Race and Religion
Lisa Brooks, Michael Cho, Andrew Escalante, Jazmine Jacobson, Rachel Jacobson,
Wayne Kao, Adenike Sosina
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Abstract
Religion and race seem to strongly impact the lives and decisions of the students
at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). As a group of freshman students,
we explored the impact race and religion has on students’ decisions to join organizations,
Greek life, and clubs. We additionally explored the impact it had on their decision to
apply to UIUC. In addition to these factors, we explored students’ ethnicities and
religions in order to best understand the students surveyed. We surveyed students to see if
they had been predisposed prior to joining a club, organization, or Greek life, thus
altering their decision and opinion. How do parents and family influence students’
decisions? Parents and family appeared to greatly impact many students, driving them to
accomplish their tasks and become involved on campus. This difficult study peaked our
interest because oftentimes assertions don’t ensure correct perceptions.
Methodologies
Our data involved current students and organizations at UIUC. Thus, we gathered
our information on currently enrolled students (freshman through seniors) and their
involvement in active clubs, activities, and organizations offered at Illinois. In order to
conduct this study, our group chose to pass out surveys at random to a diverse group of
students on campus. To further enrich our data, research will be supported with the
opinions and information stated in academic journals and articles. Through our surveys,
we explored a series of questions. We explored students’ background by addressing their
age, year in college, hometown, type of high school they attended, and current place of
residence. We then proceeded to explore personal information such as, what
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race/ethnicity are your parents? What race/ethnicity do you most closely identify yourself
with? What religion (if any) does your family practice? Are you religious? If so, what
religion do you practice? The survey continued by asking students to rate the importance
of each question on a scale ranging from one to five; least to greatest importance. The
questions in this category included, how important is your religion to you? How firm is
your belief in your religion? How strictly do you follow your religion? How greatly does
religion influence your daily decisions? How greatly did religion impact your decision to
attend UIUC? The last part of the survey addressed students’ involvement with clubs and
organizations on campus, and specifically: asked what impact did “your” religion have on
“your” decision to join? The final question asked students’ if they had a predisposition
towards given clubs and organizations on campus.
Hypothesis
Prior to our research, our group had the inclination that religion greatly impacted
students’ decisions to join given clubs and organizations on campus. Our group came to
the consensus that students, like us, especially during a period of adjustment were more
inclined to join organizations with students’ similar to themselves. In our group, many of
us took this into account before joining our respective organizations and clubs. Thus, we
predicted our own conclusions based on previous assumptions. We assumed religion is a
major influence on students’ decisions to participate in academic and extracurricular
activities at the UIUC. We observed during formal recruitment on campus that students’
of given religions were more likely to join certain Greek houses on campus. Numerous
clubs, activities, and groups have been established at UIUC to provide a religious outlet
for students (see fig. 1).
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Volunteer Groups
Fig. 1.
Clubs/Sports/Greek
Life
Fellowship
or
Religion based club
at UIUC
Club Sport
9.1%
Greek
20%
11%
5.70%
28.60%
Academia
5.70%
No Participation
Other
Other
20%
We were under the assumption that religion often served as the main influence in
students’ desire to take part in a specific organization. The goal of our study was to prove
if our assumptions were accurate.
According to Bowman, “College students’ spiritual development constitutes an
important, yet understudied topic in higher education research” (Bowman and Small,
2010). Nickolas Bowman and Jenny Small (2010) suggest that, “Although it has received
relatively little attention in the higher education literature, spiritual development may
constitute one of the most important outcomes of the college experience.” Although
Bowman and Small believe clubs are affiliated with a public institution, the authors
discovered they are often disengaged from the overall academic curriculum. Clubs are
typically being disengaged from curricular education. Bowman and Small discuss that
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clubs are still culturally and religiously based to fulfill the needs of practicing students
while receiving an education at UIUC. They provide students an outlook, and different
educational experience from those they receive in the classroom. However, through our
research, we have discovered religion has little impact on a students’ decision to join a
club or organization. We perceived that students may be predisposed to join clubs,
specifically fraternities and sororities because their parents were once members, or
through previous assumptions of other students. The Jewish sorority Alpha Epsilon Phi
(2010) was founded on October 24, 1909 at Barnard College in New York- a period when
anti-Semitism was common. The goal of the sorority was to provide Jewish women a
place of comfort. Alpha Epsilon Phi has chapters located across the country. (Alpha
Epsilon Phi Official Website, 2010). According to an interview with an anonymous
Christian member, the interviewee believes, “Alpha Epsilon Phi is a place I feel
comfortable. By being a part of a sorority that practices a different religion from my own,
I have been able to learn about other cultures as well as develop strong friendships.”
