The Role of Catholic Campus Religious Ministries in the Formation of Young Adults (2017-2018)

U.S. universities are more open to religious life and development than is often assumed, and campus ministries hope to play an important role in bridging the religion of adolescence and that of independent adulthood. However, very little research about campus ministries exists, leaving both campus ministers and scholars unsure of what roles campus ministries play in students’ religious, social and personal development.

This team aimed to collect a unique panel dataset of Catholic college students to better understand religious trajectories during college and how they relate to other attitudes and behaviors.

The 2016-2017 version of this project team piloted a survey at Duke, conducted cognitive interviews of the survey questions and analyzing the data to assess potential bias in answering the questions and in deciding to complete the survey. This information was used to revise the piloted survey in order to administer the full survey to students at multiple universities in Summer 2017.

In 2017-2018, team members collected two waves of survey data from eight universities and over 1,500 students. The team cleaned and analyzed the data and created resources for campus ministries to aid their goal of serving college students. Resources described the types of Catholic students that ministries can expect to interact with, outlined reasons students participate or choose not to participate, described the outcomes associated with different activities put on by ministries and suggested ways to further engage contemporary students.

Timing

Fall 2017 – Spring 2018

Team Outcomes

The Role of Catholic Campus Religious Ministries in the Formation of Young Adults (talk by Michelle Krogius), EHDx, April 19, 2018

Impact of Catholic Ministries on Student Development (poster by Samantha Heino, Garrett Jones, Michelle Krogius, Katie Cassedy, Megan Tisdale and Simon Brauer), presented at EHDx, April 19, 2018

The Role of Catholic Campus Ministries in the Formation of Young Adults: Project Report and Findings on Mental Health (Samantha Heino and Simon Brauer, February 2018)

The Role of Catholic Campus Ministries in the Formation of Young Adults: Project Report and Findings (Simon G. Brauer, November 2017)

Project team website

This Team in the News

These Ph.D. Graduates Incorporated Bass Connections into Their Doctoral Education

This project team was originally part of the Education & Human Development theme of Bass Connections, which ended in 2022. See earlier related team, The Role of Catholic Campus Religious Ministries in the Formation of Young Adults (2016-2017)

Team Leaders

  • Peter Arcidiacono, Arts & Sciences-Economics
  • Simon Brauer, Arts and Sciences–Sociology–Ph.D. Student

/undergraduate Team Members

  • Catherine Cassedy, Economics (BS)
  • Samantha Heino, Biology (BS)
  • Garrett Jones, Mechanical Engineering (BSE)
  • Michelle Krogius, Civil Engineering (BSE)

/yfaculty/staff Team Members

  • Mark Chaves, Arts & Sciences-Sociology
  • V. Joseph Hotz, Arts & Sciences-Economics

/zcommunity Team Members

  • Fr. Albert Duggan, Brown University Catholic Center
  • Fr. Michael Martin, Duke Catholic Center
  • Fr. Eric Nielsen, University of Wisconsin Catholic Center
  • Shari Reilly, Iowa State Catholic Center
  • Fr. Justin Ross, UNC-Chapel Hill Catholic Center
  • Rosie Shawver, USC Caruso Catholic Center
  • JoAnn Shull, Mizzou Catholic Center
  • Fr. Jerry Waterman, Syracuse University Catholic Center