Trends in Student Ministry, Culture and Higher Education

Excerpts from the Ivy Jungle Report. For complete article go to www.ivyjungle.org.

College Profs More Religious than Thought: According to a study by Harvard and George Mason University, college professors are more religious than most people think. Only about one quarter of professors deny the existence of God or think it is impossible to know if God exists. The rest believe in God "at least part of the time" or in some kind of higher power. About 40% of professors attend religious services - below the general population average of 47%. These commitments are higher than previous surveys which did not include community college professors who are typically more religious than their counterparts at elite schools. But the study points out that even at the most elite, the majority are not atheists and agnostics. In fact, 20% say they have "no doubt that God exists." (AP October 12, 2006)

Graduating from God: Most teenagers who follow Christ feel that they are a minority in their public high schools and college campuses. Teen Mania garnered front page attention with an article in the New York Times about their Acquire the Fire conferences seeking to rally Christian teenagers into not abandoning the faith. Citing a statistic from Thomas Rainer's "The Bridger Generation," many have been alarmed that only 4% of those in youth groups stay in the faith as they move on to college. Barna has published statistics that show only 5% of teenagers are "Bible-believing" Christians. The methodology of both polls has been questioned, but church leaders agree that the number of students who "graduate from God" is quite alarming. Denominational reports show a 40-80% drop off when students go to college. The Fuller Center for Youth and Family Ministries and the newly formed Youth Transition Network are both making strides to close this gap. (New York Times October 6, 2006 A1; IJN Regional Forum discussion)

Harvard Recommends Religion in Core Curriculum: A faculty committee at Harvard University has recommended that religion once again have a place in the core curriculum for Harvard students. Founded as a training school for ministers, Harvard has long since lost any resemblance to a seminary. Harvard created the committee in response to the critique that the school had become too focused on a very narrow band of academic subjects. Their report recommends mandatory religion courses because religion is a strong force in the lives of students. 71% of incoming students attend some religious service - and nearly all say they discuss religion. Several other schools in the US, including Columbia, SUNY, and George Mason have recently changed their core curriculum to offer a more well rounded liberal arts background for their students (AP October 4, 2006)

Parents, Roommates, and Facebook: Residence Life staff have already been inundated by the concerns of "helicopter parents" who hover over the lives of their students, often intervening in ways that previous generations would have never thought possible. However, this fall, at many schools a new development in this trend has emerged. When roommate assignments are mailed, many students and parents alike immediately turn to Facebook or Myspace to learn about the potential match. Shortly there after, residence life staff say they have been receiving calls from parents who are concerned about the pairing based on what they saw, whether a concern about the student's social life, religious back ground, family of origin, or some other factor. Housing offices say that this was the first year that "I saw something on Facebook" was the reason for requesting a change. (New York Times September 13, 2006 A21)

Married Couples Hit Minority Status in US: Continuing a decades long decline, the percentage of US households consisting of married couples has now fallen below 50%. The American Community Survey released by the Census Bureau shows that 55.2 million of the nations 111.1 million households (49.7%) in 2005 had a man and a woman married to each other in them. Unmarried couples - both same sex and male/female couples - represent about 10% of US households. (Chicago Tribune October 15, 2006 sec.1 p. 7)

Thematic Housing Continues to Grow: In a growing number of dorms across the country, students can select to live in a building or floor with students of like passion. Whether a hall for "Justice, Service, and Change" or based around a foreign language, or an academic major, more and more thematic housing options are emerging. At some, faculty members are assigned to help students plan events for themselves - or for the broader campus. Many students say they are attracted to the community that comes from organizing around a specific area of interest. A University of Missouri study shows that students in thematic housing do better academically. However, some critics fear that thematic housing promotes self segregation and that students miss out on the cross pollinating and learning opportunities of ad hoc living arrangements. (Chicago Tribune September 12, 2006 sec. 5 p.1)