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Spirituality and Well-being: College Faith Communities Research Proposal Mackenzie Jorgensen Topic: Society today is shaped by personal achievement and fulfillment, a constant search for meaning in ones life. Not only is the American culture bent on finding happiness or a high life satisfaction, but for all humanity and throughout history this quest for finding more out of life has been ceaseless and widespread. Finding purpose and identity across all cultures have been fed by spiritual development, as religion and faith have satisfied questions to the purpose of life. The nature of being human is to be spiritual people are primarily spiritual or have a spiritual life existing within, alongside, or around (all-encompassing) the physical and material aspects of humanity (Moberg and Brusek, 316). To speak of the spiritual dimension of humanity is growing in popularity, studies emerging on spirituality and its links to life satisfaction, life purpose, life decisions, health these aspects all contributing to the well-being of individuals. To leave spirituality out of the equation in evaluating well-being would be to deny the holistic nature of human beings, specifically denying the analytic division of the human being into such parts as body, mind, and spirit (Moberg and Brusek, 316). Furthermore, spirituality merits serious study in how it affects the quality of life in society on a broader level. Any specific operational definition of the concept of social well being ought eventually to relate to human happiness or the capacity of individual to realize their perception of the good life, for this is the ultimate criterion for determining whether a society is well or sick(Moberg and Brusek, 306).Thus logically, part of evaluating well-being of a person must involve the critique of their spiritual health, which in turn would theoretically shed light on ones perception of selffulfillment and meaning in their life. Because the college years of many young adults are the most formative in character, personal convictions and developing purpose, exploring the role of spirituality through the college years is an important indicator in whether young adults make and will continue to make decisions in light of their faith, in turn developing underlying meaning to their life choices both while in college and upon graduation. It is my purpose in this research to further explore the affects of spirituality on student well-being, and vice versa, within a college faith community in order to gain a better understanding of how, through the exploration of faith development and community, spirituality affects their well-being and sense of purpose. Research questions: How might faith (spirituality and religiosity) affect the well-being and choices of college students who are actively a part of a faith community? How might the choices of college students (within this community) affect their well-being, and in turn their faith? In proposing to do research on college students, this research will observe the students personal perspective on spirituality in relation to their faith community, as well as in relation to the rest of the campus. Well-being and faith (reflecting both religiosity and spirituality) will be examined on a deeper level by survey and personal interviews in order to gain insight on the purpose of the faith community as a whole, and whether it is serving as a way to enrich the holistic well-being of the individual. Also, to examine the doubts in their faith (or if doubts are present), the

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adversity experienced, and their response to these will bring about an understanding how of faith is shaped and tried. Background and Previous Research: Neglect of Spirituality in QOL studies Since spirituality has significance in determining well-being, it is of growing interest among researchers across recent studies. With this in mind, there has been a shift in focus to begin to include spirituality in QOL studies where previously it has been an area neglected severely. Only 28 out of 556 empirical sources on subjective well being included finding on religion (Poloma and Pendleton, 256). One would think more efforts to include this in study even with the transformation of research in QOL studies. More so, acknowledgement of religious factors has been lacking even from the view of the sociology of religion; the factors that are acknowledged are treated indifferently (Poloma and Pendleton, 255). Then again, the lack of funding for religious studies plays as a major component in carrying out and coming up with new research in this area. Moberg and Bruseks article discusses the issues of the separation of church and state, following the protection of religious liberty of citizens. The government cannot fund a research project if identified with a religious group, and most studies of social indicators have been funded at least in part from governmental resources Foundations avoid grants for religion(310-311). The question of who will do the research and who will be willing to fund is an issue to be explored. Moreover, the article points out that what is preventing studies from further including religious factors is due to the fact that government beaurocrats in light of the constitutional issue do not wish to become involved in controversy (311). With interest in how religion shapes QOL and hardly anyone to fund or research, there is a definite need for researchers as well as a need for the potential results to be made in the research. As suggested here, there is a specific and obvious void in incorporating religious factors as a part of QOL studies, thus introducing a need for further study in critiquing the quality of QOL studies without religion as a factor. Definitions One of the issues in researching aspects of religion is not easily solved by finding a way to operationalize concepts like spirituality or religiosity, but more so first coming up with a solid and agreeable definition of each. The difficulty lies in the breadth that religion covers, being extremely broad and diverse in scope, ranging from value-commitment, experiential feelings, and other subjective aspects through various forms of organizational participation to the level of broad institutional and societal perspectives (Moberg and Brusek, 311). As both the ideas of spirituality and religiosity are very similar in thought, the differences are apparent despite each embodying multiple definitions of their own. To break it down conceptually, Moberg and Brusek explain that much religiosity is centered around institutional goal and manifestations, but spiritual well-being (SWB) is largely independent of religious institutions, although it is more closely related to them than the other major social institutions (312). Before commonly including spirituality in the research of religion as a social indicator, religiosity was most focused on. Research that has been done on religiosity and life satisfaction has indicated that traditional indicators might not be completely accurate in depicting religiosity. To rephrase, religiosity needs to be expanded upon, Poloma and Pendleton (1990) noting in the discussion

