A recent UCLA study highlights the growing spirituality among
many undergraduates, and UCLA students say the findings come as no
surprise.
The UCLA Higher Education Research Institute’s study on
undergraduate students across the United States reveals more
religious consciousness and a general growth of spirituality
compared to past years.
The study, which surveyed the incoming freshman undergraduate
students of 2003, questioned 112,232 students from 236 colleges or
universities across the country, including UCLA.
Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, which supports studies
that “encourage open and beneficial discussion concerning
moral and spiritual issues,” the multi-year study was
launched in an effort to understand the role that spirituality
plays in college students’ lives.
The study found that 80 percent of students are interested in
spirituality and 76 percent are searching for meaning and purpose
in life. Eighty-one percent attend religious services, and 64
percent believe “most people can grow spiritually without
being religious.”
Alexander Astin, co-principal investigator for the study and
director of the institute, said the principal driving force behind
the study was the fact that colleges don’t seem to know what
is really important to students.
“We’ve come to feel that colleges don’t know
what (students) really care about, right now we’re sort of
ignoring that,” Astin said.
Since the study will be administered every three years, the
incoming class who took the survey their first year will be taking
it in their third year, along with the new incoming class.
This time span will provide evidence of the influences of
college life and the effects it has on overall spirituality, Astin
said.
Many students agree that college life offers those in search of
spirituality a community in which they can thrive.
Aaron Marks, a fourth-year linguistics student and Baha’i
faith follower, said that even though he has been a Baha’i
member all his life, he felt a greater sense of spiritual
interaction once he came to college.
“It is another way to be a part of a unit with people with
like beliefs. It gives a sense of community and identity,”
Marks said.
Uzma Kolsy, a third-year political science and communication
studies student and a member of the Muslim Student Association,
agreed that “the campus community creates an environment for
spiritual growth.”
The questions asked of the students varied from personal
religious preference to political opinions and physical health. The
questions to determine the influences of spirituality on physical
health focused on the “seven indicators of health,”
including use of alcohol, smoking, maintaining a healthy diet and
personal rating of overall physical well-being.
Even though the vast majority of students surveyed were
Christian ““ 45 percent of respondents ““ the questions
centered around the levels of general spirituality and not specific
religions.
Much of the study focused on the personal effects of
spirituality and how they translated into differences in
students’ political and social attitudes.
The study also explored the extent that spirituality has on
psychological well-being.
Some of the questions focusing on the specifics of
students’ daily lives revealed that 40 percent of students
follow religious teachings in their everyday lives.
Also, 47 percent of students said they were “religiously
engaged” and politically conservative as compared to 15
percent of students who also considered themselves
“religiously engaged” and liberal.
Forty-five percent of students said they were religiously
skeptical and politically liberal.
Matthew Sperling, president of the Associated Secular Students,
said the growth in spirituality among college students is
“not surprising considering the demographics of college
students around America.”
Scott Bartchy, the director of the Center for the Study of
Religion, said he was also not surprised by this growth of
spirituality.
Bartchy said he thought the study prompted a question as to
“whether this spirituality will lead to a greater concern for
other people.”
“Spirituality does not necessarily make you less selfish.
… Spirituality is often motivated by fear and awareness of
“˜the other,'” Bartchy said. He added that he
believes spirituality is increasingly being politicized.
Bartchy sees this increase in spirituality as not necessarily
positive, adding that only the future will tell.
“”˜By your fruits you will know them.’ In the
end, what counts is what gets done,” Bartchy said.