The Influence of Catholic Culture Type on the Spiritual Lives of College Students

Abstract

This article considers the Catholic culture of American Catholic colleges and universities in light of their Catholic mission and purpose--that of fostering and drawing students to a deeper knowledge and understanding of truth and themselves in relation to Truth, who is God. Drawing on Catholic theology, philosophy, magisterial teachings, and scholarship on culture and human development, the study explores the relationship between Catholic culture and students' spiritual development at Catholic colleges and universities. It applies the Morey-Piderit Catholic culture framework and analyzes survey responses from more than 10,000 college students to identify the relationship between Catholic culture type and spiritual development of students during college. The findings indicate that the predominant culture type found at the majority of Catholic colleges is proving ineffective in supporting the spiritual development of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]