Used Sources of Spiritual Growth for Spanish University Students

Abstract

Although some research has suggested means of promoting spiritual development in higher education, no systematic studies or literature reviews have been conducted to know what sources are most used for the spiritual growth of university students. This aspect was studied in a sample of 309 Spanish university students (Mean age = 21.40, range 18-25). The used sources were (in descending order) as follows: the practice of a virtuous behavior, cognitive-reflexive, nature-based, cultural, and religious sources. Women showed a higher use of cognitive-reflective and virtuous behavior-based sources. Age was related only and negatively to the use of religious sources. These results are consistent with previous studies indicating a greater religiosity in women and a lesser importance of religion in contemporary society and, particularly, in the life of young adults. However, taken as a whole, they indicate the importance of sociological and cultural aspects, in particular of the movement from traditional religiosity to religious indifference and dissatisfaction with institutional religion and/or toward spiritual movements linked to humanistic religions and spiritualities of life. It also points out the need to use a variety of strategies to foster the spiritual development of students.

Religious Values and Young People: Analysis of the Perception of Students from Secular and Religious Schools (Salesian Pedagogical Model)

“…Focusing on the specific analysis of the sample of Salesian students, this study sought to understand how the Salesian pedagogical model affected the consideration of religious values. Starting from it, if we look at the analysis of the axiological perception of the religious sphere according to the gender variable, the women reflected a more positive assessment of the religious fact than men, coinciding with the studies by Ter Avest et al (2010), Holm et al (2014), and Muñoz-García and Villena-Martínez (2018. However, the difference between men and women is not always reflected in the research (Benedicto 2017;Funes 2008), since elements such as the relevance given to religion (10.5% very important for women compared to 8.5% for men) or the percentage of young people who define themselves as atheists or nonpracticing Catholics (for atheists, 18.6% men versus 15.8% of women; for nonpracticing Catholics, 36.2% of men versus 42.2% of women) are similarly distributed between both sexes.…”