Reading for the Month

Cultivating the Spirit - How College Can Enhance Students' Inner Lives

Authors: Alexander W. Astin, Helen S. Astin, and Jennifer A. Lindholm

Cultivating the spirit is based on a national student of undergraduates.  Findings show that religious engagement among studnets declines somewhat during college, but their spirituality shows substantial growth.  Students become more caring, more tolerant, more connected with others, and more actively engaged in a spiritual quest.  The student identified a number of college activities that contribute to the students' spiritual growth.  The authors also found that spiritual growth enhances other outcomes, such as academic performance, psychological well-being, leadership development, and satisfaction with college. Cultivating the Spirit also incorporates findings from a national survey of faculty along with insights gleaned through interviews with students and professors.

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Selected Readings

Knowledge Community members should feel free to add suggested readings by emailing references in APA Style to kevin_mcclain@uncg.edu.

 Astin, A.W., Astin, H.S., and Lindholm, J.A. (January/February 2011). “Assessing Students’ Spiritual and Religious Qualities.”  Journal of College Student Development, 52, 1: 39-61. 

Astin, A. W., Astin, H. S.,& Lindholm, J. A. (2011). Cultivating the spirit: How college canenhance students' inner lives.
San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.Astin, A. W., & Astin, H. (2004). Spirituality development and the college experience (Research Report). Los Angeles: University of California, Higher Education Research Institute.

Bryant, A., Choi, J.Y., & Yasuno, M. (2003). Understanding the religious and spiritual dimensions of students' lives in the first year of college. Journal of College Student Development, 44(6), 723 - 745.

Cherry, C., De Berg, B., & Porterfield, A. (2001). Religion on campus. Liberal Education, 87(4), 6 - 14.

Chickering, A., Dalton, J., & Stamm, L.. (2006). Encouraging Authenticity & Spirituality in Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.

Eck, D. (2001). A new religious America: How a Christian country has become the world's most religiously diverse nation. San Francisco: Harper.

Fowler, J. W. (1976). Stages of faith: The structured developmental approach. In T.C. Hennessey (Ed.), Values and moral development (pp.176 – 234). New York: Paulist Press.

Fowler, J. W. (1982). Stages of faith and adults' life cycles. In K. Stokes (Ed.), Faith development in the adult life cycle (pp. 179 - 208). New York: W. H. Sadlier.

Gonzalez, R. G. (2008). College student spirituality at a Hispanic Serving Institution. Journal of College & Character, 9(4), 1-26.

Greenway, K. A. (2006). The role of spirituality in purpose in life and academic engagement. Journal of College & Character, 7(6), 1-5.

Hartley, H. V. (2004). How college affects students' religious faith and practice: A review of research. College Student Affairs Journal, 23(2), 111-129.

Hindman, D. M. (2002). From splintered lives to whole persons: Facilitating spiritual development in college students. Religious Education, 97(2), 165 - 182.

Hoppe, S.L. & Speck, B.W. (2007). Searching for spirituality in higher education. New York: Peter Lang.

Hurtado, S. (2005). The next generation of diversity and intergroup relations research. Journal of Social Issues, 61 (3), p 595 – 610.

Interfaith Youth Core. (n.d.) Interfaith cooperation and American higher education: Recommendations,best practices and case
studies. Retrieved October 28, 2011, from http://www.ifyc.org/sites/default/files/Best%20Practices%20Report_Interfaith%20Cooperation%20and%20Higher%20Ed.pdf

Kazanjian, V.H. & Lawrence, P.L. (Eds.), Education as transformation: Religious pluralism, spirituality & a new vision for higher education in America.  New York: Peter Lang.

Kocet, M. M., & Stewart, D. L. (2011). The role of student affairs in promoting religious and secular pluralism      and interfaith cooperation. Journal of College and Character, 12(1). Retrieved from http://journals.naspa.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1762&context=jcc

Lee, J. J. (2002). Religion and college attendance: Change among students. The Review of Higher Education, 25(4), 369- 384.

Lee, J. J., Matzkin, A., & Arthur, S. (2004). Understanding students' religious and spiritual pursuits: A case study at New York University. Journal of College and Character. Retrieved June 15, 2004 from http://www.collegevalues.org/articles.cfm

Love, P., & Talbot, D. (1997). Defining spiritual development: A missing consideration for student affairs. NASPA Journal,37(1), 361-375.

Love, P. (2001). Spirituality and student development: Theoretical connections. In M.A. Jablonski (Ed.), The implications of student spirituality for student affairs practice (pp. 7 – 16). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Love, P. (2002). Comparing spiritual development and cognitive development. Journal of College Student Development, 43(3), 357 - 373.

Magolda, M. B. B., Creamer, E. G., & Meszaros, P.S. (2010). Development and assessment of  self-     authorship: Exploring the concept across cultures. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing LLC.

Magolda, M. B. B., & Parks, S. D. (2009). Authoring your life: Developing an internal voice to navigate life's challenges. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, LLC.

Moran, C. D. (2007). The public identity work of evangelical Christian students. Journal of College Student Development, 48(4), 418-434.

Moran, C. D., Lang, D. J., & Oliver, J. (2007). Cultural incongruity and social status ambiguity: The experiences of evangelical Christian student leaders at two Midwestern public universities. Journal of College Student Development, 48(1), 23-38.

Moran, C. D. (2006, June 14). Tangled in a web of assumptions: Are we silencing religious expression among faculty and staff in higher education? NASPA NetResults.

Moran, C. D. & Curtis, G. D. (2004). Blending two worlds: Religio-spirituality in the professional lives of student affairs administrators. NASPA Journal, 41(3), 631-646.

Nash, R. J., & Murray, M. C. (2010). Helping college students find purpose: The campus guide to meaning-making. San Fransico, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Nash, R. J. (2001). Religious Pluralism in the Academy. New York, NY: Peter Lang Publishing, Inc.

Nash, R., Bradley, D.L., Chickering, A.W. (2008) How to talk about hot topics on campus: From polarization to moral conversation. San Fransciso: John Wiley & Sons.

Parks, S. D. (2000). Big questions, worthy dreams: Mentoring young adults in their search for meaning, purpose and faith. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Palmer, P.J. and Zajonc, A. with M. Scribner (2010) The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal.

Patel, E., & Meyer, C. (2011).  The civic relevance for interfaith cooperation for colleges and universities.  Journal of College and Character, 12(1). Retrieved from http://journals.naspa.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1764&context=jcc

Schwartz, A. (2001). Growing spirituality during the college years. Liberal Education, 87(4), 30 - 36.

Small, J. (2011). Understanding College Students' Identities: Different Faiths, Varied Worldviews. Hampton Press.

Speers, S. (2008). The Secular thesis revisited: Religious life on the secular college campus today. Journal of College & Character 10(2), 1-11.

Stamm, L. (2003). Can we bring spirituality back to campus? Higher education's re-engagement with values and spirituality. Journal of College and Character. Retrieved July 25, 2003 from http://www.collegevalues.org/articles.cfm.

Watt, S.K., Fairchild, E.E., & Goodman, K.M. (Eds.) (2009). Intersections of religious privilege: Difficult dialogues and student affairs practice.  New Directors for Student Services, 125.

Wunthnow, R. (2010). After the baby boomers: How twenty- and thirty-somethings are shaping the future of Amercian religion.  Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Young, J. R. (2003). Survey finds spiritual leanings among most college students. The Chronicle of Higher Education, 50 (14), 14a.

Zajonc, A. (2003). Spirituality in higher education: Overcoming the divide. Liberal Education, 89(1), 50 - 59.