Poll Story Number Two

It is often said that college students, even if raised in a religious household their whole lives, often lose their faith once they begin to attend college. A recent survey conducted at Anoka-Ramsey Community College (ARCC) gives a snapshot of various religious beliefs and attitudes of 43 students attending the college.

When asked the broad question of whether or not they believe in any sort of God or supernatural creator, 93% of respondents said that they did believe. Many of the students explained that they were raised to believe in a God and their views haven’t changed. Others said that it makes logical sense to them that there is a supernatural creator of some sort, or that they believe in a God because of what they have read in the Bible.

The 7% of students who did not believe in any sort of supernatural creator reasoned that there is no evidence supporting it, but that there is evidence to refute it.

Although 97% of the students who were surveyed believed in God, just 83.7% belong to an organized religion. This likely directly correlates to the question, “In your opinion, would the world be overall better off without religion or with it?” The same percentage, 83.7%, as those who are in an organized religion answered “better with religion” to this question. This makes sense because if someone believed that religion is a negative thing, they would not logically then join an organized religious group.

Those who believe that the world is better off with religion argued that groups of faith help morally guide, and that believing in a higher power gives people hope, joy, and peace.

Students who disagreed, 16.3%, said that religion has created war, division, and prejudice attitudes.

So although well over nine out of every ten of the students polled believed that a God does exist, just over eight out of every ten of those same students believed that organized religion is actually a good thing.

Regarding the initial issue presented, where many students lose their religious faith after and during their time at college, 66.7% of respondents actually said that they expect their faith to be stronger in five years than it was at the time of the survey. 4.8% said that they thought it would be weaker in five years, and the remaining 28.6% of students said that they expect their religious faith to be about the same in five years.

Of those same students polled above, 76.9% of them are currently active in their church (attending a church service at least once a week). 7.7% of them attend a few times a month. The remaining 15.4%, although they are a part of an organized religion, do not regularly attend any of their religion’s church services.

So overall, although many people say that college students will lose their faith after and during their life at college, it does seem that the majority of college students, based on the survey of ARCC students, have a faith and plan on sustaining if not growing in their faith during their life at college and beyond.