An Overlooked Factor? How Religion and Spirituality Influence Students’ Perception of the Campus Environment

Abstract

Postsecondary institutions are frequently forced to respond to discriminatory acts, including those against religious minorities. Such actions can create the perception of a hostile campus for students, which impinges on their learning and development. Research on the campus environment has traditionally focused on race and sex but has largely neglected other important aspects of students’ identities like religion and spirituality. In this study, we investigated how the religious/spiritual aspects of the campus environment influenced students’ perceptions of the overall campus environment using data from a multi-institutional sample of first-year and senior undergraduates. Our multivariate results show that the religious/spiritual dimensions of the campus environment account for a significant proportion of the variance in students’ campus environmental perceptions.