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On Spirituality and Education

 

Tony Snow was born in Berea, Kentucky. In his various journalistic roles, including that of White House Press Secretary under President George W. Bush, he found ways to insert statements that give us glimpses of the personal faith that helped him battle the colon cancer that eventually took his life. For example, he told a graduating class at Catholic University: “Don't shrink from pondering God's role in the universe or Christ's. You see, it's trendy to reject religious reflection as a grave offense against decency. That's not only cowardly. That's false. Faith and reason are knitted together in the human soul.”[1] This statement is interesting in that it connects to a six-year study that the Templeton Foundation funded about the spiritual development of college students during the time they were in college.

The Templeton study surveyed over 100,000 freshmen from 236 American colleges and universities in 2003 and then followed up with them when they were juniors. The students answered questions about their personal views on spirituality and religion. They indicated which spiritual and religious practices they were most and least attracted to and which they practiced at what frequency. They explored the linkages the students made between spirituality, religion, and spiritual development as well as if the students felt their spiritual development was enhanced or hindered by their undergraduate experience.

Following the preliminary research, the former president of Connecticut College, then at New York University, Claire Gaudiani, wrote: “This research suggests that the newest generation expresses definite commitment to balancing material and spiritual interests – they hold challenging ideas for their boomer teachers, parents and employers”[2]. Carol G. Schneider, the president of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, responded to the research by posing this question: “the question now is whether the college curriculum – broadly conceived- goes far enough in engaging students’ search for a sense of a larger purpose”[3].

Perhaps we need to think about these questions as they should touch the high school curriculum. Does the high school curriculum – broadly conceived- contain the kinds of introduction to the ideas of religion and spirituality, starting with a vocabulary for students to use, that builds the readiness they need to address the questions the Templeton study demonstrates college students are asking?

©2021 By Lesley Barker


[1] Tony Snow. “Go Off-road; Practice a Little Daring”. Graduation Wisdom. ONLINE at https://www.graduationwisdom.com/speeches/0051-snow.htm ACCESSED 3/12/2020.

[2] Higher Education Research Institutes. The Spiritual Life of College Students: A National Study of College Students’ Search for Meaning and Purpose. 2003. ONLINE at https://spirituality.ucla.edu/docs/reports/Spiritual_Life_College_Students_Full_Report.pdf ACCESSED 1/27/2021.

[3] Ibid.

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