This story discusses the increase in evangelicals at Harvard. Apparently, one of the major reasons is the higher number of non-Anglos (African-Americans, Hispanics and Asians) who are dedicated Christians.
I’ve yet to see any figures on the increasing number of Mormons at America’s universities, but I would guess that the difference is huge. Just to give you one idea, when I went to Stanford in the early 1980s, there was no ward and students met off-campus with the local family ward. Now, there are two very active wards and an Institute program. My wife tells me that Colorado State, her alma mater, has had an even bigger increase.
So, let’s produce some Bloggernacle firepower — tell the world how your student wards (and perhaps even stakes) have grown at your universities in the past few years. The growth may even dwarf the increase in evangelicals at Harvard.
I wonder how much of that is the emphasis to go elsewhere than BYU, especially if you are from Utah? Not that it has keep the population that down. Further it seems like UVSC is taking up a lot of slack. I heard somewhere that within a few years the total student body in the Provo region from all colleges and educational facilities will be 100,000. Pretty amazing.
At The Ohio State University we have two singles’ student wards and one married student ward; it seems to me that something around 400 students at OSU are active in at least one of the three options open to them (student wards, family wards, and institute.) There are approximately 50,000 graduate and undergraduate students attending OSU, though the student wards are open to students from any one of about a half dozen colleges and universities in our area (I know several LDS students at Denison and Columbus State who attend the student wards.) While I was living on campus (1997-2001) we had I think 4 or 5 insitute classes available; it’s about twice that now (and they’ve added institute classes at various ward and stake buildings.) They also rebuilt the institute building just off campus (none of the religious groups at OSU have buildings on campus) and it seems about three times the size of the old one (which had one large room that split into three smaller ones, and then an office for the institute director and secretary.) I don’t think the insitute building was all that old; I can’t imagine it was built before I was born, and it really matches the style of all of the church-owned buildings from the mid-1980s out here (it always felt more like our branch in Galion than anything else, and that branch building was built around 1988 — late enough for a Priest my age to remember having to arrive early to the bar in which they used to have meetings, in order to clear the tables of beer bottles and ash trays before the congregants arrived.)
I know that part of the increase out here stems from the number of professors at the University that are LDS; the YSA coordinator for my stake (one of the four in the Columbus area) is a professor at the Dental school, as is one of the institute instructors; it always seems like we have two dozen or more (regrettably, married) LDS students at the Dental school alone. And two people have introduced themselves in my ward in the last six months as having gone to BYU for undergrad, and come to OSU for the husband’s legal education. Most of our undergrads are Ohio natives, or from nearby states other than Michigan. And really, it’s mostly long-time Ohioans; a lot of the kids in my ward whose parents went to BYU go there for school. The ones I know at OSU are largely second-generation Ohio-born (though not always — that YSA coordinator has at least two children who went to OSU… though he’s an adult convert, and graduated from West Point.)
Geoff,
Did you know Tom Hales at Stanford? He’s the only LDS (former now) guy I know that went there then.
At Penn State University, they have two State College wards. One is for all the singles plus marrieds with children under 5. I attended that ward once (my brother was at PSU) and there were 100-150 people in Church. Married students with children > 5yo attend the “normal” ward. My brother’s take was that there wasn’t enough to create a single and a married ward, and it was too hard to mix the older marrieds with the singles.
I find it interesting that as more and more LDS athletes choose to attend other colleges, the success of the BYU football and basketball teams has fallen. BYU just isn’t an automatic anymore for the average LDS RM. There are increasing numbers of returned missionaries who opt not to play at BYU, either out of principle or out of pique, and they become stars elsewhere.
I understand that the University of Texas at Austin has at least one student ward and maybe two (we have ward members who attend).
Not here. There’s been but one student ward at the University of Colorado for quite some time, and judging by the number of photographs on the institute bulletin board, there’s maybe a hundred, hundred-twenty at best. (But I don’t actually know, because I’m in a regular ward in the next stake north — I could very well be wrong).
We 3 soon-to-be-2Ls and the 1 soon-to-be-3L have formed up a student group of the JRCLS, and are just waiting for finals to end to get SBA approval… we’re really hoping to attract more LDS students. But it seems that CU is competing for the same students (GPA/LSAT-wise) as BYU, and so an LDS student that got into CU would also likely get into BYU Law and would probably rather go there.
