The Predictors of Religious Struggle among Undergraduates Attending Evangelical Institutions

Abstract

This article is the second in a two-part series and focuses on the predictors of religious struggle among students attending evangelical institutions. Of the 900 religiously-affiliated colleges and universities in the United States, a significant portion of institutions (approximately 118) are members of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU). As members of the CCCU, these institutions have a shared commitment to the academic and spiritual development of their students. However, relatively few studies have included datasets with multi-institutional types and longitudinal data. The purpose of this two-part study was to examine the patterns and predictors of religious struggle among traditional undergraduate students attending evangelical institutions compared to those at three other types of institutions. This article addresses the following questions: (a) What are the pre-college characteristics/experiences, college environments, and college experiences that contribute to the patterns of change in religious struggle among college students attending evangelical institutions? (b) Are there any unique predictors of religious struggle for students attending evangelical institutions? A quantitative design using the 2004 and 2007 College Student Values and Beliefs Survey (CSBV) responses from 14,527 students attending evangelical, Catholic, other religious, and nonsectarian institutions was employed. Results indicated that significant differences in the levels and patterns of religious struggle exist between evangelical institutions and other types of institutions. Longitudinal measures revealed that students from evangelical institutions experience higher levels of religious struggle compared to their peers at other types of institutions at the end of their junior year.