Abstract

Religious development literature in Christian higher education has successfully utilized Self-Determination Theory to explain how environmental factors predict faith maturity in college students. Recent trends suggest a need to account for more ecumenical perspectives in contemporary evangelical college students, and this study addresses the need by measuring religious schemas. Using a mixed methods design, the researchers measured three schemas, (a) truth in text, (b) fairness tolerance and rationality, and (c) xenosophia, using the Religious Schema Scale (RSS), in 871 students at a Christian evangelical university located in the central region of the United States. Multiple regression analysis calculated how environmental factors of autonomy support and religious pressures predicted RSS scores, while controlling for year in school and religious denomination. Students’ descriptions of self-perceptions of spiritual growth were analyzed for possible positioning along the Self-Determination Continuum and determining the role the university played in spiritual growth. Results found that only the truth in text schema is predicted by increases in both environmental factors; the fairness tolerance and rationality schema is predicted by higher religious pressures; and the xenosophia schema is predicted by lower religious pressures. Researchers concluded that Christian evangelical universities would benefit from expanding current religious development conversations, addressing pluralism, and incorporating a higher consciousness regarding diversity, to better meet the religious development needs of contemporary Christian evangelical students.

摘要

基督教高等教育中的宗教发展文献成功地利用自决理论来解释环境因素如何预测大学生的信仰成熟度。最近的趋势表明，需要在当代福音派大学生中考虑更多的普世观点，这项研究通过测量宗教图式来解决这一需求。使用混合方法设计，研究人员使用宗教模式量表 (RSS) 在基督教福音派大学的 871 名学生中测量了三种模式，(a) 文本中的真实性，(b) 公平容忍和理性，以及 (c) 异端位于美国中部地区。多元回归分析计算了自治支持和宗教压力的环境因素如何预测 RSS 分数，同时控制学校和宗教教派的年份。分析了学生对精神成长的自我认知的描述，以寻找沿着自决连续体的可能定位，并确定大学在精神成长中所扮演的角色。结果发现，只有文本模式中的真相可以通过两种环境因素的增加来预测；更高的宗教压力预示着公平容忍和理性图式；而异教模式是由较低的宗教压力预测的。研究人员得出结论，基督教福音派大学将受益于扩大当前的宗教发展对话，解决多元化问题，并融入更高的多样性意识，以更好地满足当代基督教福音派学生的宗教发展需求。