PARTICIPATION IN RELIGIOUS ACTIVITIES BY COLLEGE‐BOUND HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS

Abstract

ABSTRACTUnder a grant from the Lilly Endowment, ETS analyzed the 1989–90 Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) database to create profiles of students who participate in religious activities or organizations while in high school. Analyses included the comparison of profiles of students participating in religious activities versus those who did not, based on the entire student population. Then two denominational case studies of Presbyterian students and Roman Catholic students sought to answer questions of specific concern to policy makers in those denominations.On the average, test takers who participated in religious activities differed from those who did not participate in the following ways:• Their families had more education and a higher income, their SAT scores were higher, their grades in math, science, and writing were higher, more had taken honors courses, and they had higher degree aspirations.• Students who participated in religious activities also participated more frequently in other activities, especially community or service activities.• Students who participated in religious activities more often chose humanities, social sciences, health sciences, and education as college majors. They chose business less often than did students who did not participate in religious activities.Additional information from the case study of Presbyterians was the following:• If students were not participating in religious activities or organizations by ninth grade, they generally did not join later in high school.• On the average, students who remained in religious activities or organizations throughout high school earned higher grades and test scores than those who dropped out.The case study of Roman Catholic test takers yielded the following findings:• A smaller percentage of Roman Catholic students participated in religious activities than did SAT takers as a whole. Catholic students attending religiously affiliated high schools participated in religious activities at about the same rate as mainline Protestant students attending all types of schools.• Roman Catholic students attending religiously affiliated schools reported greater participation in religious activities and community activities than did Catholic students in public schools, but the number planning to participate in religious activities in college was not significantly higher for those attending religiously affiliated schools than for those in public schools.• A comparison among Roman Catholic ethnic groups attending religiously affiliated schools showed Asian Americans reporting the highest levels of participation in religious activities in high school, participation in community service activities in high school, intention to participate in religious activities in college, and intention to attend a religiously affiliated college.