The intersection of race and spirituality at faith-based colleges: Campus climate as a predictor of spiritual development

The majority of college students across the country have identified spirituality as an important part of their life (Astin, Astin, & Lindholm, 2011), and many evangelical Christian colleges are committed to facilitating such growth (CCCU, 2009). Although a variety of factors contribute to spiritual growth among students (Astin et al., 2011), this study identified the campus climate for diversity as another important contributor to spirituality for all students. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the campus climate for diversity and spirituality among students at faith-based schools. The following research question guided the study: What are the relationships among spirituality (religious behaviors and spiritual well-being) and (a) certain demographic variables (race/ethnicity, gender), (b) compositional diversity, (c) the behavioral campus climate for diversity (positive and negative cross-racial interactions), and (d) the psychological campus climate for diversity (sense of belonging, overall satisfaction) among traditional undergraduate college students at evangelical, faith-based institutions? Structural equation modeling (SEM) was utilized to test the theory that campus climate for diversity contributes to the variation in religious behaviors and spiritual well-being among college students. The participants for this study were 3,501 ( N = 3501) senior undergraduate students from 21 faith-based schools. The findings indicated that the climate for diversity accounted for 25% of the variance in spirituality for students of color and 15% of the variance for White students. The difference in the explanatory power of racial climate demonstrates that the climate for diversity has a greater potential impact on the spirituality of students of color, raising a significant concern for faith-based schools that are committed to the spiritual development of all students. This study also identified that the direct causal paths to spirituality were different for students of color and White students. Sense of belonging emerged as the single direct predictor of spirituality for students of color, whereas overall satisfaction emerged as the single direct predictor for White students. Additionally, results from an analysis of variance (ANOVA) of the indicator variables demonstrated that White students had significantly higher sense of belonging and satisfaction than students of color.