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of their research that study of prayer, relationship to God and other measures of the oftenneglected dimension or religious experience to be a fruitful road to pursue for measures that would better predict GWB after finding that the degree to which one feels a closeness to God is most important in the existential dimension of well-being (271). Findings such as these support the ways to overcoming institutional and governmental barriers to researching how religion plays a part in determining QOL and well-being, turning from a focus on religion to spiritual health. Spirituality seemingly is broader, as researchers agree that it presents both subjective and objective realities, a universal definition more difficult to construct and agree upon. One definition states that Spirituality was defined as a belief system characterized as having a presence of God, Creator, or Higher Power serving as an inner voice, making life more meaningful, imparting a feeling of a higher purpose in life and contribution to an individuals level of health, well being and quality of living (Nelms, Linda Wyatt; Hutchins, Edwin; Hutchins, Dorothy; Pursley, Robert J.253). Furthermore, other definitions focus on more a spirituality of self-awareness and exploration of a higher power Spirituality has been defined in the research literature as the internal process of seeking personal authenticity, genuineness, and wholeness; transcending ones current locus of centricity (i.e. recognizing concerns beyond oneself); developing a greater connectedness to self and others through relationships and community; deriving meaning, purpose and direction in life; and openness to exploring a relationship with a higher power or powers that transcend human existence and human knowing (Love & Talbot, 1999) (Bryant and Astin, 25). In my research I aim to focus on spirituality in the sense of personal relationship to God, and in light of this, finding personal significance and connection with community. It is important to keep in mind that although defined as distinct for researching purposes, both these terms mold and mesh together in forming ones spiritual-religious experience. In my research I hope to fill this gap as more of a meshing of these concepts to include both as equally important to ones experience and total comprehension of faith in God. Operationalization of key aspects of each definition per se will be needed to determine how I am measuring both religiosity and spirituality within the study. For the purpose of my research, I will define this complete combination under the term faith. Positive Trends The research that has been done, although inadequate, strongly points to a positive correlation between perceived quality of life and religiosity. To elaborate, empirical research has demonstrated that there is a generally positive association between religious affiliation, beliefs, and practices and personal adjustment, happiness, life satisfaction, and morale religious beliefs are better predictors of concepts like meaning of life than SES and a wide range of demographic variables conventionally used in sociological research(Moberg and Pendleton, 307). The strong correlations that show value in having religious factors in specifying concepts like meaning of life speak even more strongly - for the necessity of further research of both the personal benefits of religiosity, as well as how religiosity in research is yielding more valid operationalization of concepts like meaning of life. In evaluating these strong correlations based on age, the results still hold up even with predictors as simple as church attendance. In a study among 60 women between the ages of 62 and 89 concerned with the relationship between

