Do College and Religion Mix

1
Do College and Religion Mix?

• An argumentative essay arguing the importance of
  religion to college students
• By Thomas Moore

2
Laura Montgomerys point of view

• Montgomery claims that before she went to college
  there was no questioning whether or not she was
  going to church
• Her family had sent her to parochial schools all
  her life
• She assumed that she would attend church on a
  regular basis
• She claimed that when she moved to college she
  would attend a church every weekend when she
  found one she liked
• She acknowledges a direct correlation between
  church attendance and spirituality

3
Further Claims

• Montgomery claims that a combination of academic
  pressure, unrestricted social life, and
  extracurricular activities were a contributing
  factor to her loss of spirituality
• She states that Independence can sometimes mean
  getting away from societal and familial
  expectations.
• She also states that for the first time in her
  life she did not have to attend church on Sunday
  mornings
• Montgomery claims that her abundance of
  educational responsibilities forced her to slack
  off of her spiritual activities, she also states
  that doing well in her courses was her FIRST
  priority

4
My views

• I am a college student who believes that religion
  is an extremely important part of a students
  life
• Admittedly I am not an extremely religious person
  
• I also acknowledge that this is my opinion which
  may not be shared by my audience, I am sorry if
  my claims or opinions are taken as offensive
• Agreeing that a college student is provided with
  more freedoms than most teenagers have previously
  had in their life, I believe that a persons
  priorities are a deciding factor in what a person
  actually does
• I acknowledge that a persons priorities are
  subject to change when presented with certain
  situations, but not with religion influencing
  such decisions

5
Defense of priorities

• From Montgomerys own words we are lead to
  believe that she is a very religious person whos
  beliefs are strongly rooted in her upbringing
• Montgomery uses her studies and social life to
  rationalize her sudden drop off in religious
  activities because she feels guilty and believes
  that the scholarly activities are able to justify
  the loss of religious activities

6
Personal Experience

• Personally since I have come to college I have
  been able to fully balance my time in a more
  organized way which actually has given me more
  free time
• Time which I can spend with my friends socially,
  with my studies, and also with my church family
• Religion and Church are high priorities for me,
  as Montgomery it was a big part of my upbringing
• I do what I can to continue attending my church
  and keep my Sunday rituals in tact

7
Scholarly Studies

• A study done by UCLA polling 112,232 first year
  students at 236 diverse colleges shows
• 78 of freshmen discuss spirituality with their
  friends
• 70 of the polled students attend church services
  regularly
• 73 of freshmen claim that religion has helped
  them develop their identity
• 67 claim that religion gives purpose and meaning
  to their life
• This is a study of persons just like Montgomery
  who were presented with the same obstacles and
  situations she encountered.

8
We can conclude

• That a first year college student is presented
  with new freedoms with which he/she must decide
  how to use this new time and freedom
• A person has free will to decide how time will be
  spent in their daily life and what they do is
  their own discretion
• Montgomery was not presented with a lack of
  options, she just made decisions which led to her
  subsequent lack of religious activities
• Religion can help a college student make
  decisions that help them day in and day out of
  their lives, ultimately I believe that it is up
  to the specific person whether or not they have
  the constitution to prioritize religion over
  social activities

9
Works Cited

• Montgomery, Laura. Do College and Religion Mix?
  English 1101. 2004 http//bcs.bedfordstmartins.com
  /everydaywriter/studentwriting/pdf/montgomerymla-f
  inal.pdf (October 24, 2005).
• Lindholm, Jennifer. Spirituality in Higher
  Education A National Study of College Students
  Search for Meaning and Purpose. English 1101.
  October 2004. http//spirituality.ucla.edu/results
  /findingssummary00-03.pdf