Race, Religion, and Belonging at a Christian University

Abstract

Race plays a significant role in shaping sense of belonging in higher education. However, little research has analyzed religion and belonging at universities. In this study, we test four hypotheses about race, religion, and belonging with survey data from a Christian university in the South. For first-year students, Asians express less belonging than Whites, but no other differences by race or religion appear. Among seniors, Black, Asian, and nonreligious students report lower levels of belonging than White and Christian students, respectively; however, religious minority students, including nonwhite religious minority students, do not report lower levels of belonging.

Keywords:

• Higher education
• belonging
• race
• religion

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We tested alternative models (not shown) using seven religious traditions (Evangelical Protestant, Mainline Protestant, Black Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, other, and no religion; Steensland et al. 2000) and four religious traditions (Evangelical Protestant, other Christian, other religion, and no religion). Neither of the models had results that were significantly different from our three-item list, so we kept the three categories in accordance with our hypotheses.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Michael Ryan

Michael Ryan is a graduate student at Baylor University. His research focuses on the connections between politics, race, religion, the family, and education. Email: [email protected].

Hannah Evans

Hannah R. Evans is a research associate at Springtide Research Institute. She completed her Ph.D. in Sociology at Baylor University. Her research focuses on religion, race, adolescence/emerging adulthood, and higher education. Email: [email protected].

Cara Hoekstra

Cara Hoekstra is a graduate of the University Scholars program at Baylor University where she concentrated in Sociology, History, and Political Science. She now works as a financial administrator at Baylor University but continues to explore topics related to higher education, marriage and family, and religion.

David Jung

David Jung is 2021 graduate of Baylor University, where he majored in sociology.

Kevin D. Dougherty

Kevin D. Dougherty is a professor of sociology at Baylor University. Religious organizations are his research expertise. He has written extensively on race in religious organizations. His published research appears in leading academic journals and has been featured on CNN, National Public Radio, and USA Today.

Perry L. Glanzer

Perry L. Glanzer is a Professor of Educational Foundations at Baylor University, a Resident Scholar with the Baylor Institute for Studies of Religion, and the Editor-in-Chief of Christian Scholar’s Review. He is the author of over a dozen books including Identity Excellence: A Theory of Moral Expertise for Higher Education.

Sarah A. Schnitker

Sarah Schnitker is an Associate Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at Baylor University in Waco, T X. She earned her Ph.D. in Personality and Social Psychology from University of California, Davis. Schnitker studies virtue development in adolescents and emerging adults, focusing on the role of spirituality/religion in virtue formation.