Is a Christian College Education ‘Worth It’? Worldview Development among Christian College Students as a Model for the Larger Academy

In the context of recent discussions and concern about the value of a Christian education, the desires of college students for the freedom to ask bigger questions about values and mission and to explore deeper meanings in life often go unnoticed. Christian colleges are uniquely positioned to provide students an opportunity to explore these questions and to serve as models for contexts in which values and academic disciplines are taken seriously. The current study explores the religiosity, identity, attachment, and well-being of almost 1000 recent graduates from two Christian colleges. Two religiosity measures were of particular interest: 1) religious coherence measures the degree to which values affect one’s life and is a composite measure based on intrinsic religiosity, Christian Orthodoxy, religious identity, and religious coping, and 2) quest measures the degree of “readiness to face existential questions in all their complexity while at the same time resisting clear-cut, pat answers” (Batson et al., 1993, p. 166). Committed questers— those high in both measures—show higher well-being and provide an opportunity to explore movement toward more complex faith and greater ownership of one’s faith and values. Results show that a Christian college can create a place where values guide personal behavior and nurture human flourishing, and questing can be a positive if sometimes stressful path to spiritual growth.