So, if there’s lots of LDS students at other state universities, why not CU?
Here’s what I posted when this question came up at Times and Seasons, with some updates:
I grew up in NYC, went to college there, lived for four years in the Palo Alto area, and now live in San Francisco. I’d heartily recommend both NYC and Palo Alto as fine places for LDS undergraduates.
New York: Three singles wards for those under 31. During my time at Columbia there were fewer than ten single undergraduate students enrolled at any one time, but when combined with those at NYU, Juilliard, and other schools the figure goes up substantially. When I attended a singles ward in September 2005 while on business I was told that there are now about 15 Columbia LDS undergraduates, which is gratifying. There are more graduate students, both married and single, than undergraduates at Columbia and NYU. Also, there are plenty of actorsingerdancer types that are college age and older. Careerwise, most of the college graduates (mostly BYU grads) are in fields like graphic design, advertising, public relations, and marketing.
Palo Alto: Two singles wards, one for older and the other for younger (division occurred in 2002). Stanford has as many as 16 new LDS undergraduates enrolling each year (!), enough for a special freshman-only Gospel Doctrine class in the younger ward. There are also many single and married graduate students, although the graduate/undergraduate ratio is more even than in NYC. Most of the college graduates work in engineering or some other technical field; teaching; and Big 4 accounting firms.
San Francisco: One ward for ages 18 on up. Many of the undergraduates are here for art or music. There are also many graduate students in medicine and dentistry.
I am also somewhat familiar with some other areas based on what friends have told me.
Princeton: Single students attend a family ward. About as many single undergraduates as at Columbia, along with a few more single graduate students.
Boston: Four singles wards, two older (25-30) and two younger (18-24). Even more LDS undergraduates than at Palo Alto, but then there are many colleges to draw from. Harvard and MIT alone undoubtedly enroll more LDS students than any other elite college in the US outside Stanford and perhaps Berkeley.
In seattle we have 3 student wards and a large institute program. Having a gaggle of universitys helps too, though I think most that are students go to the University of Washington. The top notch dental program helps attract mormosn here. Apperntly about 1/3 of most incoming dental classes here are LDS.
Geoff,
Stanford is a special case. Prior to the controversy over LDS discrimination against those of african heritage, there were a large number of LDS at Stanford. But as the public became more aware of civil rights and the policy of the church on who could hold the priesthood this situation changed. The only time the president’s office was taken over by students at Stanford was in protest of having any relations with BYU. As a result the university cut off all contact with BYU, reasoning that it was a racist institution. For a time there was a great deal of anti-LDS sentiment on campus and LDS enrollment plumeted.
It only began to inch back up in the late 80’s and early 90’s as the incidents of the past were forgotten. Well, sort of forgotten. It is only recently that Stanford has sceduled major athletic events against BYU.
The one complaint I have about Stanford as an LDS student involves CES. Stanford had a great institute instructor that CES refused to pay a living wage in the Bay Area. He eventually had to move in order to be able to support his family. His replacement is paid at least 3x as much as he was, and the reports I’ve gotten are that he is not as good. CES needs to get its act together, but I think task such as that are being left for the millenium.
Steve EM, I was not a member of the Church when I was at Stanford in the early 1980s, so I don’t know anybody who was a member then. A lot of what I know about the Church at Stanford in the early 1980s come from my dad, who was trying to get me to go to church, and a random John.
Speaking of ARJ, I would think a good way to attract a good Institute instructor to the Bay Area would be to give him a slight raise but buy a Church-owned house for him to live in. (Plus, the house would be a good investment). Most mission presidents I’ve known lived in Church-owned (or rented) housing. There is no way anybody can afford anything in the Bay Area on a CES salary.
CU is one of the very most liberal schools around. We used to call it ‘Berekely by the flatirons.’ I would not want a child of mine to attend there and I suspect many other local LDS feel the same.
LA has a ward for USC students that I hear has around 50-70 people attend. The UCLA ward is closer to a hundred. In addition there are singles wards in LA and Santa Monica, where a few students, mostly mid twenties and up go. both wards have 140-180 attendance each.
most students are in dentistry or law, with a high utah exportation. Los Angeles seems to attract mormons from the west, but doesn’t seem overrepresented with BYU grads the same way NYC or DC are. LA has some fun types in acting or fashion courses (FIDM). people in the film industry or trying to get are also present. Homegrown LA singles seem to be less than ten percent. LA’s single ward split within the past five years, and continues to grow slowly.
