Is a College Education Likely to Undermine the Faith of a Student?
The answer may surprise you.
“We’re losing our children - and the colleges and universities are to blame!”
You’ve probably heard something along these lines before - I know I have.
I came across an article in The Wall Street Journal that shared something rather interesting.
A study was conducted of more than 50,000 Americans. Here are the results.
People with the least education are the most likely to indicate that they have no religious affiliation. In 2008, 26% of those without a high school diploma identified as an atheist, agnostic or nothing in particular. Only 19% of those with a graduate degree did. And that 7-point gap stayed fairly consistent over the following 12 years. - Ryan Burge
If colleges are undermining and destroying the faith of young people, then the data should show that more educated people are less likely to have a religious affiliation.
But that’s not what the data shows. The least educated Americans were the ones most likely to identify as “atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular."
The results were eye-opening among those who claimed “nothing in particular” as far as religion is concerned.
The most noteworthy difference is the share that says their religion is “nothing in particular.” Just 27% of those with higher education chose this response option, compared with over 37% of those who had a high school diploma or less. In fact, “nothing in particular” was far and away the most popular choice among the low-education group. - Ryan Burge
So - why have we heard so many stories about young people who have gone to college and have “lost their faith?”
Another study found evidence of why this does happen.
In a 2020 study led by political scientist Logan Strother of Purdue University, a group of college freshmen were surveyed about their political views several times over the course of the fall and spring semesters. The researchers found that over time, students’ ideological beliefs started moving closer to those of their roommates. Spending two or three hours a week with a college professor doesn’t hold a candle to spending hundreds of hours with a roommate. - Ryan Burge
That college professor that teaches your child a few hours a week isn’t going to influence them all that much.
However, the people your children spend their time with at college will.
Didn’t God tell us this?
Do not be deceived: “Evil company corrupts good habits.” (1 Corinthians 15:33)
This doesn’t mean we can never spend time with sinners - Jesus did that (Matthew 9:10-11). It does mean that we need to be careful who we allow to influence our thinking.
Is a college education likely to undermine the faith of a young person? The data says: No.
Will a young person’s social group influence their thinking and potentially undermine their faith? Depending on their social group: Yes.