What American College Students Want from Religion: Facebookismanity, Lucid Dreaming, and Bodhisattva Tupac Shakur
In 2007, 10 groups of college students in an introductory level religion course were asked to create a new religion that would appeal to their peers. This article analyzes the content of those religions, as well as student reflections on them, in light of quantitative studies and original analysis of a sample of college students drawn from Wave 3 of the National Study of Youth and Religion. It finds that college students see themselves and their cohort as interested primarily in religions that revolve around three axes: tolerance and inclusivity, moral and intellectual autonomy, and this worldly happiness. These findings suggest that a synthesis of literature on the life course and on American moral culture provides the best analytical framework for viewing American college student approaches to religion and spirituality.