Running head: RELIGION, THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT IN COLLEGE 1

Religion, the forbidden fruit in College.

Alejandro Rico

Northern Illinois University

RELIGION, THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT IN COLLEGE 2

Religion, the forbidden fruit in College.

Introduction

When it comes to the involvement of religion in education, there are incredibly opposing

opinions. For the most part religion is something that is deemed as taboo or a subject that should

at the very least be discussed within the confines of home. Religion is a subject which has

always been deemed as being able to only be discussed in the privacy of a person’s home.

Likewise, along with politics, religion is known for being a subject that is only discussed with

family, or a group of close friends or people whom an individual shares the same or similar

views.

However uncomfortable it is, there is no denying that religion has always had a place in

college education. From the moment the first university was established, religion was embedded

into it through classes which were required as knowledge and understanding of religion was

believed to make people more educated (Thelin, 2004). Nowadays, the separation between

religion and universities is very clear, most colleges do not have a religious affiliation. There are

also private institutions like Aquinas College in Michigan which have a strong religious

background; Aquinas in particular is Roman Catholic, for example. On the other hand there are

other institutions that while they had a strong beginning with religion intertwined in their system,

nowadays are no longer viewed as being affiliated to any religion in particular.

For years religion has been at the forefront of many decisions, most countries including

the United States of America were funded on religious practices. The separation of church and

state was a huge milestone for most of the countries who chose to separate both institutions, as it

allowed for decisions to be made for the benefit of the country as a whole without having to
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worry about what the Church dictated. Because of this, religion is viewed as having no place in

educational institutions, parents want to be the ones to teach their children what to believe in, and

get them involved with the ideology and Church that they attend.

Despite the fact that in the news we often hear about parents being angry at schools for

teaching their children about evolution, religion is not something that can be taught in the K to

twelve system. When students are young enough to be in the K to twelve system they are still

typically guided by their parents and it would be incredibly polarizing if only one religion was

taught on a regular non-religious affiliated school. Instead, college is the time when students are

able to explore their religious boundaries independently, away from the influence of home and

their parents.

The First Amendment addresses the separation of Church and State, which means public

institutions are unable to support the religious practices of their students, or have an affiliation

with the religion of their choice. For many, the First Amendment states that higher education

should not be mixed with any religion; that religious courses or religious practices are not to be

allowed on campus. This interpretation is wrong, as the First Amendment talks about neutrality,

while an institution is unable to publicly force their students to affiliate to a certain religion, they

are also unable to support non-religion (Lowery, 2004). The First Amendment surely separates

the Church and the State, but what it really is doing is making sure that higher education

institutions do not support either side of the debate. By not offering courses in religion, or by

having religious practices on campus banned institutions are actually taking a side. The closest to

neutrality that can be achieved is by offering religious courses for students who are interested in

partaking on them, while not promoting religious practices on campus.

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It is important for higher education professionals to be able to maintain this neutrality,

while being able to understand that religion is something that is very important to the life of

many students on campus. For many students, their faith is their support system, and particularly

when they are away from home being able to practice their religion is something that brings them

peace and can be used as a coping mechanism. Religion is important to a lot of students, which

means institutions have to give it some type of importance, or at the very least adult and higher

education professionals must have some type of understanding regarding religion or spirituality

to be able to help students navigate the difficulties of college successfully.

Literature Review

When it comes to literature regarding religion or spirituality in college, there is a limited

amount of credible sources that seem to address the topic with a neutral tone. As stated above in

the introduction, neutrality is something that institutions are expected to keep when it comes to

religion and spirituality in higher education. It is important to look for sources that are not

biased. But rather choose to keep a neutral tone that provides information so that the reader is

able to create their own opinion about the subject at hand.