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happiness and social participation. His analysis found a significant positive correlation between the balanced affect score and attendance at religious services (Francis and Kaldor, 180). Poloma and Pendleton refer to an extensive study of middle-aged individuals done by Willits and Crider (1988) that found a positive correlation between adhering to religious beliefs and well-being. Furthermore, their measures of religiosity by religious attendance and attitude towards religion showed consistent findings of overall life satisfaction, satisfaction with community, and marital satisfaction for both males and females; and between the religiosity measures and job satisfaction for males (258). Involvement in a religious community, across many life stages, clearly is linked to a better quality of life, the promotion of community involvement, and the formation of meaningful relationships. The College Years Therefore, it is in my area of interest to evaluate the potential role of religiosity and spirituality in a sample of college students, to gain further understanding of the hypothesized positive trends that would occur in a population undergoing more change and adversity than other populations of later life stages. To aim at this group would address the further implications of how spirituality gives initial purpose and identity, rather than just life satisfaction. The current research done on college students in the area of religiosity and spirituality is revealing but in short supply, provoking further research. As what would be hypothesized, the positive correlation between life satisfaction and religiosity stands valid for college-aged students, a study indicating that In regard to religion and well being, the study found that groups affiliated with religious organizations on campus reportedly were happier (t=3.27; p<.01) and more satisfied with life (t=4.39; p<.001) than the nonaffiliated student group (Nelms, Linda Wyatt; Hutchins, Edwin; Hutchins, Dorothy; Pursley, Robert J., 251). Even more relevant to the research I propose, is faith (referring to the combination of both religiosity and spirituality) in relation to the well-being of college students shown also in the study previously mentioned: The research findings in this study were consistent with the hypothesis that there is a statistically significant relationship between spirituality and the self reported health of college students in a university setting (262). Relating both spirituality and well-being to college students gives a deeper understanding just how the combination of spirituality and religiosity prove to be an important factor to life satisfaction and well-being at a formative age. Spirituality in College Spiritual Struggle As previously discussed, the college years are a formative period in which ones identity is shaped and morphed by new experiences that probe, stretch, and challenge ones understanding of the world and their purpose in it. Because this is inevitable about the college experience, every student experiences having concerns about faith, purpose, and meaning in life what Bryant and Astin would define as spiritual struggle (12). The concept of spiritual struggle is a common concept - young adults, in particular, are exploring spirituality and describe individuals between the ages of 18 and 24 as operating with newly discovered abstract thought, questioning and drawing upon their own conclusions about world views at times, the search for self is equated with a search for God, a search not always manifested through traditionalized religion (Nelms, Linda Wyatt; Hutchins, Edwin; Hutchins, Dorothy; Pursley, Robert J., 251).

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Spiritual struggle clearly is a reality among college students, the current research searching to delimit the factors that contribute to spiritual struggle. As extensively studied by Bryant and Astin, some factors that they found relevant in their research of spiritual struggle revolved around 1. the environment of the college campus and community, 2. ones identity and view of self, and 3. Ones view of God in their life. In looking at research that uncovers the impact of the environment on personal faith, the research shows that expressing personal struggles in their faith is not encouraged by the community or rarely expected: For fear of being misunderstood or stigmatized students might attempt to conceal their troubled feelings a practice that might overwhelm them even more. Regrettably, the pain of struggling might be amplified in environments that either refuse to acknowledge the existence of struggles or that call for premature and unsatisfactory resolutions to struggling for the sake of establishing commitment to ones faith traditions. Ironically, students might experience these types of environments in both secular college contexts (which might be guilty of the former) and in devoutly religious college cultures or subcultures (which might be guilty of the latter) (24). If students are struggling to find their identity and struggle to find support in their faith, they arent finding it in the typical college community. What further evokes a sense of spiritual struggle is the culture in which the college community lends itself to a culture teeming with social pressure, expanding on the idea that culture, an aspect of college environment, is a part of spiritual struggle. Typical of the college social scene is excessive partying and alcohol use, students fundamental relationships forming through these activities. The role of alcohol in building social relationships and social support networks in college settings should be examined in more detail. Because drinking is a normative behavior in the college setting (OMalley and Johnston 2002), social support from friends and colleagues in some cases may take the form of drinking in a group. Thus social support may not be as protective during this developmental period. Alcohol related norms and expectancies are also predictive of alcohol use among college students (Carey 1995; Park 2004; Peele and Brodsky 2000) (Menagi, Feyza S.; Harrell, Zaje A.T.; June, Lee N., 224). Though alcohol use may not be an accurate indicator in determining QOL, it surely does not advocate support in developing ones spiritual well-being. Furthermore, typically values associated with a strong faith do not coincide with alcohol use those with a strong faith would not receive the social and spiritual support needed to grow in well-being. Religion has been consistently linked to more abstemious patterns of alcohol use(Wills et al. 2003).Individuals who are more religious drink less frequently and experience fewer alcohol related problems compared to those who do not strongly endorse the importance of religion in their lives (Dulin et al. 2006; Galen and Rogers 2004; Nelms et al. 2007). Both the public (i.e., religious service attendance) and private (i.e., frequency of prayer) domains of religiousness have been found to be inversely related to alcohol use (Nonnemaker et al. 2003)...One explanation for the protective role of religion is that it may reduce the use of alcohol to cope by providing individuals with a sense of belonging and social support (Dulin et al. 2006; Galen and Rogers 2004) ( Feyza S.; Harrell, Zaje A.T.; June, Lee N., 218). Coping with life changes coming to college, a community present for support in spiritual struggle promotes safe ways to cope with stress and in turn promotes well-being. In adjusting to college life, I hypothesize that some who are struggling with finding themselves and finding meaning in life often lose themselves and lose a sense of meaning, through the

