While the desire for spiritual growth is up among college students, attendance at church services is down, even at a Jesuit institution like Fairfield University.
“It’s always been puzzling to me that more students don’t go to mass here at Fairfield,” said Fr. Mark Scalese, assistant professor of new media.
According to a 2004 UCLA study, 79 percent of college students said they believe in God and 80 percent said they are interested in spirituality. This same survey showed that the percentage of college students who frequently attended religious services before college dropped from 52 percent to 29 percent by their junior year.
Scalese said he thinks students are turned off from going to mass because of experiences at their hometown parishes. He said that Campus Ministry has made great strides in trying to appeal to students.
University President Fr. Jeffrey von Arx said he and the new Campus Ministry Director Fr. Michael Doody have sat down and discussed ways to address the problem of decreased student attendance at mass.
Von Arx said he believes that communal worship is an essential part of one’s religious identity.
“It’s a big concern, and I’m really searching around for ways to address that,” von Arx said.
In addition to masses on Sunday, every Wednesday night Scalese celebrates a mass in the fourth floor lounge of Campion Hall.
“My sense is that if we had more of a church-going culture here, then more people would go,” he said.
Scalese lived and worked at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and Loyola College of Chicago before coming to Fairfield. He said that at those Jesuit schools the 10 p.m. Wednesday night masses were packed.
However, he said he usually only gets about 10 students consistently at his Wednesday night masses in Campion.
Scalese is encouraged by student dedication elsewhere. He commended the work of campus organizations including Students for Social Justice, Students for Life and the success of the Ignatian Residence College.
One student who participated in the Ignation Residence College is Elizabeth Vericker ’08. Vericker said she sometimes questions her faith but still goes to mass every week religion was a large part of her upbringing and an integral part of her life.
“I’m there, but I’m not really there,” said said. “I’m there, but I have my own beliefs too.”
Kirsten Finnell ’08, although raised Catholic, does not attend mass regularly. She considers herself a spiritual person but not religious. The fact that Fairfield is a Jesuit institution was not a draw for Finnell. She said she chose Fairfield for its academics.
“I just think church is like a cult,” said Finnell. “I hate the monotone voices, and I feel like I’m getting forced to say things that I don’t necessarily believe.”
Religious studies professor Paul Lakeland said he wants to see more students going to mass because doing so keeps people thinking about issues. He thinks that Fairfield students are not attending mass in great numbers because they have not experienced many hardships in their lives.
Fairfield students may have not faced many hardships because there is a lack of socio-economic diversity at the University, said Lakeland.
“Sometimes depth of religious feeling comes with adversity,” Lakeland said.
Like Lakeland, Scalese praised the efforts of Students for Social Justice but pointed out that groups like that are not involved in student participation at church services.
Vericker said the only way for students to get involved in mass now is to be either a lector or a Eucharistic minister. She said she does not like knowing that she must attend a specific mass on a specific day. She added that she likes the flexibility Fairfield’s liturgy schedule provides and suggested that there be some sort of church planning committee to plan masses that geared even more toward students.
As quoted in The Augusta Chronicle, David Kinnaman, of the Calif.-based Barna Group, which studies faith and culture in the United States, said that when students come to college, “they become spiritual free agents, picking and choosing their beliefs, often forming their values based on their peer network.”
Scalese and Lakeland agree, but they advised students to make the decision of how to express their spirituality on their own.
“Kids in college like to think of themselves as independent,” Scalese said, “but they are really taking their cues from each other. They are followers.”
“Decide for yourself,” Lakeland said. “Don’t go along with the crowd.”
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