Religion and the Contemporary College Students

Purpose : How the attitude toward religion would change as sciences of nature, society and humanity improve? How social situation influences on man's attitude toward religion? Based on these fundamental questions, the present survey was done in 1953 as the first step of a wide research on relationship between human being and religion. (I) Subject : 2675 college students were taken as subjects, including 450 freshman students (393 male and 57 female) at average age of 18. 7, 330 sophomore students (305 male, 25 female) at average age of 20. 4, Doshisha University ; 210 freshman students (average age of 18. 3) and 200 sophomore students (average age of 19.4) of Doshisha Women College. The above mentioned Colleges are founded on the principle of christianity. 105 freshman (male, average age of 18.8), 70 sophomore (male, average age of 20.0) at Otani College, 200 freshman (average age of 18.4) and 160 sophomore (average age of 19.5) at Kyoto Women College, and above two colleges are founded on Buddhism principally ; in Kyoto University which is non-religious national university 200 freshman students (male 195, female 5, average age of 18.8), 240 sophomore students (231 male and 9 female, average age of 19.9) in the College of Liberal arts and science, 260 freshman students (male 256, female 4, at average age of 18.9), 250 sophomore students (239 male and 11 female, at average age of 19.8) in natural science college. (II) Procedure : Questionaire method was used. The survey was done during the period from April to July in 1953. The questionaire consists of two parts : the first part is concerned with the students' interest in religion, and the second one is with the students' attitudes towards the contemporary religious groups in this country. Statistical procedures of sampling the subjects and examining the significance of the results were employed in this study. Part I. The students' interest in religion : Those who believed in religion were 21% of the subjects ; those who were interested in religion in one way or another 48% ; Those who are not interested in religion 31%. These results seem to be fairly consistent to the results of G. W. Allport's study on Harvard students as subject which was done after the World War II. Next, those who go to church or temple every week were 13% and those do not go to any religious meeting were 54%. But among Buddhist students, it was 31%, whereas 51% among christian students who go to church or temple every week. In Allport's study, those who go to church every week were 17% among male and 38% among female. According to the study by Katz and F. H. Allport on Syracuse students, those who go to church every week were 39.5% and those do not go to any religious meeting were 9.3%. Observing these results, it seems sure that there are more students in Japan who do not go to any religious meeting. Motives to approach religion : the biggest moment was domestic atmosphere, which was 23% ; the person who influenced most was a member of each individual's family (25%) which is consistent with G. W. Allport's study in which it was 67%. Whereas, in our study, those mentioned that church or temple had much influence on this respect was only 13% (among christian students 29%, in Buddhists 17%), in Allport's study it was 40%. This may show the fact that the religious agencies are much more active in the U. S. than in our country. The age of conversion experience : The age of the first conversion experience was 16.5 years old in male and 16.3 in female. It was 16.4 years of age in 1899 by Starbuck, 16.4 in 1900 by Coe, 12.7 in 1929 by Clark. The average age of having baptism was 18 years old by Yanagihara in 1910. It was 18 years old in male and 19 in female by Imada in 1933. There may be not so much difference on the time of this experience when we consider the fact that there are one or two years of preparing period before having baptism.Part II. The students attitude toward religion. In our study, 31% of the subjects had no interest in religion, whereas in G. W. Allport report 18% of the subjects mentioned that religion plays no important role in building up their own life philosophies. Next, in our study, 6% of the subjects maintained that they should resist to the present religion because they are like an opium for people, whereas in Allport's, 12% did the same. Thirty-one percentage of christian and 12% of Buddhists in our subject are contend with the present situation of their own religious organizations, and 69% and 88% respectively to Christians and Buddhists maintained the necessity of reformation of the present religious organizations. Much more subjects in Allport report seem to approve the present situation of the religious organizations. In Allport's study, 57% of the subject suggested an idea to originate a new "World Christianity", because they thought theological discussions and conflicts among the protestant schools are meaningless. In our study, only 10% of the subjects suggested the same thing, but 21% of christians and 17% of Buddhists maintained that the present religious organizations should make much more efforts for the betterment of the socio-economic situation of the world. Next, in our study, 50% of the subjects thought that those things as moral, science, and education will take the place of religion in future. But according to Tsushima's study in 1949, almost all the subjects of 200 students who had deep religious believes maintained that there is nothing to be able to replace for religion even in future. In Allport's study, 18% of the students showed their opinion that religion is or may not be necessary for personality development