1978/06/01 by Bruce Hunsberger · 2 citations
Social Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · #Diverse Academic Research Areas #Multicultural Socio-Legal Studies #Socioeconomics of Resources and Conservation
paper · doi:10.2307/1386159
Two studies were carried out to investigate the frequently reported tendency for university students to become less orthodox in their religious beliefs and practices over the course of their college years. The first was primarily a cross-sectional study of 457 University of Manitoba students, while the second was a two and a half year longitudinal investigation of 212 Wilfrid Laurier University students. The single consistent finding in these projects was a tendency for seniors to report attending church less frequently than freshmen. Otherwise, limited evidence was found (either overall or for major denominational groupings) of the supposed trend away from orthodoxy over a variety of questionnaire items relating to religious beliefs, practices and reactions to parental religious teachings. These results appear compatible with the related literature.