What % of students at top colleges are religious/irreligious?

[InquisitiveOne]

<p>I saw somewhere that ~50% of students at Oxford are irreligious.</p>

<p>Anyways, I probably would expect the highest rates of atheism at Caltech and MIT. Not totally sure about the others (but it always seems that the irreligious outnumber the religious among the young+academically inclined).</p>

<p>And what about state universities?</p>

[sinflower]

<p>Hmm. Well, ~Wikipedia says~</p>

<p>

The most recent ARIS report, released March 9, 2009, found in 2008, 34.2 million Americans (15.0%) claim no religion. Of which, 1.6% explicitly describe themselves as atheist or agnostic, double the previous 2001 ARIS survey figure.

</p>

<p>So first of all, by “irreligious” you mean “no religion,” not necessarily “atheist or agnostic,” right? So that’s 15% overall. I imagine it’s higher in college populations and higher still at top colleges, but 50% still seems kind of unlikely. But at top colleges I suspect there will be a higher proportion of “lapsed” religious people who don’t attend church but still consider themselves religious.</p>

<p>This would be an interesting survey to make at colleges. Then colleges can have a “religious diversity” breakdown along with their race breakdowns. Come to think of it, I would really like to see that happen…</p>

[InquisitiveOne]

<p>Very interesting reply. Thanks :)</p>

<p>Yeah, I mean no religion. The percent is definitely higher in young people though (it might be 30% IIRC). And then you have to account for geographical diversity (Northeast and Western states tend to have much higher irreligious rates than others). </p>

<p>I dunno. Anyways, I live in Washington (one of the least religious states in the nation) and the % nonreligious seemed to be 50-60% in the early entrance programs here. There was a survey done on CC some time ago and I think the non-religious % could be as much as 60% there.</p>

<p>I’ve actually heard some people describe their colleges as overwhelmingly atheist/agnostic (someone said that of Caltech, and another said that of UMichigan, but I’d be surprised about Michigan). I’m really curious to know if the rate differs from state university to state university, and from one private college to another.</p>

[sinflower]

<p>30%… Whoa, that’s pretty high. If that’s true, 50% at top colleges could be possible. I still kind of doubt it though. But certainly some colleges could have a very nonreligious atmosphere even if they haven’t hit 50%, because all of the slightly religious/ lapsed religious people don’t really talk or care about it. </p>

<p>I’m from Washington too, and an atheist myself, and while it certainly seems like there is a lot of atheism among my friends and classmates… well, maybe I’m just picking atheist friends? At any rate, it makes a lot of sense for math/tech schools to be the most nonreligious.</p>

[InquisitiveOne]

<p>Oh huh - very interesting. What high school do you go to? I know that atheism seems “popular” in Interlake (I didn’t go there - but I know someone who does). </p>

<p>I dunno - it seems that atheism/agnosticism is pretty popular among Honors kids in high schools here. Religious people seem to be in the majority among the “regular” students though.</p>

<p>EDIT: found a survey:

Different lifestyles for the religious and the secular
In a 2003 study titled “The Spiritual Life of College Students,” the Higher Education Research Institute examined the religiosity on campuses in a survey of over 110,000 college students from 236 different institutions.</p>

<p>According to the survey, 79 percent of respondents said they shared a belief in God and 81 percent frequently or occasionally attended religious services – statistics that appear to debunk Judge’s fears about college students.

</p>

<p>But 79% does sound too high.</p>

<p>Edit2: another survey:

The Pew Forum reports that fewer than 20% of people age 18 to 29 attend church services regularly, but about three-quarters of them believe in an afterlife – about the same rate as older generations.
February 22, 2010|By Mitchell Landsberg
Is faith losing its grip on the young?</p>

<p>That would be one way to read a new report by the respected Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which found that more than one-quarter of Americans age 18 to 29 have no religious preference or affiliation, and fewer than one in five attend services regularly. That makes them easily the least religious generation among Americans alive today, perhaps the least religious ever.

</p>

<p>So I would expect the irreligiousity rate to be somewhat higher in undergrad institutions.</p>

[sinflower]

<p>Off to read the whole article. I love the Pew Forum And I’m happy that my fellow nonreligious seem to be gaining in number–I can feel more normal now. Thanks for starting this topic, it’s very interesting. </p>

<p>And as for what school I go to, no comment! Must remain ~anonymous and mysterious~ (aka, I’m paranoid)</p>