In addition to religion, we assumed that race plays a prominent role in
determining extracurricular participation among students. We assumed there is a notion
on campus that only certain women of given religions and races can pledge specific
sorority houses.
In “Sorority Row” (2002), written by Jason Zengerle, Zengerle explains the story
of Christina Houston, an African American student at the University of Alabama in the
early 2000s.
Houston, a sophomore, was eager to join a traditionally populated white sorority
in order to expand her cultural horizons. Although Houston is half African American, she
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is light skinned, and thus appeared white to the other girls. Gamma Phi Beta, a
traditionally white house, accidently admitted Christina into their chapter. The members
of Gamma Phi Beta were unaware of her parents’ races; her mother is white while her
father is black. The active members were not in favor of having a black woman in their
sorority. However in 2001, Christina became the first black woman to be a part of a
typically white sorority at the University of Alabama (Zengerle, 2002). As Houston
stated, ‘“I never saw it as an issue of Black rush or White rush; it was just rush.”
Although the University of Alabama Greek life made strides in regards to integration, the
following year an African American girl was not offered a bid due to her skin color.
Houston fortunately felt comfortable in her environment; however the university Greek
life did not make noticeable strides due to her membership. The same year the African
American girl was not given a bid, Houston transferred from the university due to
homesickness and deactivated from Gamma Phi Beta. According to the Senate President
of the University of Alabama's Faculty Senate, Norm Baldwin, Baldwin supports the
Senates resolution to punish Greek fraternities and sororities who do not accept black
members. Baldwin states, “We are concerned with the structures, policies, and practices.”
The same stereotypes associated with sorority rush are prevalent at UIUC. With
numerous cultures and ethnicities, race at UIUC is diverse (see fig. 2), but it has not
always been so.
In the 1960’s, an organization named Project 500 was created to address racial
inequality, specifically among the African American race. “Although the first African
American student, William Walter Smith, had graduated from the University of Illinois in
1900, African American students were rare, and they faced considerable barriers in their
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efforts to gain a college degree” (Cathy Prendergast et al. UIUC). The goal of the project
was to enroll 500 African American students into the university to increase the percentage
of the present and also an effort to serve all citizens equally. In 1967, only about 1% of
the student body was African American, a figure that had remained constant for decades”
(Cathy Prendergast et al. UIUC).
In addition, we assumed that male students would face the same religious
dilemma when choosing to join a fraternity. “Faith and Frats Boys” explores the topic of
religion and how it can affect college life, specifically fraternities, at Indiana University.
(Chu, 2005) The article questions the importance of religion to students and whether or
not one can be a member of a fraternity and still be religious. The article questions
righteousness and how one’s religion can affect the decisions he or she makes. Being
religious in college can be difficult, as well as staying strong to one’s faith. “Can they be
both a brother in Christ and a brother in a frat? Or should they live only with other
believers? How do they deal with stereotypes of Christianity that others may hold? And
what does it mean to live out their faith on a secular campus like Indiana's?”(Chu, 2005)
In addition, we want to discover how race and religion affect a student’s decision
to apply to UIUC. According to Klein in, “Lawmakers Debate Wis. Admissions”, the
University of Wisconsin was no longer interested in reviewing each application
individually in order to learn more about each student’s cultural background, experiences,
and race. After reviewing the case, the result was declared by state legislators that the
university must review each applicant holistically. A holistic review includes “examining
his or her socioeconomic status, membership in any historically underrepresented racial
or ethnic group, and evidence of leadership and/or community service, as well as his or
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her academic record” (Klein, 2007). This case has relevance to the students at UIUC
because the University of Wisconsin-Madison is also a Big Ten university. When
choosing to apply to UIUC and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, students need to
keep in mind that the admission office may use their religion and/or race to determine
their acceptance.
