The Influence of Catholic Culture Type on the Spiritual Lives of College Students

Betsy V Ackerson

doi:10.15365/joce.2102062018

Abstract

This paper considers the Catholic culture of American Catholic colleges and universities in light of their ultimate mission and purpose—that of fostering and drawing students to a deeper knowledge and understanding of truth and themselves in relation to Truth, who is God. Drawing on Catholic theology, philosophy, magisterial teachings, and scholarship on culture and human development, the study explores the relationship between Catholic culture and students’ spiritual development at Catholic colleges and universities. It applies the Morey-Piderit Catholic culture framework and analyzes survey responses from more than 10,000 college students to identify the relationship between Catholic culture type and spiritual development of students during college. The findings indicate that the predominant culture type found at the majority of Catholic colleges is proving ineffective in supporting the spiritual development of their students.

Highlights

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons
The findings indicate that the predominant culture type found at the majority of Catholic colleges is proving ineffective in supporting the spiritual development of their students
The population of Catholic colleges and universities for the study is the group of Catholic institutions that participate in the Consortium of Catholic Colleges and Universities of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE)

Summary

Introduction

Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/ce Part of the Higher Education Commons, and the Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education Commons. This article considers the Catholic culture of American Catholic colleges and universities in light of their Catholic mission and purpose—that of fostering and drawing students to a deeper knowledge and understanding of truth and themselves in relation to Truth, who is God. Drawing on Catholic theology, philosophy, magisterial teachings, and scholarship on culture and human development, the study explores the relationship between Catholic culture and students’ spiritual development at Catholic colleges and universities. The number of Americans who express “a deep sense of wonder about the universe has risen” (Masci & Lipka, 2016) This trend is mirrored among college students. Over the past several decades, college students’ expressed interest in and commitment to religion and spirituality has shifted and assumed a more central part of their worldview (Astin & Astin, 2005). As Bolduc (2009) states, “American Catholic colleges and universities invest a great deal of energy in attempting to understand and articulate what constitutes ‘true Catholic identity’” (p.126)

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