Study examines college students’ spiritual lives
Karen Spurney acknowledges she hasn’t made much time for her spiritual life while attending the University of California, Los Angeles.
She is busy with schoolwork, piano practice, sorority activities and other aspects of college life. That’s quite a shift for the 19-year-old sophomore, who said that before college she rarely missed Sunday Masses with her family and was an altar server at her Temple City, Calif., church.
“I’m a Catholic on pause,” said Spurney, who is majoring in piano performance. “I didn’t come (to college) for the spiritual aspect. My goal is to experience as much as I can.”
According to a recent UCLA study, Spurney’s experience reflects that of many college students who have a high interest in spirituality and religion but are not necessarily looking for ways to explore or practice their beliefs.
The national study, based on a survey of more than 112,000 entering freshmen at 236 universities and colleges, found that 80 percent of the students expressed interest in spirituality. But less than half said they considered it necessary to find ways to nurture their spiritual growth.
More than three-quarters of students – 79 percent – said they believed in God. But only 40 percent consider it “essential” or “very important” to follow religious teaching in everyday life.
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