A recent Huffington Post article, “Religion in College: How Has Your Faith Changed?“, asks:
How does a college education effect one’s religious beliefs? Given that college is a period of intellectual engagement and exploration, many scholars have believed that a college education weakens one’s religious beliefs.
The faith-eroding effect of higher education is not only often triumphed by atheists (for obvious reasons), but is also commonly bull-horned by evangelicals who are leery of secular education institutions and claim that they indoctrinate godlessness.
However, the article’s aim is to repudiate these claims. The writer cites a study published in 2007 by the Social Science Research Council and mentions two points in particular:
- While 64 percent of those currently enrolled in a traditional four-year institution reported a decline in religious service attendance, 76 percent of those who never enrolled in college reported a decline.
- Twenty percent of those who did not attend college renounced all religious affiliation, whereas only 13 percent of four-year college students did the same.
It’s a bit dishonest in my opinion though. These statistics are about religious affiliation and service attendance, neither of which has anything to do with belief. But the point of this commentary isn’t to refute or question the legitimacy of the mentioned study. It (or at least the data they quote) is simply a non-sequitur. It should also be noted that rejection of religious faith is more closely linked with knowledge itself than the institutes. One must also consider the college being attended and the particular courses being taken by any given individual. There of course is a cultural aspect to college enrollment, including exposure to diversity. However, that alone couldn’t account for the majority of lost religiosity. I feel it’s safe to say that not all who attend college receive a higher education.
In any case, Huffington Post is seeking your stories. And it seems to me that they are trying to use them to support the notion that college education not only has little affect on faith, but in many cases enhances it.