Majority of College Students Say They are on a Spiritual Quest

As college enrollment tops 18 million students for first time, 76 percent of students report they are on a spiritual quest. Campus Crusade for Christ implements plan helping students on 1,000 campuses.

ORLANDO, Aug. 26, 2008—College enrollment is setting records, with a estimated 18 million students enrolling this year at colleges and universities across the United States.  New surveys indicate that 76 percent of those college students are on a spiritual quest - and many freshmen say they expect their college experience to help them with that quest. Campus Crusade for Christ is implementing a national plan to do exactly that, with programs designed to reach out to students on more than 1000 college and university campuses.

UCLA's Higher Education Research Institute reports in Spirituality in Higher Education that 80 percent of all college students are interested in spirituality, three in four believe in God and 74 percent discuss religion and spirituality with their friends.

"Student interest in spirituality and religion is at a level not seen since perhaps in the 1950s," says Colgate University President Rebecca Chopp.

At the same time, frequent student attendance at religious services has dropped from 43 percent in high school to 25 percent by their junior year in college. The percentage of college students who never attend religious services almost doubles from 20 percent in high school to 37 percent by their junior year.

"College is a critical moment in students' lives," states Mark Gauthier, U.S. Campus Director for Campus Crusade for Christ. "College can be either a spiritual greenhouse or a spiritual graveyard. It's a place where a student's faith blossoms or it dies."

Campus Crusade for Christ embraces the challenge to help connect students with each other and with God. For many, that connection begins before students arrive on campus through social networking sites like Facebook and Web sites like www.EveryStudent.com, and continues their first week on campus.

At North Carolina State University, Campus Crusade students and faculty pass out 1,500 free sodas, hot dogs and ice cream treats the first week of class, while a luau welcomes hundreds of new students. Fun events help students connect with other students who can encourage them in their spiritual quest.

A thousand Freshman Survival Kits will be distributed by Campus Crusade at Miami University (Ohio). Each kit contains a Bible, books, CDs and merchant coupons stuffed in a mesh laundry bag emblazoned with a website where students can get answers to their spiritual questions. More than 1.3 million Freshman Survival Kits have been distributed in recent years.

A special Back2School Web page has been created at www.CampusCrusadeforChrist.com to help students and others find 4,100 local ministries from 14 different national student organizations, including Campus Crusade, at 3,000 campuses across the United States. Back2School also features video stories of how students' lives are being spiritually transformed and gives adults the opportunity to get involved in the effort.

Campus Crusade for Christ is a global student movement in 191 countries bringing the life-changing message of Jesus to the world. More than 50,000 college students are actively involved with Campus Crusade for Christ on more than 1,000 campuses across America.

Media Notes:

For more student survey results, please visit the UCLA HERI Spirituality in Higher Education study at www.spirituality.ucla.edu.

For questions, interviews or photo ops, please contact Tony Arnold, (919) 244-3375 (cell), Tony.Arnold@uscm.org, or visit www.CampusCrusadeforChrist.com/newsroom.