Lee, J. and A. Matzken, et al. 2006. “Understanding Students’ Religious and Spiritual Pursuits: A Case Study at New York University.” Journal of College and Character 2.
The authors conduct a survey of non-first-year students at New York University to learn more about their religious or spiritual beliefs and the effect of NYU on their belief systems. Findings indicate that relatively few students change their religious affiliation while in college, and many consider their “spiritual” identity to be stronger than their “religious” identity. However, many changes are reported during college, including amount of intellectual interest in religion, strength of belief (often, a strengthening), and frequency of devotional, worship, or service activities, and the perceived reasons for these changes are diverse. Although some of the information is specific to NYU, a great deal of it could be useful outside of that context.
