Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
A new survey has found that the decrease in religious affiliation among college students has been met by record levels of depression on U.S. campuses – and yet liberal ideologues on college campuses are continuing their assault on Christianity.
According to a blog appearing on the Eagle Forum, a new survey has found a marked decrease in the percentage of students at U.S. colleges who report having above average emotional well-being. Only about half of those polled believed they meet this standard with many reporting that they are frequently depressed.
The Forum correlates this negative trend with the steady erosion of faith among college students in the last thirty years. For instance, in 1971, the percentage of college students who denied having a religious affiliation was only 15.4 percent. In the latest study, that percentage was up to 27.5 percent. Is there any connection between the decrease in religiosity and the increase in depression rates?
Forum writers believe there is, and also blame the staggering cost of higher education that is leaving college graduates drowning in debt.
“With each new year, the secondary school education curriculum becomes more liberal and more atheistic. With the exception of homeschooling and a small number of Christian high schools, students are taught to turn away from God, their parents, and the Founders of America. It should come as no surprise that these students are becoming depressed in increasing percentages,” the Forum writes.
In addition, the financial debt imposed on students today is overwhelming. In just the last ten years, student debit has increased from $509 billion to $1.31 trillion.
“That is indeed depressing, and many students are obviously not getting their money’s worth. Campus counseling centers are flooded with visits by troubled students. Counselors should be questioning the liberal ideology that is taking students down the road of depression,” the Forum advises.
However, in too many cases, school administrators are doing the exact opposite.
Consider the bulletin board erected at a residence hall in Appalachian State University aimed at shaming Christian students for their “privilege”.
According to Campus Reform, the board reads, “Unpacking Christian Privilege” and criticizes Christian students for enjoying so many positive references to their faith and how their religion is taught at most public high schools in the country.
When Brantley McDonald, a freshman student at the university, complained to University Housing about the board, he rightly pointed out that campus residence halls should be “safe and comfortable areas for everyone.”
Authorities have yet to respond.
But they were quick to replace the board when someone defaced it.
“This is an EDUCATIONAL BOARD” the staff posted next to the sign, and went on to “encourage everyone to read the entirety of the board’s content before creating any negative views.”
Once again, when contacted by Campus Reform for a comment, authorities hid under their desks and refused to reply.
Attacks on Christianity are coming fast and furious these days – from the outrageously misinformed attack on Indiana’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act to uber-liberals on college campuses who take cowardly potshots at Christianity while indoctrinating our youth in their own form of hate, compelling them to despise God, family and country.
Judging from the record high depression levels at schools, these twisted ideologies are certainly not making this world a better place for any of us.
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