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destructive social support found in the college community. Bryant and Astin also explain how ones thoughts and feelings in response to coming to college and the stress related to finding and establishing ones identity can bring about spiritual struggle, supporting my hypothesis further, stating that students who experience spiritual struggles exhibit less confidence in their personal, social, and intellectual competencies students who struggle spiritually are less inclined to feel assured of their skills and abilities than those who are not struggling (16 17). Stress caused by the college environment has also shown to affect ones thoughts in light of their view of God, either causing them to question their spiritual convictions, or further establishing what they already believe. Individuals who perceive God as teacher, divine mystery, or universal spirit (implying a more elusive, unknowable God) are more inclined to struggle, whereas students who identify God as beloved, protector, or part of me (indicating a close and secure relationship to the divine) or whose perceptions of God do not fit with those indicated on the survey (none of the above, suggesting little interest in God) experience less struggle (15). Thus, additional predictions would lead to hypothesizing that cultivating ones faith and personal relationship with God, would lead to less spiritual struggle, furthermore leading further away for students to fall into the college party scene. What Bryant and Astins study fails to expand on is the role of spiritual and religious doubt, merely labeling it as a significant factor of spiritual struggle. Neal Krause in his study examined religious doubt and psychological well-being, concluding with the insightful comment that it would be virtually impossible to study religion without also exploring the doubts it inevitably seems to evoke, using this to justify the purpose of his study to encourage more study into the workings and function of religious doubt, not just its affects (298). With holes present in the previous research on fully understanding religious doubt, I hope with my research to uncover the workings of religious doubt among members of a particular faith community, and how religious doubt is seen in light of alcohol use. However, although their study is lacking in this instant, they do acknowledge the significance that spiritual struggle does impart. How one views their sense of spiritual struggle in college is important to understanding the depth and their perception of faith in their life. The research done by Bryant and Astin show that Greater open mindedness has been observed among individuals who have struggled spiritually (Hill & Pargament, 2003). Regarding the positive consequences of questing, a religious quest orientation is associated with tolerant values, promoting tolerant action, principled moral reasoning, and helping behaviors (Batson, Eidelman, Higley, & Russel, 2001; Batson & Schoenrade, 1991). Likewise, spiritual growth can occur as a result of struggling (Pargament et al., 2005)crisis is both necessary and instrumental in promoting personal growth and maturation (Chickering & Reisser, 1993; Erikson, 1968; Hall, 1986; Perry, 1968; Smucker, 1996). Crisis does not imply tragedy or total dissolution of other self; rather, it is a point of transition (Erikson, 1968) (5). I hope to use this research in pairing it with the concept of religious doubt to explore this aspect of trying of ones faith.

