A biblical worldview approach to life and learning has never been more needed than in today's pluralistic/postmodern culture. Christian students face hostility to their faith from one side and apathy to anything of importance from the other side. Sadly, the casualties are high.
Decline in Student Spirituality
When it comes to the spiritual life of teenagers, the statistics are not very encouraging.
- • After three years in college, the number of students who frequently attend religious services drops by 23 percent(2). Also, 36 percent rated their spirituality lower after three years in college.
• As high as 59 percent of freshmen who claimed to be "born again" no longer described themselves that way four years later(3). That's a fallout rate of almost two-thirds!
• Only 20 percent of students who were highly churched as teens remained spiritually active by age 29(4).
1. Increase in Liberal Professors
That many professors disdain Christianity is not an alarmist myth. In fact, a recent study conducted by Gary Tobin of the Institute for Jewish and Community Research found that 53 percent of college and university faculty admitted to holding unfavorable feelings toward evangelical Christians, but not toward other religious groups. The study also found that college and university faculty are far less likely to identify themselves as a Christian than the general public, and they are far more likely to refer to themselves as secular or liberal than conservative or religious(5). Tobin's findings echo the results of several other surveys of college faculty(6).
2. Lack of Adequate Grounding
Many Christian students have no idea why they believe what they believe. Though they have been taught Bible stories, morals, and facts, they do not know how to think and act biblically. This is a particularly devastating fact in an age where students are bombarded on a daily basis with competing views about life. Every song, movie, billboard, blog, game, textbook, and speech are full of ideas about God, morality, beauty, identity, religions, and more. However, not all the ideas are true. Some are wrong, some are deceptive, and some are even destructive.
3. A Wrong View of Christianity
The disconnection between true Christianity and what many teens believe is dramatically revealed in the book Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers written primarily by Christian Smith, a University of North Carolina sociologist. Smith and his colleagues conducted the largest survey to date of teens' religious beliefs. Based on these extensive interviews, Smith wrote that many students who claim to be Christians have a view of their faith that is far from orthodox Christianity. What they actually believe is something Smith identifies as "moralistic therapeutic deism(7)." In this view, the only point of faith is to be good, to feel good, and to have a God who is ready to help without expecting anything in return. This is a far cry from a truly biblical worldview.
Reversing the Trend
What can parents and educators do to keep our young people from dropping out of church and converting to the "no longer born again" category?
1. Understand that the battle is for students' hearts and minds. For too long, many churches have been content to focus on the emotions, shying away from a serious discipleship of the mind. Yet, Jesus said that loving God involves both the heart and the mind (Matthew 12:29-30. See also Romans 12:1-2).
2. Show that Christianity is a robust faith. When it comes to life's most pressing issues, Christianity offers answers that are superior to all other philosophies. As the apostle Paul said, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5).
3. Teach students that Christianity is a comprehensive worldview. The Bible explains all facets of human existence, including our relationship with God, as well as our identity as God's image bearers, our relationships with other image bearers, and our responsibility for God's creation. Students not only need to know facts and stories from the Bible, but they also need to be able to think biblically about all of life.
4. Commit to developing a Christian worldview ourselves. Students who see a Christian worldview lived out by their parents and teachers are much more likely to embrace that worldview for themselves and stand strong when it is under attack.
Christian students who think and act from a biblical worldview are prepared not only to withstand attacks on their faith, but also to help their friends understand God's truth and make a positive contribution to shaping society for God's glory. With this kind of preparation, more students will respond on the positive side of the spiritual ledger when future surveys are conducted.
John Stonestreet
Executive Director of Summit Ministries
About the Author:
John Stonestreet is the Executive Director of Summit Ministries. He also oversees the student leadership conferences in Tennessee and Virginia. A popular speaker at camps, homeschool conventions, and conferences, he works annually with thousands of parents, teachers, and students on developing a biblical worldview, understanding comparative worldviews, defending the Christian faith, applying a biblical worldview to education, and engaging important cultural issues. John holds an M.A. in Christian Thought from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He also is on the Biblical Studies faculty at Bryan College in Dayton, Tennessee. For more information, visit Summit Ministries online.
Endnotes
(1) Quote by Phillip Johnson in "Foreword" in Nancy Pearcey, Total Truth: Liberating Christianity from Its Cultural Captivity (Crossway, 2005), 12.
(2) Quoted in the report, Preliminary Findings on Spiritual Development and the College Experience: A Longitudinal Analysis (2000-2003). Online article: http://www.spirituality.ucla.edu/results/Longitudinal_00-03.pdf.
(3) Taken from the "College Student Survey." Cooperative Institutional Research Program, U.C.L.A. Online article: http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/heri/css_po.html.
(4) George Barna, "Most Twentysomethings Put Christianity on the Shelf Following Spiritually Active Teen Years" (www.barna.org).
(5) Gary A. Tobin and Aryeh K. Weinberg, Profiles of the American University, Vol. 2: Religious Beliefs and Behaviors of College Faculty. Institute for Jewish and Community Research, 2007.
(6) For example, "College Faculties A Most Liberal Lot, Study Finds," By Howard Kurtz, Washington Post, Tuesday, March 29, 2005; Page C01.
(7) Christian Smith, Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford, 2005).
