Sending your child to a secular university may not be worth the spiritual risk.
by Linda Piepenbrink
The letter arrives. Your son or daughter has been accepted into a big state university or has received a scholarship to a private secular college. How exciting! You wonder about the peer pressure and liberal teaching on campus, but then you remember the prestige, the potential cost savings, the career possibilities. Besides, your teenager is a born-again Christian, so you have nothing to fear, right? Wrong. Although not every student who attends a secular institution is negatively affected, research shows that with few exceptions the religious commitment of students is greatly influenced by the college they choose. Prayer, church attendance, and Bible reading often decline in the lives of Christians who attend secular institutions—changes that persist into adulthood—and after four years, more than half no longer claim to be born again.
One dad remembers how proud he was to see his own "dynamic, scholarship winning, powerfully Christian daughter" move in as a freshman at a well-respected public institution. Then came the shock and grief of finding out that drugs and alcohol had become a dangerous part of her life. Her self-destructive choices brought more than a decade of grief to her and to her family. Thankfully, after years of prayer, counsel, and encouragement, she is being restored and leading a successful life, but that experience was a wake-up call to her father, Dr. Steve Henderson, formerly the vice-president for recruitment consultation at the Noel Levitz Center for Enrollment Management (the largest higher education consulting firm in the U.S.). Public institutions that receive state subsidies may have lower out-of-pocket costs than attending a Christian college, but "is the lower price tag worth the potential cost?" Henderson asks.
The painful memories led Henderson to begin studying the relationship between college choice and faith commitment. Reviewing more than 1,000 articles, books, and studies, he found that his daughter’s situation was not unique. "Most students are unprepared for the conflict of worldviews they will encounter at non-Christian colleges and universities," he says.
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52 percent of incoming freshmen who identify themselves as born-again Christians when they enter a public university will no longer identify themselves as born-again four years later. |
The Bad News
Henderson studied the data from a 1994 study by university professor Gary Railsback and found that 52 percent of incoming freshmen who identify themselves as born-again Christians when they enter a public university will either no longer identify themselves as born-again four years later or will not have attended any religious service in over a year. Students also reject their faith at secular private colleges and more so at Catholic colleges; newer data show the rejection rate at 70 percent.
"What’s really scary is that of the approximately 400,000 high school seniors each year who call themselves Christian, only 15 percent (about 65,000) go to any kind of Christian college—more than a quarter of a million will enter public institutions," says Henderson, founder and president of Christian Consulting for College and Ministries, Inc. "The 52 percent public-university drop rate means that for every 65,000 per year that have their faith strengthened at a Christian college, 177,000 per year (over twice as many) will move away from theirs."
Henderson’s own research corroborates with previous data. After measuring the responses of nearly 16,000 students attending 133 different institutions as freshmen and again at least three years later, he found that the affiliation of the college (secular or religious) does appear to influence whether students change or adhere to their religious commitment. The greatest declines in overall religious commitment were recorded by students who chose to attend a secular private institution, state, Presbyterian, or Catholic affiliated college. Of those four types, the private secular schools can be more detrimental to a person’s faith than the public schools, perhaps because most renowned private institutions began with a religious commitment but have become antagonistic to the Christian faith.
A drop in church attendance was by far the greatest negative change for students attending all types of colleges. Henderson says church attendance is considered the most important sign that a student’s religious commitment is maturing.
Why do students walk away from their faith? Despite the argument that Christian students have the opportunity to share their faith at non-Christian colleges, the reality is that they are searching for identity, testing their childhood values, and shifting from parental control to more self-reliance, says Henderson. The ongoing National Study of College Students’ Search for Meaning and Purpose, which surveyed more than 100,000 first-year students attending 236 diverse institutions, recently showed that more than 70 percent of entering freshmen admit to grappling with big questions about the meaning of life. Even more have high expectations that the college or university they attend will help them in their spiritual development. Yet during those pivotal years, students tend to follow the values of their professors, which in non-religious institutions are not likely to support traditional morality and Christian family values. In a study reported in the March 29, 2005, issue of the Washington Post, 72 percent of the faculty at non-Christian colleges identified themselves as liberal, 84 percent favored abortion, and 67 percent said homosexuality is acceptable.
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Should your children even go to college? After all, they can still work, have a home, raise children, or join the military without a degree, right? True, but society’s expectations have changed from a generation ago. Consider our replies to five common objections to college:
1. Who needs a degree to work? Many employers require a college degree. A two-year associate’s degree is better than nothing, but a four-year degree increases your knowledge base and income level in addition to showing that you finish what you start. Because preferential treatment is given to college grads, students should attend college with a goal to graduate.
2. My daughter plans to marry and homeschool. A certified education degree benefits future employed teachers and those who plan to homeschool their children. Keep in mind that the educational establishment would like to require certification for homeschool parents. Also, many students meet their lifelong mate in college (which is a good reason to attend a Christian college).
3. We already have a family business. A degree in business will prove valuable for those who want to be better prepared to work in a family business, operate their own business, get promoted in a corporate position, or specialize in areas such as accounting or office management.
4. It's not worth the cost. As the median income has risen and government programs (Pell grants and Stafford loans, for example) have become more available, students who attend accredited institutions are eligible for a sizable amount of assistance. Because people who’ve earned college degrees typically have higher earnings, the rate of return on the investment warrants the cost of pursuing a degree.
5. My child is not "college material." Although not everyone is meant for college, Maranatha offers a safety net—the Learning Assistance program—that helps students keep up with coursework and succeed in school through support and tutors.
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Mature Christian students may be able to withstand the assault on their faith in secular institutions through safeguards such as commuting from a godly home with supportive parents (who have a good relationship with their children), remaining active in a local church, and avoiding majors that are generally more philosophically opposed to the biblical worldview, such as education, religion, and even such majors as English, in which literature and language theory are heavily influenced by postmodern thinking. Nevertheless, the statistics deserve careful, prayerful consideration.
The Good News
Did Henderson’s research show that any students increase in their religious commitment? Yes! Enrollment in conservative church-related colleges tends to support and strengthen the student’s
existing religious values and behaviors. Students who reported the largest increases in overall religious commitment attended schools that adhered to Christian principles and hired only believers as faculty and administrators. In that environment, Christian beliefs are reinforced through regular chapel, academic content taught from a biblical worldview, faculty who practice and encourage faith, and the influence of Christian friends.
While attending a Christian college is no guarantee your child will mature in faith and practice, it will greatly increase his or her opportunities to grow in the knowledge of God during a critical time in life. Secular universities may offer a large number of programs or cost incentives, but those "benefits" probably aren’t worth the risk, especially if your child wanders away from the faith. Besides, many Christian colleges (such as Maranatha) offer a growing selection of majors and programs including liberal arts, which allows students to get into graduate programs for further study. Most students qualify for some form of financial aid (see "FAFSA What?" on page 8), and scholarships are also available.
As you weigh the options and seek God’s will, check college websites and then pay a visit to your teen’s favorite ones. Make an effort to meet the administrators and faculty who will be interacting with your child. Then remember to pray for your loved one to get involved and to stay connected. While no place is perfect, a good Christian college provides the right setting to help Christian students to grow not only academically but spiritually.
For a list of resources or the full text of Steve Henderson’s study, visit www.christianconsulting.net.