Bryant, A. N. and J. Y. Choi, et al. 2003. “Understanding the Religious and Spiritual Dimensions of Students’ Lives in the First Year of College.” Journal of College Student Development 44(6): 723-745.
How are students changed, religiously and spiritually, by their freshman year of college? The authors look to a study that asks students a variety of questions about their religious lives at the beginning of the first college year and again at the end. The authors discuss “what religious and spiritual mean in the context of the first year of college,” and find that many students decrease participation in traditional religious activities like prayer, meditation, and going to services. Overall, however, students say that they are more committed to “integrating spirituality into their lives” at the end of the first year. The authors also note differences that result from how students spend their free time during the year and what type of college—secular or faith-based—they attend.
