Does College Kill Faith?

One of the easiest explanations for why so few young adults remain involved in congregations is that College kills faith. The supposed reasons are many...

• The faculty are too liberal and antagonistic towards faith. 
• Interacting with people from other religious traditions makes students question their own beliefs.
• Colleges don't support student's religious commitments.

The list goes on and on. This sentiment is exacerbated by the work of conservative para Christian organizations on College campuses and provocatively titled books like "How to Stay Christian in College". Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum even made it an issue on the campaign trail last year when he erroneously stated that 62% of young adults lose their faith in College.

Whatever the sources the message is the same...if you want to remain Christian in College you need to be on guard against the secularizing forces that are out to get you.

Now I'm not going to claim that every College is equal in terms of its support for the faith lives of its students. But hearing this rhetoric one would think that all the problems the Church has with engaging young adults can be traced back to the fact that they left the protection of their home congregations and were corrupted by the evil influence of academia.

But is this actually true? According to Douglas Jacobsen and Rhonda Hustedt Jacobsen there is clearly an increase in the number of religiously unaffiliated young adults during the College years.

As might be expected, the religious profile of entering college students is very similar to that of their parents and the nation as a whole: Seventy-five percent are Christians, 8 percent are members of non-Christian religions, and the rest (17 percent) are religiously unaffiliated. During the college years, this profile slowly changes, and about 15 percent of previously religious become religiously unaffiliated.

But before we blame Colleges for this trend it's important to look more closely at the facts. Young adults that do not attend College are actually slightly more likely to abandon their faith.

In some circles, there is an assumption that this decline is due to the pernicious influence of nonreligious faculty. It is true that college and university professors as a group are less religious than the national population, but blaming faculty for the decline makes little sense given that the falloff in religious affiliation among young adults who do not attend college is even greater (20 percent).

Jacobsen, Douglas; Jacobsen, Rhonda Hustedt (2012-07-03). No Longer Invisible:Religion in University Education (p. 78). Oxford University Press. Kindle Edition. 

The actual reasons that so many young adults are religiously unaffiliated is far more complex than simply the College environment. I would argue (along with Tim Clydesdale, Robert Wuthnow, and others) that the unsettled and ever changing world of young adults is a much more significant reason for their religious disaffiliation.

Living in limbo is tough. Supporting young adults in this time of their lives is challenging.

But in order to be effective the Church must resist the temptation to grasp at easy answers while ignoring the broader challenges.

 

Mental Health on College Campuses

There was an interesting story on NPR yesterday about the increasing need for mental health services among College students. We have a very good counseling Center on campus with two full time professionals and both my colleague Pastor Ramona and I provide support for students with mental health concerns.

This is a topic near and dear to my heart because it was in College that I first began receiving treatment for depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It's been a long journey that included a three day hospital stay in 2000, but I'm immensely grateful for the help I've received.

Whether or not the rate of depression, anxiety and other mental health disorders among College students is increasing is hard to say. It's quite possible that the increase in students seeking professional help is a result of a greater openness to treatment, but I don't think anyone would dispute that those receive treatment are just the tip of the iceberg.

Faith can be an incredibly helpful resource in dealing with mental illness but oftentimes people of faith are the least likely to seek help. There is a destructive belief that seeking help for a mental illness is a sign that one's faith isn't strong enough. (If you believe that rubbish, read through the Psalms sometime)

On the contrary I would argue that dealing with the pain of depression brought me closer to God. This makes sense when we realize that God is most clearly revealed in the places we least expect. On the cross in suffering and weakness. This is a God who does not run away from our pain but instead meets us there, and brings us out on the other side.

So my advice to College students that are struggling with mental health issues is to get help. Ironically admitting weakness and powerlessness is the most honest thing that any human being can do. Depression and other mental health challenges simply bring the reality of our dependance on God into clearer focus.

You are not alone in facing these challenges, and there is hope. Step forward into the darkness and discover that you're not alone, and it isn't as scary as you might think.