It is important to also point out that a lot of the literature regarding higher education and

its ties to religion is no longer relevant. A lot of the sources found are incredibly outdated, and do

not seem to reflect the way that colleges work nowadays. Because of this those sources were also

excluded from this literature review. The sources listed are all pretty current and have

information that truly addresses the current state of higher education in regards to religion and

spirituality.
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Religion on Campus

College is an incredibly influential time for students. It is a time of experimentation, new

ideas, and ultimately a time to find out who they really are. When it comes to religion, many

students come into college raised with a certain ideology, or none at all. However, being a time

of self-discovery, those views are challenged in college regardless of how strong the faith of

students is (Hill, 2011) (Reimer, 2010). While students find their views being challenged by

peers, classes, different organizations, or professors, research shows that most students with a

strong faith will continue practicing the same religion after they are done experimenting and

finding themselves at college (Reimer, 2010). Religion is something that many grew up with,

but which through an experimental period could change depending on whether or not said

students truly feel comforted or believe in whichever branch of religion they practice. Strong

faith does not go away by attending college.

While students with a strong faith do not experience that faith going away, those who

were raised in a religious background but who do not have a strong sense of faith, or barely

practiced it, such as those students who only practiced during special occasions, will see their

faith challenged and will go through changes in their belief system. A lot of this change of faith

depends on how much involvement students experience with different campus activities.

According to a study by Lee (2002) students who are involved with diversity-related groups and

experiences will see their religious belief weakened.

A majority of religions have a very strict view on a myriad of things, and when being

exposed to the diversity that exists, and experiment with other cultures of beliefs, the already

religious college students will find themselves not viewing their religion under the same light,

and possibly even stopping altogether. However, in order for students to be able to explore such
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thoughts it is important for colleges to try and educate students and give them different

perspectives.

It is important, however, to note that not all the studies focus on whether the strength of

faith prior to arriving to college is what makes students change their religion or drop altogether.

Other studies speak about the way different types of institutions, and even the graduation rate

and whether or not they affect the change of religious belief. College student populations who

graduate from an elite institution seem to see a decline on the faith they hold (Hill, 2011). The

two studies above both seem to conclude that the more education and involvement with campus

activities makes the faith of students decline. This could be because of the exposure that

students go through of different ideologies.

College is a place for students to find themselves and leave being a more developed

adult; it is easy to assume that when it comes to elite institutions the students are challenged

more to do critical thinking and explore ideas that they are not accustomed to. By being made to

think harder and with a more critical lens on their experiences, it is easy to see why those whose

faith was never too strong, or whose experiences in college shaped them differently could

decline the strength of their religious beliefs.

Not to consider the implications of religion on campus life is like pushing a whole

population to the side. Due to the fact that there are many religious based institutions that exist,

this population is important as it is a good percentage of students who are being pushed to the

side simply based on their beliefs not fitting with what colleges view as ‘diverse’ or having a

place in higher education institutions. By trying to push religion aside we are not only ignoring

all the religious institutions, but also ignoring a huge portion of the campus population who are

simply too enthralled with their faith.

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To many, the word “religious” as a way to describe a student describes only a few,

Christians or Catholics are the ones who are thought of when the word religious is used. This is

because Christian and Catholics are the populations who are normally on the forefront of news or

advocacy groups thus making their voices seem to be louder (Guest, 2013). However, there are

many other religions prevalent on college campuses. For example, there are large populations of

religions that support their faith physically, such as Muslim women who wear hijabs with pride,

or Jewish men wearing kippahs and yarmulkes, the people wearing crosses around their necks, or

the prayer beads for Buddhist students. By choosing to ignore or otherwise condemn religion as

something that has little to no value in higher education, student affairs professionals and

universities are effectively marginalizing a great part of campus’ population.

Spirituality

Along with religion in higher education it is important to address spirituality, and the

difference between religion and spirituality. While some students might not be affiliated with a

religion in particular, or follow it closely, they may have very strong spiritual believes

(Overstreet, 2010). Young adults, who are the majority of the college campus population, are

able to separate both. It is important that no matter how complicated the distinction is, as

professionals in charge of helping said young adults develop there is an understanding that being

spiritual does not equal having a religious affiliation.

