ABSTRACT
In 2003, Alexander Astin, Helen Astin, and I launched a multi-year research program to examine the spiritual development of undergraduate students during the college years. Funded by the John Templeton Foundation, the project was designed to enhance understanding of how college students conceive of spirituality, the role it plays in their lives, and how colleges and universities can be more effective in facilitating students’ spiritual development. The primary reason for undertaking the study was our shared belief that spirituality is fundamental to students’ lives and yet, despite the extraordinary amount of research that has been done on college students, very little systematic study has focused on their spiritual development, particularly at the national level. We were also compelled by a shared sense that the relative amount of attention that colleges and universities devote to the “inner” and “outer” aspects of students’ lives is largely out of balance. This chapter offers a brief methodological summary of the research. 1
