College Student Attitudes to ward Buddhism and Islam

Abstract

A sample of 197 and a sample of 141 undergraduates from a larger population of 200 at a large southeastern American university revealed their attitudes toward Buddhism and Islam respectively. In regard to Buddhism, while over 90% of the respondents reported NOT being knowledgeable about Buddhism, they reported generally positive beliefs about Buddhism which is associated with spiritual enlightenment, positive mental health, and the search for peace. Further analysis of the data revealed significant gender, age, religious, Christian denomination, and political orientation differences in attitudes toward buddhism. In regard to Islam, results revealed less positive views than those results relating to Buddhism as well as sinificant differences based on gender, yar in university, race, degree of religiosity, and political affiliation. Implications and limitations of the data are suggested.