Spirituality normally has more to do with the belief of a higher power, or a force greater

than oneself, without giving it a name or a description like most religions do (Love & Talbot,

1999). Spirituality is a way for many students to separate from their religious upbringing or to

find a meaning to life without the definition given by organized religion. Spirituality is

something that has been on the rise recently, and which many students seem to be getting
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involved with. Being able to understand the implications of spirituality and the difference

between that and religion is important for anyone working directly with said students (Smith,

2004). By making sure that people who come in contact with students who are spiritual, higher

education professionals will be able to guide them to reach their collegiate objectives, and to

continue growing as they traverse the often times complicated world of college.

Higher education professionals have proven to be some of the more influential people in

the lives of college students, and those who are spiritual are not the exception to being influenced

by professors, advisors, hall directors, or orientation leaders. Spirituality, after all, is about

everyone being connected to one another, and there being something in the universe more than

just human beings (Allen & Kellom, 2001). A concept that goes hand in hand with the ideology

of most student affairs professionals, who are connected in different areas of university to create

a net of support and education for their students.

The higher education professional has to be educated when it comes to spirituality

because whether they want it or not, they will become role models and a huge influence to

students they interact with. If an advisor, for example, has no idea of how spirituality works he

would be unable to fully understand a student who is spiritual and therefore it would be hard for

the advisor to help said student. Such an interaction would be a disservice to the spiritual student

as the advisor’s influence would not take into account what the student believes in or where they

are coming from.

The development of student affairs professionals in spirituality and its advantages to

institutions and higher education as a whole is explained in detail on Allen and Kellom’s essay.

By having professionals of higher education with a strong spiritual belief, they would be able to

lift the spiritual level of their own institution as the change comes from within, as such the
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support and overall development of the institution would be higher (Allen & Kellom, 2001). By

connecting with their spiritual beliefs, higher education professional would be able to fully

understand the students that they serve regardless of where they are religiously or spiritually.

Spirituality is different for every person. By taking the extra step to understand where each

professional is with their spiritual journey or their understanding of spirituality, the institution

these professionals work for can only be strengthened. Likewise student affairs professionals

will be able to support their students in a way in which they could not if they did not explore

spirituality.

The Religious Student

A huge part of higher education is being able to support different students through more

than just their studies. While higher education focuses on helping students graduate, it is

important to remember that students are human too, and with college being an incredibly

developmental stage, students will struggle with different things. For many of them college is

the first time that they will experiment with alcohol, sex, depression, loneliness, being away from

home, among a lot of other changes. Religious or spiritual students are not the exception to this,

however, many of them turn to their faith as their way of coping. Because of this, a lot of times

students with strong faith are overlooked when it comes to different things they experience

through college.

Different religions seem to have different struggles and risky behaviors in college, it is

also true that the stronger the faith and affiliation to their religion the less risky behaviors such as

multiple sexual partners or binge drinking are present in said students (Berry, 2012). That does

not mean that students of strong religious beliefs are not vulnerable to mental health, or even

alcohol and sexual behaviors, it simply means that they are less at risk. Likewise, these students
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are less prepared to deal with the consequences of their actions. A freshman of strong religious

beliefs who gets pregnant or is taken to the hospital for alcohol poisoning would have a harder

time dealing with her actions, and receiving the support from a family who condemns such

behaviors. As such it is up to the higher education professionals to help the student navigate

through the aftermath of the risky behaviors she got involved with.

Religious students could also have a privileged view of the world, where their religion is

the one that is the most important, and in the case of the more talked about religions the privilege

they have for not being prosecuted based on their beliefs. For example, Christians and Catholics

have a huge religious privilege in that most people in the United States of America know about

their practices and religious beliefs. Christian and Catholics are considered the norm, and even

their holidays such as Christmas are marked in calendars and spoken about on media and

thoroughly considered (Fairchild & Blumenfeld, 2007). The religious practices of Christians are

understood by a vast majority of institutions, Sunday mass is not viewed as strange, while a

student having to partake in one of the Salahs in the middle of the afternoon is deemed as

irresponsible, or not given the time to perform their religious duties. When was the last time

Yum Kippur was a day off? Yet Easter is. The privilege that some religions have over the others

is something that the religious student does not consider, nor do the institutions who enable the

division.