Results
The first factor we measured in our surveys was ethnicity (see fig. 2). Half of the
students surveyed were Caucasian.
Fig. 2.
Race and Ethnicity at
UIUC
6%
Caucasian
Asian
18%
49%
Middle Eastern
6%
African American
3%
Hispanic
18%
Italian
We also surveyed Asian, Middle Eastern, African American, Hispanic, and Italian.
Most of the students surveyed lived in our current dorms, but many of the surveys were
random. One-sixth of our surveys were distributed to a sorority house. Our surveys also
contained questions that enabled us to find the percentage of students that practiced a
religion different than their family (see fig. 3).
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Fig. 3.
Religion at UIUC
11.50%
Orthodox
Christian
Catholic
3.80%
11.50%
30.80%
26.90%
15.40%
Within our sub-categories dealing with specific religions, 27 percent of our
interviewees practiced Christianity, 31 percent Catholicism, and 42 percent no
religion/other. From our data we conclude that the highest number of students, followed
by Catholicism, practiced no religion. 77 percent of students surveyed additionally
practiced the same religion as their family.
We also gathered the results of campus extracurricular involvement of the
students surveyed (see fig. 1.) The largest percentages, 28.6 percent of the students were
involved in a club sport. Following this statistic, 20 percent were involved in an academic
club or did not participate in clubs or organization at all. This may be largely linked with
the percentage of students interviewed that were freshman. Most of the students
interviewed were freshman, as most of the students surveyed were from our housing. The
other activities the students’ surveyed were involved in were volunteer groups (11
9
percent), fellowship or religion based club (5.7 percent), Greek life (5.7 percent), and
other (8.6 percent).
As mentioned in “Faith and Frat Boys” and from the data gathered, we conclude
that religion does not play that large of a role in students’ lives when it comes to making
decisions for clubs and Greek life. Our group was surprised by these values as well
because we thought more students were involved with outside activities. Many of our
group members are involved with one or more of these activities. Thus, we assumed that
more students were involved in extracurricular activities on campus than our results
showed. However, our sample of about 100 students (see further research) might not be
large enough to gather accurate data of the entire student body. (UIUC Students
Surveyed, 2010).
As the survey progressed, our questions became more specific. We asked the
students to rank (one to five, five being the highest) the following categories in regard to
race and religion. Our average values were slightly lower in given areas than we
anticipated. In the categories, how important religion and race were to students ranked a
3.15, how strictly they follow their religion (2.8), the daily influence of their religion
(3.0), their decision to attend UIUC (1.7), adequate resources provided on campus in
regard to race and religion (3.9), and impact race and religion has on joining clubs (1.6).
Clearly, the student body believes that UIUC provides the resources for them to practice
their religion and learn about their race, but does not utilize these facilities frequently.
Religion, in particular, seems to be a secondary concern to students. We then proceeded
to ask students how their approach to religion has changed since they have arrived at
UIUC (figure 2.) The greatest percentage of students, 60, believes that their religious
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beliefs have stayed consistent since they have arrived on campus. Twenty percent of
students are advantageous and are interested in learning more about their religion as well
as becoming involved. A small percentage, eight, said they no longer attend church
anymore. Ten percent also said they are less committed and involved. A lower
percentage, two, said they want to practice their religion more frequently, however the
lack the time limits their efforts. In our final category, predisposition, a large percentage
of students, 56, said they had no religious or racial predispositions before joining Greek
life, clubs, or organizations. Research affected 28 percent of students’ predispositions in
these categories. Twelve percent were predisposed by their personal opinion and four
percent were predisposed by their family. After reviewing the surveys, many of the
students who were predisposed by their family to join specific Greek houses, clubs, or
organizations were also involved in Greek life. Thus, we may be able to form the
conclusion that the students’ family members were also involved in Greek life, therefore
predisposing their perception of given chapters.
The average value of religious influence a student’s decision to attend UIUC is
1.7, 34 percent. The data leads us to conclude that religion is not as an important factor as
we assumed.
Conclusions
Our group found it particularly fascinating that in regard to our data as a whole,
religion seems to bare little significance in the daily lives of the student body. Although
the campus provides the adequate means to offer facilities, services, and information in
regards to race and religion, students seem to be uninvolved or uninterested in this area.
