Most university students and faculty members consider
spirituality to be an important part of their lives, according to a
study by the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA scheduled
to be released today.
Over 40,000 professors from 421 colleges and universities and
112,232 first-year students from 235 colleges and universities were
surveyed about how their religious and spiritual beliefs affect
their everyday activities.
Seventy-nine percent of freshmen surveyed said they believed in
God, and 69 percent said they pray. Eighty-one percent considered
themselves spiritual.
The study found a link between students’ political views
and their religious involvement, stating that “among students
who show high levels of religious engagement, conservatives
outnumber liberals by better than three to one.”
In addition to answering questions about how often they attend
religious services and the importance of religion in their daily
lives, students were asked to agree or disagree with statements
that included whether marijuana and abortion should be legal and
the role women should play in the family. The study found that
students with high levels of religious engagement are more likely
to support increasing military spending and oppose the death
penalty.
Faculty members were administered questions from the HERI
faculty survey, which has been given every three years since 1989.
The survey asks a wide range of questions to college and university
faculty members regarding their approaches to teaching. This year,
21 items focused on spirituality.
“We found that faculty indeed claim to be
spiritual,” Helen Astin said.
Faculty were asked how responsible they were for helping
students find meaning in their lives and how their personal
spiritual views affected their personal and professional
traits.
“Faculty do see a place in the spiritual dimension of
their lives in their work and workplace,” Lindholm said.
“The fact that we found both those things raises questions on
a number of levels. For example, how can faculty incorporate this
aspect of their lives into their work and how can institutions help
with that?”
The project was led by Alexander Astin, professor emeritus of
higher education and founding director of the Cooperative
Institutional Research Program; his wife, Helen Astin, professor
emeritus of higher education and senior scholar at the HERI; and
Jennifer Lindholm, project director at the HERI and associate
director of the CIRP.
Leaders of the study said the survey was aimed at learning more
about a subject that has not been fully explored.
“(Spirituality) is an area of student life and development
about which we know very little,” Alexander Astin said.
“It’s a critical part of … personal development. It
can affect their academic work and what they get out of
college.”
The spirituality questions were part of a larger survey given to
freshmen across the nation every year that focuses on a variety of
topics, including future goals and attitudes about politics. The
participants will be surveyed again in spring of 2007 to see how
their beliefs and opinions have changed.