Higher education institutions are supposed to be neutral, however, by choosing which

religious holidays they give a day off for, they are choosing to support one religion over another

which goes against the idea of neutrality that has been implemented by the First Amendment. It

is important to remember that in order to serve students, neutrality when it comes to religious

practices must be reached.

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On a final note, a lot of students who were sheltered from learning about other religions

do not realize the advantages they have over other students simply by having the support system

that comes with a strong faith. And while they might not be able to relate as easily to student

affairs professionals, they are able to find a support system in their faith, their church and other

people who share their beliefs. Despite this, it is important for higher education professionals to

at least have a general understanding of different religious practices and beliefs so that they are

able to successfully guide, and support the religious or spiritual students when they have a need

for a more neutral ear to listen to their struggles.

Religion Classes

Back when colleges started, classes about religion were something that was very

important in institutions, along with it there were masses, and other religious activities as part of

the curriculum (Thelin, 2004). Religion had a huge part in higher education, and classes related

to it were meant to instruct and educate those attending colleges in how to be proactive and

practice their religion in the ‘right’ way.

Now-a-days classes about religion or spiritual practices are a lot less and far between, the

majority of them go with the study of theology. The other classes are electives that students can

take if they wish to learn more about different religious practices, these classes are meant to

inform and educate but not preach on how to practice certain religion. There also classes that

students can take which cover religion and spirituality as a whole, going through multiple faiths

and educating the students on the way each religion practices their faith, and what they each

believe on and entail.

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Private institutions such as Niagara University have religious study requirements for their

students, this is a way for the University to control what their students learn in terms of their

religion (Jones & St. Hilaire, 2012). By making the students enrolled in their institutions

complete mandatory religious courses as part of their curriculum they are educating said students

on how to interpret religion, or giving them the tools to make their own decisions of their faith

regardless of whether or not they follow the same religion as the one affiliated to the school.

In a way, the teaching of religion in college makes students have to use critical thinking,

particularly those who do not necessarily agree with the material being taught, for example an

atheist in a class about Christianity. The study by Jones and St. Hilaire (2012) shows that

challenging said students to think more critically and to engage in classes about religion could

help their learning outcomes and to grow as students. By being constantly challenged to think

about taboo topics like religion, students are forced to use arguments that are well-thought out

and thus they get to develop their cognitive skills so they can further succeed in college.

Religious groups and classes help students who may need a support system to get

acclimated to campus. Not only are these classes and groups a social support, but are also

academically helpful to students that have a religious or spiritual affiliation (Owens, 2014).

According to the study by Owens (2014), religious classes and groups are particularly effective

in helping people of color adapt to the changes in college, especially for Black and Hispanic

populations.

Religion is an important part of a student’s life, particularly when they grew up in a

spiritual or religious household. For these students being able to meet people who share similar

beliefs and values would be an easy way for them to feel more comfortable when arriving to a

new environment and facing the challenges that college provides for freshmen. Religious classes
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not only serve to help those who are not spiritual or religious to develop critical thinking but also

make those who are religious or have a strong faith to feel more comfortable in their new

environment.

Religious Institutions

As discussed in this essay, there are multiple types of institutions, and it goes beyond

private, public, or non-profit. In the past all higher education institutions had a religious

affiliation, but now-a-days most of those colleges and universities have chosen to stray away

from their past. However, many institutions remain that have a religious affiliation. These

institutions are normally a huge drawing ground for students of faith as they feel far more

accepted in an institution which understands faith even if it is not their own.

