ITEMS OF INTEREST February 14, 2005 Issue

ITEMS OF INTEREST

with contributions from Karen Rivedal, Irvine O. Hockaday, Jr., Christie Storm, Ashley Lawson

"[S]PIRITUALITY AMONG [UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON] STUDENTS IS EASY TO FIND .... In public higher education today, religious expression by students or anyone else can be a tricky business. It's prevalent and diverse, but not officially sanctioned and sometimes stereotyped. But UW-Madison students can ... find dozens of places to pray, study religion critically, or just try to figure out what they believe....

"[W]hen it comes to seeking student followers, most campus chaplains are careful to tailor their message appropriately. 'Approached with a respect for their intelligence, students are open to spiritual ideas,' said Brent Christianson, the pastor at the Lutheran Campus Center for the past 12 years. 'There's a desire to taste-test a lot of things in college. In the past 10 years, I've seen a real hunger and thirst for something deeper in students.'...

"A national survey of college freshmen conducted annually by UCLA shows a rise in the number of students who do not affiliate with any religion—a near tripling from 6.6 percent in 1966 to 17.6 percent in 2003, said Alyssa Bryant, a researcher on UCLA's Spirituality in Higher Education project. (UW-Madison students have never taken part in the survey.) But a smaller study by Bryant's group in spring 2003 showed a greater interest in religion among upperclassmen than researchers expected. Seventy-seven percent of juniors said they prayed and 78 percent talked about religion with their friends....

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