funded by the John
Templeton Foundation, it was undertaken in part out of a concern
that colleges have been devoting much more attention to the
"exterior" aspects of students’ lives than to the "interior"
dimensions of their lives.
In the late summer and early fall of 2004, 112,232 freshman
attending 236 colleges and universities throughout the United
States answered a six-page survey that addressed questions
pertaining to spiritual and religious matters. Reflecting on some
of the results of this study can be illuminating for those who
minister to young adults.
- Four in five of these students entering college say
that they believe in the sacredness of life and have an interest in
spirituality. - Almost two-thirds agree strongly with the statement,
"My spirituality is a source of joy." - More than three-fourths of these students believe in
God, over two-thirds say they pray, and more than two in three indicate that
their religious or spiritual beliefs provide them with strength, support, and
guidance. - 63% of these students rate "helping others who are in
difficulty" as "essential" or "very important" goals in life. - The majority of these freshmen think that their colleges have a
responsibility to help them develop emotionally and
spiritually.
As many pastoral ministers who work with young adults today have
reported anecdotally, those with the highest levels of religious
engagement and commitment tend to have more conservative political
viewpoints. This study understands "religious engagement" in terms
of attending religious services, praying and reading sacred texts.
It envisions "religious commitment" as following religious
teachings in everyday life, finding religion to be personally
helpful, and gaining personal strength by trusting in a higher
power (p. 8). The tendency toward a conservative viewpoint is
reflected in the students’ attitudes toward abortion, casual sex,
same-sex marriage, and legalizing marijuana.
At the same time, more of the religiously engaged students
(compared with those displaying a low level of religious
engagement) support abolition of the death penalty and fewer of
them endorse the elimination of affirmative action in college
admissions. Three-fourths of students with a high level of
religious engagement believe that the federal government should do
more to control the sale of handguns.
UCLA is also attempting to relate religious interest and
practice to psychological well-being. The initial findings are
intriguing. As stated in the summary, "students with high scores on
Spirituality are not immune to the psychological stressors of life"
(p. 13). For example, these students indicated a greater
openness to seeking personal counseling during their college years.
(This indicator, however, could also be interpreted positively as a
willingness to seek help if needed and a desire for personal
growth.)
Those who manifest a higher interest in spirituality are much
more likely to report that they have "been able to find meaning in
times of hardship" and have "felt at peace/centered." As noted, it
makes sense that spiritually inclined students would experience
some degree of psychological stress if they are choosing more
challenging life paths focused on social justice and service of
others. It is also understandable that these same students would be
more apt to discover meaning in the face of hardship and experience
inner peace in their lives.
Among those surveyed, students identifying their religious
preference as Roman Catholic were the most numerous (28%). The
denomination with the next largest percentage was Baptist (13%).
Those who indicated their religious preference as "none" numbered
17%. Mormons (comprising 4%) manifested the highest levels of
religious commitment and religious engagement. Roman Catholic
students tended to score below the overall average in the
categories of religious commitment and religious engagement.
This finding should be a concern for all of us who minister to
Catholic young adults.
The survey results also state: "The study revealed that today’s
college students have very high levels of spiritual interest and
involvement. Many are actively engaged in a spiritual quest and are
exploring the meaning and purpose of life. They also display high
levels of religious commitment and involvement."
Those of us who minister to Catholic young adults,
particularly in the area of vocational discernment, would do well
to pay attention to studies like this one. It seems to indicate
that today’s college students, often named the "millennial"
generation (referring to those born after 1980), have vibrant
spiritual desires and inclinations. They also have a more evident
interest in service to others and in collaboration with their peers
in carrying out such service. It is important for us to tap into
these desires and inclinations. We need to offer them balanced,
thoughtful guidance in their decision-making. And it is essential
that we communicate to them the depth and breadth of our Catholic
spiritual tradition. We need to become adept at "making the
connections" between the questions and desires of these young
adults and the resources available in our rich tradition. And it
will be important that we try to do that without allowing our own
ideological biases -- either conservative or liberal -- to get in
the way.
