Tuesday, 20 September 2011
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Why College Students Leave Church
By David MillerStudy found on TheWashingtonPost.com about why college students are leaving church. This is just the start of the conversation. Love to hear what other ministries are doing out there with this information.
PASADENA, Calif. — Millions of college freshmen are overwhelmed right now trying to make new friends, adjusting to more rigorous school work and learning to live away from home. Whether they also find time for church during their first two weeks on campus will set the mold for the rest of their college years, according to new research.
These findings come from a six-year study of approximately 500 Christian youth group members, conducted by Fuller Theological Seminary’s Fuller Youth Institute in Pasadena, Calif.The study’s results will be released Sept. 17 in “Sticky Faith: Everyday Ideas to Build Lasting Faith in Your Kids.” The book examines why, according to a 2006 report by Christian research firm Barna Group, 61 percent of 20-somethings who regularly attended church as teenagers later left the pews.
The study implies that parents and church leaders need to do a better job preparing high school seniors to maintain their faith.
Only one out of every seven students surveyed said they were well equipped for college, and less than 50 percent of seniors with doubts talked about them with others, said Kara Powell, executive director at Fuller Youth Institute, and co-author of “Sticky Faith.”
by Piet Levy (Religion News Service)
Read more HERE
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About the Author
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- From: davidmiller
- Name: davidmiller
- Location: Long Beach, California, United States
- About Me: Married to my best friend (@ashleywmiller). Student Ministries Pastor for @Parkcrest Christian Church. Learning how to better love Jesus and love people. http://www.davidmillerblog.com He’s passionate about inspiring The Church to stand up and become an influencing force in our culture.
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Comments (38)
I'll bet that most people stop going because they never wanted to go in the first place. Their parents probably dragged them there every Sunday, and as soon as they realised they didn't have to go, they stopped!
To @BimmerPhile@xanga - @a_single_raindrop@xanga - @mle26@xanga - @StatelessPilot - @MiriamBeth@xanga - @apb102088@xanga - @LetsTripTheLightFantastic@xanga - @overly_toasted_bread@xanga - @lucylwrites@xanga - @BehindTheSeens@xanga - @abrandnewus@xanga - @MagisterTom@xanga - and @democrab@xanga - The reason that College students stop going to church, is simply because education is the opposite of ignorance. X-tianity requires ignorance and fear to survive thus when people are educated they drop their ignorant religious ways. Sitting in a church listening to racist, homophobic, misogynous becomes counter productive.
The reason that College students stop going to church, is simply because education is the opposite of ignorance. X-tianity requires ignorance and fear to survive thus when people are educated they drop their ignorant religious ways. Sitting in a church listening to racist, homophobic, misogynous becomes counter productive.
@Connorryan@xanga - Man, I left because I didn't believe in God. Not because of those crazy politics.
I'm in college and I go to church multiple times a week. I didn't go to church at all in high school. This is because I encountered God and His love for me two summers ago. I'm assuming most of these high school students never encountered Him. I think this is because a lot of the american church is sort of dead and a lot of american churches aren't really led by the Holy Spirit, but by people.
@LetsTripTheLightFantastic@xanga - I other words you ceased to be ignorant and gave up the fairy-tales. As I said.
@Connorryan@xanga - False. Black bears.
Your statement composition contains a high concentration of irony. Which subsequently lowers the liquidus temperature (due to the reduction in purity) and thereby reduces the friction (aka energy source) required to bring a solid conversation to its melting point, where entropy greatly increases, turning it from something potentially useful into a divisive argument, which looks to be your goal. But, that's just what it seems to me. I may have to recalibrate my perspective of your intentions.
Hmmm... I'm not sure how this will be taken, but it was not written as an attack, so hopefully no feelings are hurt in the making of this comment.
@overly_toasted_bread@xanga - What did you smoke before composing that unintelligible hallucination?
@Connorryan@xanga - I think you're overgeneralizing because there's actually many non-believers who find God during their college years. And these people are really passionate about Christianity. But at the same time, yeah, there are a lot of people who just drop the religion because they no longer see the point.
@StatelessPilot - I work 90 hours a week at college, and I still find the time to go to church, and run 2 bible studies.
@Connorryan@xanga - Oh, nothing. I was just using terms relating to metallic phase diagrams from my engineering classes as a metaphor.
@Connorryan@xanga Whatever people and religion has done to you to make to come to such a conclusion, I am sincerely sorry.
It's human nature to seek purpose and meaning, the "why" of life. No amount of education can answer that, because only God can. To give up on the "why," to refuse to look for meaning is to go against human nature. I don't think it's healthy. So please take care of yourself.
It's because they are no longer isolated. It's easy to believe in whatever you want, so long as you're kept from any opposing arguments to your faith. Real colleges are secular freethought academic environments with no dogma and nothing is sacred or above criticism. Things that are incapable of criticism do not last very long when people don't walk on eggshells around them.