Matters of Faith Find a New Prominence on Campus

By ALAN FINDER

New York Times (May 2, 2007)

“I can fill basically any class on the Bible. I wasn’t expecting that,” reports Lesleigh Cushing, an assistant professor of religion and Jewish studies at Colgate University.  These and other indications of widespread religious interest among college students on many campuses are recorded in this NYT piece that has been reprinted or at least excerpted in other newspapers, including the St. Petersburg Times, The Dispatch , and  Herald-Tribune.  Commentators are not sure how to account for this phenomenon, but the following excerpt from the article seems to reflect the consensus:

“All I hear from everybody is yes, there is growing interest in religion and spirituality and an openness on college campuses,” said Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame. “Everybody who is talking about it says something seems to be going on.”