Correlation between Religious Commitment and Students' Achievement

Abstract

Studies dealing with religious activity of adolescents have produced many relationships between various characteristics of youth and their level of religious commitment (DeBord, 1969; Suommen, 1979) . Since many of these religious activities are sedentary and cognitive, a relationship between students' achievement and religious activity would seem probable. Strommen (1979) found four activities to be the most ~ o w e r f u l ~rediccors of varying degrees of religious commiunent: being involved in congregational and personal religious activities, praying for people needing God's help, seeking God's help in deciding right and wrong behavior, and having a strong interest in help provided by the congregation. These activities are listed in order of increasing religious commitment. Chi-squared was computed between Strommen's four indicators of religious commiunent and self-reported grade point averages (achievement). Twenty-seven females and seventeen males, ranging in age from 13 to 1 8 yr. ( M = 15.5, SD = 2.7), served as subjects. Self-reported G.P.A. and scores on religious commitment were obtained through a questionnaire mailed to randomly selected Assembly of God churches in northern Illinois. A commitment score was obtained by assigning a numerical value to each of the indicators. When a subject met the criterion for that indicator. the value was added to his score. The final sum was his commitment score. Assigned values were: Involvement = 1, Praying = 2, Seeking God's guidance = 3, and Interest in congregational help = 4. The criterion for involvement was attending church service or youth group half the time and participating i n personal prayer three times a week. The criterion of praying for others was praying for others at least four times a week. Seeking God's guidance was participated in if the subject looked to God for answers in personal behavioral issues at least 70% of the time. The criterion for congregational help was attending special religious meetings or classes 60% of the time they were available and seeking out help to grow spiritually. The commitment scores ranged from 0 to 10 (M = 6.3, SD = 3.2); Mdn was 7. The GPA ranged from 2.0 to 4.0 ( M = 3.17, SD = .52) and a median of 3.2. The two measures were dichotomized around their medians. Using a 2 X 2 contingency cable, the relationship between GPA and religious commitment was significant ( X 2 = 9.09, p < .01). A two-tailed t test indicated no significant relation between sex and commitment (tdn = .01). Of several possible explanations, one concerns an underlying, factor, such as formal motivation, which may influence both variables. Thcse results suggest that further research should explore these possibilities.