Well-being So, in light of the previous research on spirituality and religiosity, presented along with its struggles among the college years, an understanding of well-being is primary to linking the

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effects that faith and well-being have on each other, as well as the decisions made to adhere to their faith. Well-being is typically thought of as simply as another word for health, but in fact covers the entire physical and spiritual condition of a person. To define it more specifically, The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (p. 100). Perrin and McDermott (1997) reinforce WHOs definition, expressing that health is not a passive state of being, but a dynamic process in which higher levels of wellness can be achieved (Nelms, Linda Wyatt; Hutchins, Edwin; Hutchins, Dorothy; Pursley, Robert J., 250). Motivation to achieve growth in well-being should thus always be present since being healthy requires more than passivity. Also, if well-being also is defined as having Six Dimensions of Wellness, a multidimensional hexagonal model of health and wellness including physical, mental, social, occupational, intellectual and spiritual dimensions (Hettler, 2004, Cover Page) (Nelms, Linda Wyatt; Hutchins, Edwin; Hutchins, Dorothy; Pursley, Robert J., 250), then working to better ones spiritual health is essential to promoting a healthy well-being. Does that mean to avoid alcohol at all times? Does that mean adhering strictly to religious values is necessary to be healthy? Or that making mistakes makes you spiritually unhealthy? Can just being spiritually sound rather than living out a complete faith be enough? These questions aim at directing my research towards exploring the previously stated research questions: How might faith (spirituality and religiosity) affect the well-being and choices of college students who are actively a part of a faith community? How might the choices of college students (within this community) affect their well-being, and in turn their faith? Previous Methods Across the previous literature, the most common form of assessing spirituality, religiosity, social support, and alcohol use was the use of surveys using a variety of scales to measure each variable. In this section a short discussion of the scales used, target size and sample groups, as well as the administering the surveys will be presented. In the study by Nelms, Linda Wyatt; Hutchins, Edwin; Hutchins, Dorothy; Pursley, Robert J., they used the CARS (College Student Appraisal of Risks Survey) survey, which analyzes students health on a multidimensional level in college along with the Spirituality Scale (SS). Choosing to use both a survey as well as the Spirituality Scale is ideal rather than just having one survey, for it makes it easier to assess correlations. In the survey, they used a 5-point Likert scale which aimed at measuring levels of agreement, where 1. Indicated Strongly Disagree, 2. Disagree, 3. Neutral, 4. Agree, and 5. Strongly Agree, eliminating yes/no answers and instead providing a more complete answer to their question. The researchers used convenience sampling, taking a sample of 221 students who were enrolled in six Personal Health and Wellness courses (255). In taking a convenience sample, I believe it to hinder research, for by selecting people already enrolled in health and wellness classes will be bound to showing signs of improved wellness, regardless if the class promoted spirituality or not. The second study I evaluated based on their methodology was the study done on spiritual struggle by Bryant and Astin, their methodologies summed up as follows:
This study utilized two national college student surveys developed by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Lose Angeles. The 2000 Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) Freshman

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Survey was administered to a representative sample of entering college students at 343 baccalaureate colleges and universities across the country A subset of students who had participated in the 2000 CIRP administration was surveyed three years later with the 2003 College Students Beliefs and Values (CSBV) Survey, a new questionnaire that explores issues of meaning, purpose, and spirituality (8).

The size of the sample being so large and across 343 universities and colleges is ideal in being representative and valid in the answers collected. Furthermore, having two surveys with the same students being researched three years later (panel study) provides validity in determining growth in faith because of college experience.
The weighted sample was 53% female and was comprised of students representing six racial/ethnic groups broken down as follows: 84% White, 5% Black, 4% Asian, 4% Latino/a, 2% American Indian, and 2% other. Regarding religious preference, students were grouped in the following traditions: 1% Islamic, 2% Jewish, 31% Roman Catholic, 48% Protestant Christian, 4% other, and 12% indicated having no religious preference (the remaining 2% of the sample did not select one of these categories) (9).

