Exploring the motivations of students to engage in their spiritual, religious, or faith lives in college

ABSTRACT

College students engage with religion, faith, and spirituality for a variety of reasons; however, current literature exploring these motivations is limited. We utilised a constructivist, qualitative, phenomenological design and surveyed 201 students to understand their motivations for pursuing faith, religion, or spirituality. Of those surveyed, 124 respondents provided 163 thought units to produce 6 emergent themes as motivators of engagement. We provide definitions of each theme and make recommendations for higher-education professionals.

KEYWORDS:

• College students
• motivation
• college-student faith
• college-student religion
• college-student spirituality

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Macon Betts

Macon Betts currently serves as the Kathy Crow Commons Residential Community Director at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. In this role, Macon oversees a residence hall of first-and-second- year college students as they develop a sense of self and belonging on-campus. Prior to her current position, Macon attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Georgia to complete her bachelor’s and master’s degrees. Outside of her housing role, Macon enjoys reading, travelling, and live music.

Dustin K. Grabsch

Dustin K. Grabsch currently serving students as the director of academic initiatives at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, USA since July 2019. Dustin is a pracademic, collaborator, and researcher. He has held academic and student affairs positions at various universities including Texas A&M University, Seattle University, University of Arkansas, and Texas Tech University. Driven by a relentless curiosity, he considers himself to be a pracademic. Dustin leads multiple research teams within student and academic affairs to improve the profession and student experience. The evidence his social science research team provides has guided and informed higher education policy and practice. Within Residence Life and Student Housing, he oversees the Faculty-in-Residence program, Residential Commons Affiliate Program, academic collaborations, retention, Peer Leaders, Engage Dallas, the RLSH Research Team, marketing, and communication functions. Dustin is a proud first-generation college student and holds a bachelor’s, master’s, and a doctorate in leadership-related fields. Originally from Warren, Michigan, Dustin enjoys boating, hiking, DIY projects, and writing in his spare time.

Veronica D. Davis

Veronica D. Davis is the Associate Chaplain in the Office of the Chaplain and Religious Life at Southern Methodist University.

Laura M. Bell

Laura M. Bell is a Graduate Assistant for Assessment, Research, and Planning in Residence Life and Student Housing at Southern Methodist University.

Faith Ann Sheedy

Faith Ann Sheedy is a Research Assistant of the Residence Life and Student Housing department at Southern Methodist University.