I can’t tell you how many times I have heard that young adults often go off to college and lose their religion. Of course those offering such laments are often two (or more) generations older than today’s college students. I suspect that most who advance the argument base it on an absence of 20- and 30-somethings in the pews on Sunday mornings and because they have heard others assert it with such regularity that they assume it simply must be true.
A few years ago I shared what was then the latest research on the topic by Philip Schwadel, associate professor of sociology at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (post 1 and post 2). Those 2011 posts reflect on his findings that challenge the scholarly contention (and popular belief) that increases in education uniformly lead to declines in religious participation, belief, and affiliation.
Now, he is publishing another article that suggests that the college experience has a positive rather than negative impact on religion for those within Generation X (born roughly between 1965 and 1980). More specifically:
. . . college degree used to mean people were more likely to lose religion. Now, some people are losing religion whether they went to college or not but it’s especially true for those who didn’t go to college.
So What?
While it is outside the scope of Schwadel’s current research to explore why it is that college education members of Gen X are more likely to retain their religion if they go to college, he does offer a few suggestions as to why such may be the case. His reasons include more opportunities for religious connections on campus, college is more accessible today to a wider range of people than ever before, and the way churches have changed in recent decades.
In my own experience, all three of his reasons resonate. I find that many college students are interested in exploring the world’s great religions as a way to better understand or more deeply locate their own sense of religious identity and/or that of prior generations of their families. I teach in a setting that is primarily comprised of adult learners, and recognize that in prior eras very few would have attempted to return to school at this stage in their lives. Finally, the churches I have been the most involved with in recent years seek to welcome all but are comprised primarily of college educated individuals hence creating an environment that is especially welcoming to college educated newcomers.
- Are you surprised to learn that a college education makes members of Gen X more likely to retain their religious affiliation?
- Do you expect that this trend will hold true as Millennials move into their 30s and beyond? Why or why not?
- If your congregation is comprised of primarily college educated people, how might it be more intentional about and effective in reaching other college educated people?