Accounting for race and ethnicity groups is significant, in that certain populations face more adversity than others, thus potentially making religion more or less significant depending on the group. Also, taking note of the ratio of women to men helps break down the gender differences and experiences with spirituality and practice in religion. Knowing that one-third of the sample was Roman Catholic, and nearly half of the sample was Protestant Christian, would influence the results on spirituality and religiosity, quite possibly reflecting more of the Christian Tradition. The last study that found to be the most valuable to my research was the study done by Menagi, Feyza S.; Harrell, Zaje A.T.; June, Lee N. in examining the role of social support in light of alcohol use and religiousness, mostly in part because of the way they operationalized religious commitment (using the Worthingtons Religious Commitment Inventory-10) and Interpersonal religious subscales to measure interpersonal religious commitment (in turn comparing their analysis alongside their alcohol use survey). Types of questions for the respective religious surveys were examples such as I spend time trying to grow in my faith, and I enjoy spending time with others of my religious affiliation. All these questions were measured on a 5-point Likert scale, measuring whether it was true of them or not, ranging over five points (220). This study also measured two other influential variables to religiosity and spirituality, measuring social support using the COPE inventory, and assessing the use of alcohol, measuring based off of frequency Alcohol Use was assessed with respect to alcohol use frequency, binge drinking, and alcohol related problems. Alcohol use frequency was measured using the mean of alcohol use frequency across the lifetime, past year, and past month. Participants responded on a 7 point Likert scale ranging from 1 (none) to 7(on 40+ occasions) (220). By measuring alcohol usage in this way, there is a better ability to separate the casual consumers from the ones with an alcohol problem. What none of the studies here employed was an interview process, which I believe to be valuable in determining a qualitative perspective on any one aspect to be researched in light of faith and well-being. Because it is lacking in the previous research, I see it as particularly valuable to include, especially when researching a specific faith community on a campus.

Methods:

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Sample As previously mentioned, the sample I will choose in researching spirituality and well-being will be a group of college students in a particular faith community on a secular campus. I choose to research on a secular campus, for I hypothesize that more adversity and social pressure will be present to go against religious values, and having a strong sense of spirituality would not be the norm. In addition, being on a secular campus gives more possibility in studying students who are simply seeking the Christian faith or are new to Christianity the gap and the predicted growth in personal faith is hypothesized to be a better predictor of change, better than researching what may be a homogenized group of Christians on a Christian or Jesuit campus. Researching a specific community allows for a way to empirically measure the faith of a community, the wellbeing of that community (shaped by their choices and lifestyle), and the communitys purpose as a whole. Correlations between these three aspects give hope in exploring the possible reasons to why spirituality shared with and shaped by a community lends to a more fulfilling life. The community sought will be Christian, so as to best operationalize concepts of spirituality, religiosity and faith in terms of a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, giving rise to a better operational definition of faith. The individuals in the community would most likely share similar values and beliefs, as well as the same struggles on campus with living out their faith while at the same time being a part of the society on campus. This offers up a better set-up to observe possible correlations between their actions and beliefs, and allows for validity in answers if the questions are specific to a faith culture. Furthermore, the results should be more reliable due to the commonality of the group, and their understanding of the questions being asked. When speaking of commonality of the group, I expound on the idea that ones faith and beliefs are shaped by the environment and the faith of another I hypothesize that because Christians in the community uplift and encourage one another, they will become more common in thought and faith expression. The sample itself will consist of all the participants of an entire faith community, so as to be able to see correlations between the views of one individual to another. Taking the possibility of growing size into account, the initial sample taken will be at one point in time, where the students (regardless of grade level) will take the survey and complete a one on one interview, and then again upon graduation. Some difficulties that may arise are in measuring the change in impact of the faith community if the community is changing year by year. Also, specific hardships and issues that the group may encounter could possibly shape the well-being of many individuals partaking in the study, the results having the possibility of showing invalid trends at the same time, this could show evidence of struggle and the impact on faith. I hope to account for this in the interview process, whether the growth of the community contributed to growth of faith, or simply the affect it had on the graduating student. The interview process will identify if any major situations occurred that could affect the wellbeing of the community. Also, depending on the size of the sample, identifying correlations might be more difficult. Something to keep in mind is having a substantially moderate to large sample size, maybe postponing research until the faith community grows to a respectable size. The survey and interview will be administered at the beginning of joining the faith community, after being associated for one month, taking care of the research possibly affecting students choice in joining the faith community.

