Exploring the motivations of students to engage in their spiritual, religious, or faith lives in college

Abstract

ABSTRACT College students engage with religion, faith, and spirituality for a variety of reasons; however, current literature exploring these motivations is limited. We utilised a constructivist, qualitative, phenomenological design and surveyed 201 students to understand their motivations for pursuing faith, religion, or spirituality. Of those surveyed, 124 respondents provided 163 thought units to produce 6 emergent themes as motivators of engagement. We provide definitions of each theme and make recommendations for higher-education professionals.