Studies seem to suggest that religious institutions have different outcomes for students

who enroll on them, creating a sense of community and belonging and helping them feel

accepted by their peers easier (Owens, 2014). This is done because religion is something that

historically has been able to bring people together to preach, pray, and celebrate a set of beliefs

which at a religious institution are made the norm thus making the intimidating college

environment much easier to navigate

Studies such as the one Bastedo, Samuels and Kleinman (2014) suggest that when it

comes to religious institutions the donations and quality of applications that come through while

there is a ‘charismatic’ president go up. The implication that the charisma of a president would

affect an institution which due to its religious affiliation would be considered ‘republican’ is

interesting, especially because when this study was published the president in office was Barack

Obama who was a democrat. Studies like this give a new point of view regarding how close-
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minded religious institutions are, and the population that attends them as it is normally assumed

most of the students in said institutions are simply those who have a strong faith.

Religious institutions tend to create a democratic climate due to the acceptance of creed

that they have, they encourage community service, religious pluralism, and free thought and

speech (Chenoweth, 2009). Christian universities and other religious institutions have the ability

to stabilize the strained relationship between some of the more popular religions like Christianity

and Catholicism and others like Buddhism or Islam.

Most religions preach acceptance of others, and their differences, and therefore the

institutions affiliated to them tend to be more open minded to people who are different. Many

think that Christian institutions are close-minded and only wish to convert students into their

belief system, but it is more comfortable for people who have strong faith such as Muslims to be

in a Christian campus as they are more understanding of the importance of religion in their lives

and the role it plays (Chenoweth, 2009). Because of this practicing the Salahs or needing time to

go to the mosque, and fasting, are more understood than in a university which observes no

religion which would not view religion holidays or practices as a valid excuse to miss classes, or

need time off.

Religious institutions have a bad reputation of wanting to convert students and to have a

close-minded set of rules. In the media these institutions are portrayed as strict and with little to

no care for their students. In reality, the studies listed above show the benefits that can come

from attending a religious or spiritual institution.

It is important that when talking about the impact of religious institutions, the full picture

is seen and stereotypes are pushed to the side. A lot of good can be found at an institution which
RELIGION, THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT IN COLLEGE 15

has a religious or spiritual background not only for students who have strong faith or beliefs but

also for those who do not share said beliefs with the ones of the institution. It is important to

notice how far universities have come from their origins regarding the actual curriculum being

shaped around a particular faith to now where they are simply a smaller part of the curriculum.

Religious institutions are normally not spoken about when discussing different types of

universities. They are generalized with other private institutions despite the fact that they are

incredibly different from them due to the religious and spiritual aspect that they cover. As higher

education professionals it is important to note the differences between a regular for-profit private

institution and a religious private institution. Not doing so is ignoring the challenges that

religious institutions have and the struggles and benefits for their students as well. As student

affairs professionals it is key to be able to speak of each institution type without creating

stereotypes or making generalizations that could misguide potential students who wish to have a

particular set of experiences.

Conclusion

Religion has always been connected with higher education from the very first institution

that was opened. Back then, institutions used to be directly linked to a particular religious group

when they were created. Institutions have come a long way ever since the separation of Church

and State, now most institutions focus on simply the financial and educational factors. While

neutrality is meant to be the expected ideology for a college, the majority of them are unable to

do so as they mistakenly are bias of only one side.

The literature works well to prove the advantages of religion being involved with higher

education, as well as to touch on the limitations that come from being ‘too religious’ or ‘too
RELIGION, THE FORBIDDEN FRUIT IN COLLEGE 16

spiritual’, however in general literature seems to support the idea of neutrality and to push for

some type of religious requirement as part of a curriculum. Not to convert students, but instead

to help students understand more about the world they live in, and to think critically.

Religion is taboo in college, it is not something that most institutions or even faculty feels

comfortable addressing as religion and spirituality are viewed as something that should only be

discussed with family or close people. Religion is one of those topics that are said to not be a

good idea to be brought up at important social settings, and college is no exception.

However, by ignoring the discussion of the relationship between college, students,

religion and the outcomes that can be achieved by it, institutions are not only choosing to ignore

a huge portion of their population but effectively allowing their students to not be able to truly

explore their full identity and grow into the best version of themselves which at the end of the

day is a huge point of college.

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