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Method The purpose of my research is simply exploratory, and may offer up areas for further research regarding causation. I aim to merely observe correlations, patterns, and similarities as well as the differences in regard to students faith and its impact on their choices, how they live their college life, and how this in turn compares to their well-being. For the purpose of quantifying results, I plan to research by surveying the students. To eliminate results that neither quantify one way or the other, an interview will also be administered (planned questions will be used, but some qualititative aspects will also be taken by allowing for improvisational questions). I believe it to be important in having both quantitative and qualitative methodologies and measures, for researching a specific group as well as the individuals within the group requires deeper understanding so as to understand what it is I am measuring empirically. With an interview, the possibility of understanding why certain answers were chosen over others will be present. By administering both, it is my hope to begin close the gaps in research and provoke more questions as to the motivation behind each student and their faith journey, not just the fact that their searching in specific ways or not. Not only for the individual, but conceptualization of the purpose of the entire faith community will become a possibility with the general tone received by the collection of the interviews. Fortunately an inevitable benefit to administering an interview would be able to show which questions in the survey process are lacking in gaining valid answers, which questions proved to be reliable throughout the entire sample, as well as providing further avenues for questions to be asked in successive studies. Survey The survey will consist of two parts, each a self-administered questionnaire: one assessing spirituality, and the other assessing well-being. Having both surveys and set up ideally the same, will make it easier to correlate well-being with faith, and to have a comprehensive set of data for each concept.The survey assessing spirituality will aim to evaluate spirituality on both a personal level as well as in relation to the faith community. On a personal level, the questions will revolve around ones perception of prayer, relationship to God, importance of religious practices, social relationships made in faith community, talking about faith, and doubts in their faith. The particular study will also account for gender difference, whether they hold a leadership position in the community, whether they were brought up in a church tradition, their class standing, whether they live on campus in a dorm, and also how long they have been a part of the faith community. The spirituality survey (which encompasses both measures of religiosity and spirituality) will be broken up into three sections: the first, a series of questions to be rated according to significance; the second, a series of questions according to their level of agreement; and third, questions to be rated according to what they believe to be true of themselves. Each section of the spirituality survey will use a 5-point Likert scale, so as to capture the range at which they leaned towards and away from a specific answer. The reason for three different sections within the spirituality survey is to assess what they believed to be important regarding spirituality and religiosity, what general statements they agreed or disagreed on, and lastly what they could reflect and identify as true of themselves. Within these sections I aim to ask questions that reflect whether they struggle in manifesting their faith in their actions, and whether they live out their faith or not, as well as evaluating their spirituality in comparison to the community.

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Hopefully by employing this methodology, a more complete sense of spirituality will be able to be observed against well-being. The second part of the survey is to measure well-being, in a similar fashion as the spirituality survey. In this survey, the goal is to measure the students overall health, evaluating their exercise habits, self-esteem, self-image, diet, difficulty of classes, sleep schedule, comfort in expression of feelings, social practices, study habits, worries, and difficult life circumstances. The spirituality takes care of the additional questions to ensure anonymity, both parts will be issued to be taken at the same time. Also, each test will have a number that the student will record and keep until graduation that will match the 2nd test to be taken at that time. That way, correlations of change can be made without identifying any individuals. The wellness survey will also have three sections: the first will be a series of questions to be rated according to importance; the second, a series of questions to be answered according to level of agreement; and the third, a series of questions to be rated according to what they perceive to be true of them. Each section will be composed of a 5-point Likert scale (survey shows specifics on successive pages). Measures By measuring so many aspects, there is a risk to fall more into qualitative analysis, and falling away from quantitative measures.. I have attempted to account for this risk by compiling questions according to specific themes, that way grouping the questions to a positive or negative response will give a way to empirically represent the data. The specific themes include: spirituality versus religiosity reflected in expectations vs. characteristics of themselves, their perception of God, presence and level of spiritual struggle (in correlation to choices), measure of adversity they face, awareness of adversity, views of alcohol, and aspects of wellness reflected in stress, illness, anxiety, use of alcohol and feelings. Other limitations to note are that the sample maybe only being representative of those interested in pursuing and growing in faith. Other limitations could be the lack of a control group i.e. those not participating in the faith community. However, because the proposed research is exploratory, the issue is not as calamitous. Personal Interview The personal interview is to be administered both at the beginning of joining the faith community, and again at graduation. Each interview will be composed of the same four questions, the first interview solely being composed of these questions. The second interview however, will be composed of additional questions in order to see how their views have changed from how they answered the initial questions, as well as how college has shaped their faith. (To see specific questions, refer to successive questions). The second interview will focus mostly on how their views have changed, and what their faith means to them at that point. Again, by adding a personal interview along with surveys I hope to account for the gaps in research, in fully gaining a complete view of faith (spirituality and religiosity) and accounting for a deeper understanding of religious doubt.

