Gender, Civic Engagement, and the Importance of Integrating Spirituality

Abstract

Spirituality is associated with a variety of positive life outcomes, and the university experience has long been regarded as a critical period of spiritual identity development. We empirically examine a model of the relationships between gender, civic engagement, and the importance of integrating spirituality into one’s life in a large sample of undergraduates. We propose that a key explanation for why gender differences exist in the importance of integrating spirituality into one’s life may be that civic engagement is intervening in the relationship between gender and spirituality. To test our hypotheses, we administered surveys to 964 first-year undergraduate students in the western United States. We found that women had higher scores for civic engagement and the importance of integrating spirituality into their lives than men. In addition, civic engagement mediated the influence of gender on the importance of integrating spirituality into one’s life. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.