If the general consensus is that religious beliefs are very important to students, then it
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makes sense that it received only a slightly lower score, a 3.0, in the category of daily
influence.
On the contrary, considering the amount of students that do not practice any
religion, we would expect religion’s daily influence on students’ decisions to be lower
than a three out of five. The highest score from any of the categories is a 3.9 in UIUC
having adequate resources for students’ religious needs. Thus, our data demonstrates
juxtaposing factors. Why are the students who feel religion is so important and believe
the university has adequate resources to fit their religious needs less involved and no
longer attending church? (see further research) In an overwhelming number of cases,
students rated religious importance a five, but influence on daily decisions at a one or
two. In twenty percent of the cases, students who ranked religious importance at a four
or above also said that they no longer attended church and have made no advances in
furthering their faith.
The majority of students (seventy-seven percent) continued to practice the same
religion as their families while at UIUC. Given the information about the majority of
students continuing to follow the same religion as their parents, we could assume that the
daily decisions of these students’ parents have affected theirs as well, thus enabling us to
conclude why many joined the same fraternity/sorority as their parents. In regards to
students’ decisions, parental influence on religion plays a great role. Thus this statistic
demonstrates students are becoming more independent from the religion in which they
were raised.
In regards to the information provided previously, we would expect that the
majority of the clubs and organizations students are involved in would be unaffiliated
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with specific religions. In fact, there was a relatively high correlation among these ideas.
There was less than a six percent student involvement in fellowship or religion based
clubs and organizations.
Overall, students are not very affected by religion while at UIUC. Clearly, religion
plays a very insignificant role in the average student’s life. Thus, we can conclude
religion does not really affect student’s daily lives at UIUC. Regardless if a student is
religious or not, there seems to be hardly any influence on joining
clubs/organizations/Greek life. Due to this lack of influence and presence of many
adequate resources, this information proves UIUC is independent from religion. Thus,
religion is becoming less of a factor in students’ daily lives.
Although the impact of religion on applying to UIUC is relatively low, students
applying to the university need to be aware that the admissions office takes these factors
into account when admitting students. Our group was surprised by this result. We
believed that the university housed many students with similar backgrounds, race, and
religious beliefs. It was vital in our decision making process that UIUC possessed a
diverse student body. It is interesting how our perception of ourselves, and the student
body was not reflected in the data.
Further Research
Based on the conclusions reached in our data, we are able to suggest relevant ideas
leading to further evaluation of our data. We can further question why it appears that
individuals fear straying from their comfort zone, thus only joining clubs, organizations,
and Greek life that is strictly affiliated with their religion and race. It can be questioned
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whether or not these students find it beneficial branching out and meeting new students of
various cultures and ethnicities. We are curious if this information allows students to
better understand themselves, and their religion. We inquire whether or not our data will
lead us to determining what organizations on campus appeal to the student body and
which ones (religiously affiliated or not) do not. Are some people more inclined to step
out of their comfort zones than others? Moreover, does race affect where a student sits in
their dorm cafeteria? However, students often adapt to their new environments. Does a
language and culture barrier limit foreign students from attempting to join organizations
or simply living on campus? We predict the more comfortable one is with members of
another race or religion the more likely they are to respect and learn about the given
culture. We are also curious as to how our sample size impacted our results. Would our
results be the same if we surveyed 1000 students? We additionally are interested in
regards to students who value religion what specific factors limit students’ from taking
advantage of religious resources at UIUC.
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Appendix
Clubs/Sports/Greek Life at UIUC
Volunteer Groups
Religion Based Club
Club Sport
Greek Life
Academia
11%
5.70%
28.60%
5.70%
20%
Figure 4
Race and Ethnicity at UIUC
Caucasian
Asian
Middle Eastern
African American
Hispanic
Italian
49%
18%
3%
6%
18%
6%
Figure 5
Religion at UIUC
Orthodox Christian
Catholic
Non-Denominational Christian
Not Religious
Not Religious, but believe in God
Atheist
11.50%
30.80%
15.40%
26.90%
11.50%
3.80%
Figure 6
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