Katie Carlton

April 21
st
, 2014
Hofmann
English 1102
Spiritually Lost
Waking up early on Sunday mornings; mom cooking a big breakfast and the entire family
is heading off to church after. In a perfect world, that would be the case forever; unfortunately,
the transition from high school to college affects that tremendously. Adolescents raised in a
religious household can be raised in all the right was by their parents. However, the outcome is
ultimately determined by the students coming into college and how they choose to carry out their
faith. Even the students that are believed to be the best behaved, such as the Preachers Kids, can
turn out to be the least religious when making the leap from high school to college.
According to Reno, When we go off to college, were not yet adults but no longer
children, and were often on our own for the first time. No more bells ringing between classes,
the everyday routines of high school are behind us. Our parents arent around to wake us up in
the morning or to set a curfew. For the most part were responsible for and to ourselves.
Collectively, this article explains that so many students do not understand that their faith is
leaving because new things are taking its place instead. Partying and other activities are now
easily accessible without the protection and guidance of mom and dad and are causing students
to make it out on Saturday night but not to Sunday morning. Because no one is there to make
sure students do what theyre supposed to, many do not.
Reno also states that College is a time when we can take full, adult possession of our
faith, and its also a time when it can slip away, either because of neglect, or intellectual
challenges were unprepared to meet, or because we find ourselves swept up into comfortable
hedonism. However, 18 year olds are still far from adulthood. Many struggle with the direction
they want to take their lives at this crucial turning point. The students are generally used to
having their parents to guide them and tell them what is right and wrong. When they are
released into the college world the students experience a sense of freedom that they never had
when living at home. This freedom can be a very good thing or it cannot be.
Furthermore, students at a Christian college sometimes think they can put their faith on hold for
a few years. They don't work on developing their faith because they believe no one is judging
them since everyone there is supposed to be a Christian. So it often takes more discipline on a
Christian college campus to keep all of that in perspective and to continue growing in your
faith. It seems to be the cool thing to do: go out every night, get blackout drunk, and brag about
how they cant remember it the next day. With public or state funded schools, most of the
concentration is on academia, not controlling substance abuse. Yes, its an important factor, but
religious schools that are privately funded put more emphasis on controlling the partying. Its
hard to grow in your faith when youre alcohol tolerance is growing by the weekend. R.R. Reno,
Keeping Your Faith in College.
Furthermore, there are certain stereotypes that go along with being a religious kid. Bob
Smietana states found that Religious students go to church, are more likely to believe in
creationism or intelligent design, and oppose assisted suicide, adoptions by same-sex couples and
gun control. Smietana goes on to state Secular students do not believe in God, endorse
evolution, accept assisted suicide as moral, say gay couples should be able to adopt and want
more gun control. These generalizations are often associated with the two political parties as
well. The freedom that comes with breaking out of mom and dads political beliefs can lead to
breaking out of their religious ones also. College brings about many changes that are brought on
at a very impressionable time. Bob Smietana, College Students Divided on God, Spiritually."
In the same article, Mark Forrester, Vanderbilt Universitys chaplain, says these results
are similar to what hes found on his own campus. He said that when he started at Austin Peay
University in 1991, most students had some religious identity. Even though many students
begin college with a religious identity, their association with new peers and new academic
challenges can often be very time consuming and stressful to the point where their religion is no
longer a main priority in their lives. Bob Smietana. "College Students Divided on God,
Spritually."
Partying has always been an issue faced by most by college students. Drinking and drugs
are a major problem between high school and college and students faith is tested immensely
when put in contact with these substances. Due to extreme stress, students will many times turn
to other activities that are not necessarily healthy, as well as turn to peers who can many times be
a very bad influence. Students will turn to other activities such as drinking and other substances
rather than turning to their faith to help them get through a tough situation; they take the easy
way out. They also do not have the guidance of their parents and other role models to help steer
them on the right path but, they have the influence of fellow students. These student are more
times than not more focused on their own entertainment rather than the well-being of the student
making the vital transition from high school to college. This is a major dilemma that faces many
first year college students.