nearly half of American students will abandon their Christian faith during their undergraduate studies

Nearly Half of American Students Will Abandon Their Faith, Research Finds Christian during their undergraduate studies.

Half.

The reason why?

This seems to be more than just rebellion against an education, or honest intellectual exploration.

It seems that the school environment itself is the culprit.

The Fuller Youth Institute found that nearly a third of students say their institution of higher education is of no help to them in maintaining or developing their faith. Most universities would say that examining the faith in an intellectually stimulating environment, such as a college or university, should provide insight into the theological moorings of a childhood faith.

But that’s not what’s happening.

According to research by political scientists Robert P. Putnam and David E. Campbell, “young Americans are abandoning their religion at an alarming rate of five to six times the historical rate (30 to 40 percent have no religion today, verses 5-10% a generation ago). »

Another study found that with each year of study, there was a 15% increase in whether the student would believe that there was a “truth in more than one religion” and that they believed in a “higher power” rather than a personal God.

In A spirit for God, I spoke about my oldest daughter’s experience as a freshman at one of the largest universities in the United States. In her first history class, her teacher took it upon herself to announce that all the historical documentation on which Christianity is based is false: Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah; none of his disciples saw him divine until centuries after his death; none of the gospels were first-hand accounts; Jesus was not a religious figure as much as he was political; there was never any intention of forming any sort of “church”; there were dozens of “gospels,” all considered sacred by followers of the Jesus movement; and the four gospels of Bible today are riddled with contradictions and errors.

To pass her first exam, she had to write that Jesus was born in Nazareth (not Bethlehem), deny Pauline the authorship of I Timothy, and argue that the four canonical gospels completely disagreed on the main facts surrounding Jesus’ death. . – including when he was crucified, whether after Passover or before, and whether Judas committed suicide.

In many ways, it was tame. A study of faculty members at American colleges and universities found that 67% of faculty members either “strongly” or “somewhat” agreed that homosexuality is also acceptable than heterosexuality; 84% support the right to abortion and 75% support extramarital cohabitation. Less than a third described themselves as churchgoers. When the Kansas Board of Education approved new science standards for public school teachers that challenged Charles Darwin’s teachings on evolution (simply allowing discussion of the idea of ​​”intelligent design”), the superintendent of the National Center for Science Education responded: Kids are going to be in for a shock when they go to college because they’re going to learn that what their teachers taught them in high schools was a lot of garbage. »

It is no wonder that cultural observers from a Christian perspective, such as Charles Colson, have expressed the following concern: “With the increasing number of college professors using their classrooms to indoctrinate students rather than educate, the views expressed and the lack of diversity of views is deeply disturbing. »

I will never forget my daughter calling me, just after leaving her first class, almost in tears at the teacher’s statements about her faith. Even with a firm worldview, coupled with years of reading and education that allowed her to understand how fallacious the professor’s claims were, she was distressed by the fact that her deepest values ​​and beliefs had been been defamed and attacked with such violence. Even more, his heart broke in front of the other 300 students in the class who sat passively, taking notes, uncritically accepting the professor’s statements as fact.

This August, as you prepare your van or SUV to take your son or daughter to college, give them one last piece of advice. Not about binge drinking or safe sex, money management or proper nutrition. Everything is fine, of course.

Give them a word about their souls and the importance of a rooted faith.

And then pray for them.

James Emery White

Sources

James Emery White, A spirit for God.

Cathy Lynn Grossman, “Study: Education Liberates Religious Viewpoints” United States todayOn August 3, 2011, read online.

Marybeth Hicks, “Students Need Help Keeping Their Faith” The Washington TimesOn August 2, 2011, read online.

Robert P. Putnam and David E. Campbell, American Grace.

Stanley Rothman, S. Robert Lichter, and Neil Nevitte, “Politics and Career Advancement Among College Professors,” The forum (Manuscript 1067), 2005, read online.

Charles Colson, “BreakPoint: Money Talks,” October 12, 2005.

Editor’s Note

This blog was published in 2011 and is published annually to help parents prepare to take their students to college.

About the Author

James Emery White is the founder and senior pastor of Mecklenburg Community Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, and assistant professor of theology and culture at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he also served as its fourth president. His latest book, Meeting Generation Z: Understanding and Reaching the New Post-Christian WorldEast available on Amazon. To benefit from a free subscription to the Church & Culture blog, visit the website ChurchAndCulture.org, where you can view past blogs in our archives and read the latest church and cultural news from around the world. Follow Dr. White on Twitter, Facebook And Instagram.