I went to school at Columbia in new york three years ago and there were 9 active mormons in school of social work, 7 of which were BYU exports. we would meet some of the law students and a couple orginizational behavior and MBA students and other grad students for lunch once a week on campus. There were also a few LDS students at dental school, and a handful at medical school. There was also a few LDS student at teachers college, and a history student. Undergrad it seemed like there were less than a dozen. NYU had some mormons, but less than Columbia.
As long as we’re on the topic, if LDS students that were admitted to elite schools would actually go there instead of BYU there would be an explosion in the numbers of LDS students at top universities. I for one think this would be wonderful, for a variety of reasons. I also think it is unlikely to happen unless BYU raises tution such that the school doesn’t need to use tithing funds to support it.
The article surpised me (Tuft’s/Brown for ed – but that was almost 15 years ago when “those East Coast” colleges were “still liberal”).
I asked around for the buzz on this, and the general consensus among alumni still connected is that the Evangelicals are there for the “credentials” to use in the work, political and talking head/pundit field upon graduation. In addition, they tend to band together to try to make small but significant changes within the institution that would forward their worldview in the curriculum. It’s frustrating to see such publicity – and there is more and more of it in our media.
There was a recent documentary on Discovery Channel called, “God’s Army”. It was about Patrick Henry College (started by homeschool advocate Michael Farris). It detailed how the college was training Christian students to work in politics – and how almost all students are unabashedly hired for their conservative views and Christian worldview to intern in the White House.
Even if an LDS student prescribed to the same views with the same zeal, he/she would come up against the Statement of Faith that would need to be signed before entrance – let’s get real…he/she would need to convert. At PHC college, you can get a degrees in political theory, public policy, and strategic intelligence. Erm…as in how to apply Biblical Law principles to governing as a way to bring on Armaggedon…?
I hope you do see positive results from the ‘naccle, and that we do hear about student ward growth and campus conversions. In the future however, we will probably see less ward growth in and near universities as religious groups move into these institutions and slowly make changes to course study and campus activities due to pressure from within. As this happens – and supported by the CU comment – I think that most LDS parents would not want to send their child into adversity when the BYU option is available.
I also believe we will see an increase in new colleges fashioned after BJU, and PHC – that turn out students that have studied the world through only one religious doctrine/view. Hopefully BYU will follow suit and expand.
While the decision to steer an LDS college bound student away from an overtly religious college will be a simple one for most parents (“I won’t pay for that college!”)- it is not simple for parents of elementary and secondary students. As you may have noticed, many schools now allow religious groups (almost always Evangelical) to use school gyms and other school ammenities on Sunday for worship and TV/satellite hook up (as needed and where satellite is available). Laws/Regs have been manipulated for this to happen.
The next manipulation (and it’s happened in some areas already) is to have after-school religious groups (on the line of Activity Days) on school grounds. The sticky wicket is that when a Catholic or Methodist or Jewish group desires to form a similar group, they are turned away because they “already have a building to meet in” and have no need to use the school.
As we agree to a softening of the separation of church and state, we also are setting ourselves up to agreeing to let one religion dominate our schools. We’ve seen how states have tried to work in laws solely teaching ID – if passed in each of our states, in conscience are we to pull our student(s) from these schools because our doctrine is open to a variety of views (our denial of creation ex nihilo for one). Should parents one day truly find there is no longer a separation of church and state, they could find one religion dominating. If they are not of that religion, they can always decide to opt out for charter, private or home education – that is, erm…if alternative education is still sanctioned by school boards that have people still on them that aren’t voted in on their moral-religious views.
The Evangelical “influx” is evenly spread across society, and not just emerging and growing in higher education. It is swiftly growing movement bolstered by the media and accepted by the mainstream each time it is so favorably publicized in various media sources.
“non-Anglos”
Excuse me, but I’m not aware that “Anglo” is the correct term for what happens to be my race (Caucasian). “Anglo” is Hispanic slang for my race, and I don’t accept it, any more than a Hispanic would accept a slang term for their ethnic group.
