The quest of a lifetime : how the first year of University of Richmond life affects student's spirituality and religiosity

First year university students’ religious and spiritual beliefs and attitudes were investigated over the course of the year. The survey used was largely made up of a subset of questions from the CSBV survey created by HERI and adapted and administered via Survey monkey software to 153 first year students in the Fall Semester and 74 first year students in the Spring Semester at the University of Richmond. Students pray less and self-reflect more, are more likely to agree that the universe arose by chance, less likely to believe that ‘only religion can truly explain existence’, less likely to find religion personally helpful, and they are less likely to feel certain about the existence of God after one year. Students shift from religiosity or spirituality. Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity 3 The Quest of a Lifetime: How the First Year of University of Richmond Life Affects Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity. American culture today seems to sport a bit of controversy when it comes to the topic of religion. 67% of Americans surveyed in the latest Gallup poll say that religion is losing its influence on American life (Gallup, n.d.); but can religion really be ignored as we move into the future of psychology? Even more diverse than ever before, the country is grappling with the religious jihad that threw New York into devastation 8 years ago and Pentecostal charismatic mega churches in the mid west shocking moderate America with their far right political stances and enthusiastic youth (as seen in the popular documentary Jesus Camp in 2006). The Jonas Brothers, teen pop stars, proclaim their Christian pledge to the public to wait until marriage to have sex all while college students seem more likely to be going to yoga class than church on Sunday. Despite Gallup poll participants’ seeming lack of faith in religion, reports show that 54% and 26% of Americans say that religion is very important or fairly important respectively in their own lives (Gallup, n.d.). Religion and spirituality seem to be journeys for many people rather than a fixed set of beliefs over a lifetime. Therefore, it is important to explore the spiritual needs and development. The first year of University life is often a huge transition for young people. They are no longer living with their parents or guardians and they have more autonomy and responsibility. Students may also be exposed for the first time, through academics or social groups to new ideas, cultures, beliefs and moral systems. When studying first year students at many diverse universities, Chickering and McCormick (1973) found that despite major differences among institutions and students, the direction of growth was Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity 4 similar in each place. First year students were varied, yet they overall became much more autonomous, aware, integrated, aesthetically sensitive, tolerant, and liberal in religious views, and less concerned about material possessions as they moved through the college experience (Chickering & McCormick, 1973). It is likely that current students are exposed to an even wider breadth of diversity today; therefore, it is possible that this research is still relevant to university students. Religion and Spirituality is an important part of many college students’ lives. Schipper (2009) found that of the 20 men in his study, 19 reported that spirituality influenced their decisions about sexual activity. Livingston and Cummings (2009) also followed 9 young women in professional education programs and documented how they used their spirituality to cope with life transitions. The students’ spiritual activities were private and nontraditional (e.g. meditation, prayer, being in nature), and most of them reported that their spirituality helped them deal with their life transitions. Walker (2008) concluded that community college leader’s benefit from spiritual and religious practice and this outlet helps them seek to increase their leadership effectiveness and to preserve themselves despite the demands and challenges associated with their positions. Findings from the Higher Education Research Institute also show better than average grades, increased charitable involvement, increased self-esteem, and positive growth in self-rated health in students with high levels of religious involvement (Astin, Astin, Lindholm, & UCLA's HEI, 03-10). Some view spirituality as “a human phenomenon” that “exists, at least potentially, in all persons” (Elkins et al., 1988, p. 8), they defined spirituality as “a way of being and experiencing that comes about through awareness of a transcendent dimension Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity 5 characterized by certain identifiable values in regard to self, others, nature, life, and whatever one considers the Ultimate” (p. 10) Spirituality is defined by UCLA and the Higher Education Research Institute as “a multifaceted quality. It involves an active quest for answers to life’s “big questions”, a global worldview that transcends ethnocentrism and egocentrism, a sense of caring and compassion for others coupled with a lifestyle that includes service to others, and a capacity to maintain one’s sense of calm and centeredness, especially in times of stress” (Astin, Astin, Lindholm, & UCLA's HEI, 03-10). Religion is described as the narrow construct, the institutional and static, whereas spirituality is more encompassing, personal, relational and dynamic (Zinnbauer et al., 1999). Sometimes the two terms, though very much alike are starkly polarized. Spirituality offers a broader view of well-being than religion in many cases. Still, Pargament (2005) has been influential in studying the field of religion through psychology and defines religion as, “Religion will be defined in this article as “a search for significance in ways related to the sacred”. French philosopher and Jesuit priest Teilhard de Chardin famously said, “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Miller states that according to Zinnbauer, Pargament, and Scott (1999), Western culture is becoming more interested in the topic of spirituality, as opposed to religiousness. Similarly, researchers in the social sciences are also focusing their studies on spirituality, particularly on the personal, transcendent and relatedness aspects of spirituality, also known as spiritual experiences (Miller, 2005). According to Boston University’s department of counseling psychology and religion, the meanings of being a Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity 6 religious person and being a spiritual person are currently the subject of much debate. In fact, the official professional organization in the field, (Division 36 of the American Psychological Association) recently conducted a much-contested vote about whether to change names from “Psychology of Religion” to “Psychology of Religion and Spirituality” (Boston University. n.d.). There is a growing amount of research on Spirituality in the past ten years. In the 2005 book, The Spiritual Revolution: Why religion is giving way to Spirituality, sociology of religion researchers examine why traditional forms of religion are giving way to a more holistic spirituality. Researchers suggest that the number of people attending religious services in the United States has dropped by about 50% in the 50 years. A Gallup poll from 2006 found that 25% of Americans report that they have switched from one religious preference to another or moved away from religion altogether in their lifetime (Gallup, n.d.). This phenomenon has spanned the width of popular culture and can be seen on college campuses. In 2003, UCLA teamed up with the Higher Education Research Institute and launched a study titled, "Spirituality in Higher Education: Students’ Search for Meaning and Purpose”. This work sought to demystify the spirituality of college students. They found that today’s college student not only showed high levels of spiritual interest and involvement, but also demonstrated a high level of religious tolerance and acceptance (UCLA & HERI, 2003). The study also examined “the role that college plays in facilitating the development of students' spiritual qualities.” Among other results they found that, “Although religious engagement declines somewhat during college, students’ spiritual qualities grow substantially” (Astin, Astin, Lindholm, & UCLA's HEI, Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity 7 03-10). Perhaps the next generation will be highly interested in the diversity that spirituality allows for. In this current study we collected data that would help to understand the extent and reasons why changes in religiosity and spirituality may occur within the college student population on the University of Richmond campus. We attempted to identify whether those changes were a shift from religiosity to spirituality and if any beliefs were altered in as short a period of time as a student’s first year. It is hypothesized that many students’ spiritual and religious practices and/or beliefs would be affected by new experiences during their first year of University and that this change would mimic the popular shift from religion to spirituality. Method Participants Four hundred first year University of Richmond Students (200 first year men and 200 first year women over the age of 18) were randomly selected for participation by the registrar. 153 students responded to the first survey and 74 students responded to the second survey. 60% of the students who participated in the second survey also participated in the first survey. Even though 40% of the participants were not the same in the second part of the survey, demographics were similar, therefore; results were used for the full 74 students. 59% of participants were female in the Spring Semester and 56% were female in the fall. 9% of participants were international in the fall and 4% in the spring. For current religious preference in both surveys, Roman Catholic and None were the highest categories of identification. 15% of students in the fall and 12% of students in the spring Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity 8 identified themselves as students of color. 79% of students in the fall and 74% of students in the spring identified themselves as white or Caucasian. 0% in the fall and 2% in the spring identified as biracial and 5.3% in the fall and 11% in the spring identified as other. Students who choose other specified that they were of Asian or Latino heritage. Materials The survey used is largely made up of a subset of questions from the College Students’ Beliefs and Values Survey created by the Higher Education Research Institute. The survey was adapted and administered via Survey monkey software. It is comprised of 23 multiple choice questions and one open ended question. Topics covered include demographics, political views, and attitudes and beliefs concerning religiosity and spirituality. Procedure The survey was administered by email in the first month of the fall semester and again at the beginning of April in order to measure any changes in attitudes concerning student's spirituality and/or religiosity within the first year class over the course of their first year on campus. Students did not receive payment, but participation did fulfill research participation class requirements for some students. For each survey administration (i.e., Fall and Spring), Students were given 1 initial email and then 2 additional email reminders encouraging them to participate in the study, but participation was fully voluntary. Results The first section of the survey focuses on demographics and political views. Though students generally defined themselves as moderate, their political views seemed Students’ Spirituality and Religiosity 9 very inclusive. (Figure 1.) There is no significant difference between the Fall and Spring Semester for either of the questions sited. Next, students were asked to what degree they agreed with certain statements. When prompted, “The universe arose by chance” there was a significant decrease in the mean values between the Fall Semester (3.02) and the Spring (2.7) p=.043. This shift in agreement is easy to see in figures 2a. and 2.b and shows that students in the Spring Semester agree more that the universe arose by chance than students in the fall semester. When prompted, “While science can provide important information about the physical world, only religion can truly explain existence”, the results increased in disagreement mean values between the Fall Semester (2.51) and the Spring Semester (2.82). This increase approached significance with p=.058 (see Figure 3). When prompted, “Being committed to introducing people to my faith”, results significantly increased in extent to which participants do not describe themselves. Mean values between the Fall Semester (2.46) and the Spring Semester (2.69) increased with p=.023 (see Figure 4). And when students were asked if they felt obligated to follow their parents’ religious practices, In the Fall Semester 6.4% of students said they related to a great extent where as 0% of students in the Spring Semester said that they related to a