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The analysis also considers implications for student affairs professionals, grounded in theory and research, and provides recommendations for additional research directions.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/how-college-affects-studentsreligious-faith-and-practice-a-review-of-research/599557/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/how-college-affects-studentsreligious-faith-and-practice-a-review-of-research/599557.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"jayni","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What does the review claim about the effect of attending college on students’ religious faith and practice?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The findings from recent empirical studies question earlier research suggesting a negative effect. 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\nThe findings from recent empirical studies question decades of priorresearch showing a negative effect of attending college on students’religiouspractices and beliefs.This study employs a narrative,synthetic review ofempirical research conducted over the past 15 years.Results are discussedalong with limitations of the findings.Implications for the practice ofstudent affairs professionals,grounded in theory and research,are offered,and recommendations for further research are presented.  \nA recent ethnographic study of campus religious life(Cherry,DeBerg,&Porterfield,2001)reached this provocative conclusion:“It is possible that young people inAmerican culture have never been more enthusiastically engaged in religiouspractice or with religious ideas”(pp.294-5).The study's findings question decadesof research showing a negative effect of attending college on students’religiousbeliefs and practice(Bowen,1997;Feldman &Newcome,1969;Pascarella &Terenzini,1991),and suggest that the trend toward the\"secularization of theacademy”lamented by some scholars(Burtchaell,1998;Butler,1989;Marsden,1994;Sloan,1994)may be in check.Other recent empirical evidence(Foster &LaForce,1999;Lee,2000,2002a,2002b;Ohme,2002)supports the contention thatstudents'religious development may in fact be strengthened by certain collegiateexperiences.This renewed religious engagement among collegians is reflective of abroader social trend in American culture.According to sociologist Robert Wuthnow(1998),the resurgence of religious involvement is in part a reaction to the social andcultural shifts since the 1960s,which include the breakdown of the nuclear family,the loss of confidence in basic social institutions,and a rampant consumer-orientedmarketplace.Nash(2001)contends that the revival of student interest in religionand spirituality represents the most vibrant aspect of pluralism on campus today.  \nThis renewed spiritual engagement among college students has not gone unnoticedby student affairs professionals,as evidenced by this special issue of The CollegeStudent Affairs Journal.A recent New Directions series addressed The Implications ofStudent Spirituality for Student Affairs Practice(Jablonski,2001),extending earlierobservations by Collins,Hurst,and Jacobson(1987)and Butler(1989).The latestedition of the Student Services Handbook(Komives,Woodard,&Associates,2003)  \nHARTLEY  \nincludes a new section on spiritual development.Recent studies have examined fthe relationship between student affairs professionals and campus ministries(Fidler,Poster,&Strickland,1999;Pearson &Collins,2001;Temkin &Evans,  11998).Professional conferences sponsored by NASPA and other student affairsassociations have focused on the place of spirituality in the academy.What dowe know from empirical research about the effect of college attendance onstudents’religious faith and practice?How can the work of student affairsprofessionals be better grounded in this research?Where are there gaps in thescholarship?This study will address these questions utilizing a synthetic reviewof empirical research.  \nI  \nGiven the general interest among colleges and universities in the formation of theattitudes,beliefs,and values of their students(Pascarella &Terenzini,1991)it isperplexing that more research has not examined the impact of attending college onthe religious faith and practice of students,a deficit noted by a number of scholars(Anderson,1994;Collins et al.,1987;Lee,2000,2002a,2002b;Love &Talbot,1999;McKinney &McKinney,1999),and perhaps related to the increased secularization ofAmerican higher education throughout the 20\\#century(Burtchaell,1998;Laurence,1999;Marsden,1994;Sloan,1994;Strange,2000).This study will first provide acontext by reviewing the religious roots of American higher education,tracing thegradual secularization of the academy.An exploration of the impact of highere","cbCaiasUbdph6DGC","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiasUbdph6DGC","pdf",2085806,"English","# Background\n## The Secularization of American Higher Education\n# How College Affects Students'Religious Faith and Practice","[{\"question\":\"What does the review claim about the effect of attending college on students’ religious faith and practice?\",\"answer\":\"The findings from recent empirical studies question earlier research suggesting a negative effect. The review also notes evidence that collegiate experiences may strengthen religious development in some cases.\"},{\"question\":\"What method does the study use to examine prior research?\",\"answer\":\"The study uses a narrative, synthetic review of empirical research conducted over the past 15 years.\"},{\"question\":\"Why is this topic important for student affairs practice?\",\"answer\":\"The review discusses implications for student affairs professionals, grounding recommendations in theory and research, and identifies how their work can be better aligned with empirical evidence.\"}]","How College Affects Students'Religious Faith and Practice - A Review of Research | PDF",1792089000,48]