Secular Students at Religious Colleges

American college students have become less religious over time. According to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey, students who identify as non-religious, agnostic, or atheist have risen from 10% in 1986 to 30% in 2016. These numbers are more pronounced at public universities, but even at religious colleges almost 16% of incoming freshmen in 2017 chose “none” when asked about their religious affiliations.

There are 1,700 private nonprofit colleges in the United States and many of them are religiously affiliated. Secular students apply to religiously affiliated colleges for a variety of reasons, including small class sizes, quality of instruction, specialty programs, location, and scholarship or athletic opportunities.

If you are a secular student considering attending one of these schools, you’re probably wondering if you will fit in there. Here’s the good news: Most religious universities in the U.S. are far less strict than their collective reputation implies, and they usually don’t require students to share their views. This article will show you how to assess a university’s religious culture before you apply.

Religious universities are often as distinct from one another as they are from public schools. Some enforce strict rules or guidelines on student conduct, while other campuses hardly seem religious at all.

Below, we’ve highlighted a few schools with different faith backgrounds in an effort to present the different ways a religious campus can influence student life. The colleges covered here represent common denominations and apply different approaches to incorporating religion in curricula and on campus. This is not a comprehensive analysis; rather, it’s a representative sample meant to depict how life at religious schools can vary between institutions.

By identifying schools with strict religious codes and curricula, secular students can make informed choices about where to attend school. The reference points below can help you evaluate schools and find one that’s a good fit for your spiritual needs — or lack thereof.

Most religiously affiliated universities have some form of theology-related core credit requirement, so that alone shouldn’t deter you from applying. Instead, check if the school allows you to satisfy theology credits by taking history, philosophy, or literature courses. If the requirement can only be satisfied by a theology class, particularly if it’s a specific course series with a specific worldview, there’s a good chance the student body is similarly homogenous. You might not feel welcome there if you hold a different worldview.

It is highly unusual even among private schools for a university to have a dress code; the presence of one is a good indicator that religion is a significant part of campus culture. You will likely be more comfortable as a secular student on a campus where there isn’t a dress code, even if you don’t mind conforming to one.

It is common for universities to have an honor code, but the content matters. If the honor code focuses on academic honesty and includes a section about student rights, then you will likely be able to carve out a space for yourself at that school. If the honor code is strict about limiting student behavior, especially with regards to sexuality and religious practice, you may be better off somewhere else.

It is rare for schools to require students to attend a religious service, though it does happen; for example, LeTourneau University requires students to attend at least 18 chapel services, and Oral Roberts University charges students a $50 fine if they miss more than three chapel meetings. However, most religiously affiliated schools allow students to make their own choices about church attendance. Keep an eye out for schools that combine religious services with news announcements, making it impossible to opt out without missing important information.

Is Church Attendance Required?

While church attendance is usually not mandatory, some religious universities require “chapel credits,” which students earn by participating in a minimum number of extracurricular activities. These could include church attendance, Bible study groups, volunteer work, or political action groups, and not all events count toward the credits. If you aren’t religiously inclined, meeting chapel credit requirements could prove burdensome.

You can learn a lot about a university’s culture from what student organizations it officially sanctions. Religious colleges rarely have a humanist or secular student alliance, so while it’s a good thing to check, don’t let the lack of one turn you off. However, if a school doesn’t have approved organizations for LGBTQ+ students or students who practice other faiths, that’s potentially a sign of a homogenous campus culture. Schools with pro-life student groups but not pro-choice groups also tend to be strict about religious practice.

A quick way to get a sense for a particular school’s culture is to peruse the student paper’s opinion section. There, you can see what topics are being discussed on campus and learn more about what the student body values. If there are a lot of diverse opinions expressed from a variety of viewpoints, you can probably find a place at that school. If it seems like most articles cover the finer points of faith-related culture, you might feel out of place as a student with secular values.

While popular culture would have you believe that a secular student has no place at a religious school, the reality is that many religiously affiliated colleges are just as open to varied perspectives as public or secular private schools. Keep in mind that there is a lot of variation from campus to campus, even between schools that are affiliated with the same faith. Do your research ahead of time to understand what you are signing up for and you will find a school that suits you.