Conceptualizations of Spirituality, Religion, and Faith: Comparing Biblical Notions with the Perspectives of Protestant Christian Students at a Lutheran College

Abstract

As part of a larger investigation into the spiritual climate at one Lutheran college, we interviewed Protestant Christian students in order to compare their conceptualizations of spirituality, religion, and faith with biblical notions of those concepts. We found that the students' understandings of those concepts only loosely reflected general understanding within the higher education literature, and a significant disconnect existed between their conceptualizations of the relevant terms and those found in the Bible. In an effort to make meaning of our findings, we discuss existing literature about religious illiteracy as it relates to inherited faith and to the impact of institutional religious affiliation.Spirituality and religion not only influence the lives of many Americans in general (Subbiondo, 2006) but also play a salient role among college and university students in particular. Dalton and Crosby (2007) suggested that because the college years are "a time of great personal reflection and transition in beliefs, values, and commitments" (p. 2), many students are drawn to spirituality and religion. Given this interest among students, it is not surprising that a number of scholars in higher education have become interested in the role of spirituality and religion in higher education. One of the primary challenges faced by both scholars and practitioners, however, relates to that of adequately conceptualizing spirituality, religion, and related constructs such as faith.

Worldview Pedagogy for Integration of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work Education

“…Other studies with college students also identified significant disconnect between conceptualizations of religion and spirituality with their relevant terms and those found in the Bible. Further, students' understandings of those concepts only loosely reflect general understanding within the higher education literature (Craft, 2011). Future studies should address this discrepancy and be designed to capture the accuracy with which MSW students identify with the tenets and the values of the particular religion they self-associated with.…”