Race, Religion, and Belonging at a Christian University

Abstract

Race plays a significant role in shaping sense of belonging in higher education. However, little research has analyzed religion and belonging at universities. In this study, we test four hypotheses about race, religion, and belonging with survey data from a Christian university in the South. For first-year students, Asians express less belonging than Whites, but no other differences by race or religion appear. Among seniors, Black, Asian, and nonreligious students report lower levels of belonging than White and Christian students, respectively; however, religious minority students, including nonwhite religious minority students, do not report lower levels of belonging.