*blushes* Guilty… where am I sending my son? BYU-I. Dorm life (and rush life) for the frosh at CU is not pretty. (And yes, I’m sure that is why there are so few LDS).
But all the same, I wish the story were different for the Law School.
Indianapolis, home of 2 stakes (north stake, plus the ‘burbs, then the south stake, plus the ‘burbs), is home to several universities and several colleges. But we have only one YSA branch between the two stakes.
West Lafayette, home to Purdue University, with over 68,000 students, has only 1 unmarried student (YSA) branch, and no married student branches/wards.
Even Cincinnati, which was officially “cursed” by the church at one point (and has had the cursing lifted), has 3 stakes.
For some reason, us Hoosiers are not living up to our potential as far as the percentage of the population who are members of the church.
(Bookslinger… I can remember when Indy had only one stake, with the Stop 11 Road building being the stake center for the whole place, and the college ward from Bloomington was the significant place for singles…. but though they’ve split the original Indy stake a whole buncha ways, you’re right, a place as large as Indy should surely have more stakes than two.)
There are: the one YSA branch at Purdue (West Lafayette), one in Indy (serving both N and S stakes), and one YSA branch in Fort Wayne. I’m not aware of any others in Indiana.
Since not too long ago, Bloomington, Lafayette, and Muncie have split off and formed their own stakes.
There are no YSA or student branches/wards in Bloomington (Indiana Univ) or Muncie (Ball State), or South Bend (Notre Dame). Given the huge student population at IU-Bloomingotn, I thought there would have been a student branch there.
The stakes that have “Indiana” in their name are:
— Bloomington Indiana Stake
— Evansville Indiana Stake
— Fort Wayne Indiana Stake
— Indianapolis Indiana Stake (We call it the ‘South’ Stake)
— Indianapolis Indiana North Stake
— Lafayette Indiana Stake
— Muncie Indiana Stake
— New Albany Indiana Stake
— South Bend Indiana Stake
— Valparaiso Indiana Stake
Except for Indy North, they cover a lot of rural area.
The South Bend ward, at least when I was there from ’00 to ’03, nearly functions as a married student ward for Notre Dame graduate students. There are 10-15 permanent resident families that contribute and several graduate student families (probably around 30 when I was there) that make up the rest of the ward, which includes a large very low-income area.
Correction to #18. There is a YSA Branch at Bloomington Indiana, that serves the student population at Indiana University.
My sister attended UT’s singels ward in Austin. The people were very open and friendly, but she only stayed a few months. They had lake trips, mud soccer wars, and other fun events, as well as great opportunities for talent enhancement.
Isn’t it interesting: There is only one religion that charts a direct correlation with the amount of education one receives and the level of church activity/attendance. This is the LDS church. The more educated they are, the more likely they are to attend church. Doesn’t logic and the gift of the spirit play a fantastic role in education? This does not lead one to boast of such things, but to be merely informed as well-educated and accepting people. Judging these other religions would be a poor choice of character. I’ve seen it far too much as I bring people who are not of our faith to single adult activities.
Berkley has a hilarious institute teacher who encourages attendance in their singles ward. Very down to earth. Both Berkley and San Francisco sit at an active church attendance of about 60 people: faithfully. I have heard nothing but praise as far as Palo Alto’s singles wards are concerned. These wards are not in the same stake, but there are activities that unify the three major areas of the West Bay area: San Francisco, Berkley, and Palo Alto’s Stanford wards. I have yet to test out the liberal nature of California, but it is an underaccepted fact that we, as members, need to spread our religion to areas outside of Utah. We do not keepsake the title of “being LDS”, but should live its principles. I believe that BYU sucks out most of the LDS population, which I hope will change in years to come. It is a gift, not an elitist attitude. However, having attended one of the BYU schools for a couple years, I know that there are fabulous people there, but there is some superficiality among the students that excludes missionary work other than member missionary work. It is a great harbor for those looking for acceptance and enjoyment, but once confidence has set into those in attendance, this needs to be extended outward. Hopefully we can avoid the “Zionitis” attitude that Elder Eyring spoke on. This is referring to those who leave Utah, only to return shortly thereafter because they can’t stand being away from their ‘comfort level.’ To every man his own…