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Spirituality Survey Basic Questions: 1. Indicate gender: 2. Indicate class standing: male / female freshman / sophomore / junior / senior 1/2/3/4 Yes / no

3. How many years have you been a part of your faith community? 4. Are you on the leadership team in your faith community? 5. Were you brought up in a church tradition? Yes / No a. If yes, indicate tradition:

Rate the following according to significance to you, 1= no importance, 2= little importance, 3= indifferent/no feelings, 4= important, 5= very important Justice Participation in faith community Personal prayer Religious doubt Daily prayer Group prayer Church attendance Spiritual struggle Bible study Relationship to those in the faith community Making friends in the faith community Relationship to God Growth in faith Making friends outside of the faith community Talking about faith with others
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Answer the following questions according to your agreement; 1= dont agree, 2= rarely/hardly agree, 3= neither agree nor disagree, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree Others are influenced by my faith God is part of me Prayer makes a difference God is too big to understand
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5

Jorgensen 13

I feel that God is pleased with me Doubting is normal God is my friend Jesus is God Doubting is needed God loves me Its hard to love my family God is all knowing Its hard to love my enemies God is my protector God is just Its easy to love my friends

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Rate the following according to what is true of you; 1= not true, 2=hardly true, 3=sometimes true, 4= true, 5= very true. You: Enjoy praying Talk about your faith to others Compare your faith to others Ask others about their faith Pray everyday Ask for prayer from others Fear God Have doubts about your faith Confront others when necessary Fear doubting faith Wrestle with your faith Read your Bible daily Make choices that reflect your faith Love people well Are a thankful person
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Jorgensen 14

Wellness Survey Rate the following according to importance, 1=not important, 2= little importance, 3= indifferent/no feelings, 4= important, 5=very important Doing well in school Regular exercise Appearance Adequate sleep Taking difficult classes Taking easy classes Eating a healthy diet Dating in college Social acceptance Having fun Expressing your feelings Working a job during the school year Completing assignments on time
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Answer the following questions according to your agreement; 1= dont agree, 2= rarely/hardly agree, 3= neither agree nor disagree, 4= agree, 5= strongly agree Life is dramatic Partying is acceptable Binge drinking is normal Working out should be a priority Alcohol is a problem on campus I am currently healthy Most people party Health is my top priority Its okay to drink if you drink responsibly My friends drink School is my top priority Being healthy involved being spiritually healthy
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Rate the following according to what is true of you; 1= not true, 2=hardly true, 3=sometimes true, 4= true, 5= very true. You: Eat breakfast Workout enough Stay up late to finish homework Party on the weekends
1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 5 5 5

Jorgensen 15

Worry over exams Prepare for tests in advance Eat healthy foods Like how you look Work a job during the school week Drink alcohol Study on the weekends Sleep in on the weekends Are easily stressed Skip meals Are a hopeful person Get sick easily Get sick often Confide in your friends Are satisfied with life Believe you are a good person Are a happy person Go on dates Are easily angered Depend on coffee Act on your sexual feelings Worry about your future Are confident in yourself Think you are attractive Are satisfied with life Have experienced the death of someone close (in college or recently)

1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4

5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Personal Interview 1 1. 2. 3. 4. Describe your faith. What does your faith mean to you? Do you ever doubt your faith? Explain. What are your views on social drinking? Do you drink?

Jorgensen 16

Personal Interview 2 1. Describe your faith. 2. What does your faith mean to you? 3. Do you ever doubt your faith? Explain. 4. What are your views on social drinking? Do you drink? 5. How significant is your faith to your purpose in life? 6. Where have you grown in your faith? 7. What/who has been the most influential in shaping your faith? 8. What has been the most shaping experience in college? 9. Has there been any experience that has caused you to doubt your faith in college? 10. How has the faith community impacted your faith?