Catholic, evangelical colleges top list for having politically conservative students
Catholic, evangelical colleges top list for having politically conservative students
Christian campuses make up all of top six right-leaning schools in major survey
If you’re looking for politically conservative college students, you’re likely to find the highest proportion of them at certain Christian schools.
According to a survey by The Princeton Review based on 168,000 student responses from 390 colleges and universities throughout the country, six of the top six schools as ranked for political conservatism were Christian campuses. Four of those of are evangelical Christian schools, while two of them — including the school topping the list — are Roman Catholic.
Earning the top conservative honors is Thomas Aquinas College of Santa Paula, Calif. With only 367 students, it is one of the smallest colleges included in the survey.
The Princeton Review is a company that focuses on helping students prepare for and select a college. It conducts its highly publicized surveys annually and uses them in part for compilation into books for prospective college students. It is not affiliated with Princeton University.
The question Princeton Review used its survey of students was: “Politically, are you far-left, Democrat, non-partisan, Republican, or far-right?”
Immediately following Thomas Aquinas College in the conservative rankings were:
College of the Ozarks of Point Lookout, Mo., known for charging no tuition for its full-time students and billing itself as “hard work U” for its expectations that students work part-time on campus to help support the school. The nondenominational school also receives the top ranking for being LGTBQ-unfriendly as well as the top ranking in the “scotch and soda, hold the scotch” because of its prohibition on alcohol use.
Hillsdale College of Hillsdale, Mich., which promotes itself as a school of “learning, character, faith, and freedom” and says it aims to preserve “the blessings of civil and religious liberty and intellectual piety.” Hillsdale also ranked No. 1 in the survey for having the most religious students and the No. 2 spot for having friendly students.
Taylor University of Upland, Ind. The evangelical schools says it works to create “structures and habits that welcome Jesus’ presence in our lives and help us contribute our God-given gifts in community.” Taylor also placed third in the rankings for having happy students, the highest-ranking private college in that category.
Grove City College of Grove City, Pa. One of the school’s claims to fame is that accepts no federal funding — “to avoid government interference and regulatory strings — ultimately to protect your freedom of conscience informed by biblical Truth.”
University of Dallas in the Dallas, Texas, suburb of Irving, the other Catholic school in the top six. The school calls itself “the Catholic university for independent thinkers.”
Rounding out the top 10 of the most conservative campuses were, in order, the private Hampden-Sydney College of Hampden-Sydney, Pa.; Colorado’s United States Air Force Academy; the University of Utah, the only state-run campus in the top 10; and the private High Point University of High Point, N.C.
Among the other noteworthy findings regarding religious schools were:
Students at Texas Christian University, a Disciples of Christ-affiliated campus in Fort Worth, Texas, saw their school as well-run, putting it in second place in that category. Brigham Young University of Provo, Utah, operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, ranked fourth in that category.
The three campuses that ranked lowest for marijuana use were military academies: the United States Military Academy, the United States Air Force Academy and the United States Navy Academy. The next four were Christian schools: Thomas Aquinas; College of the Ozarks; Brigham Young University; the evangelical flagship Wheaton College of Wheaton, Ill; and Taylor University.
Immediately following the College of the Ozarks for being LGTBQ-unfriendly were the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.; and Brigham Young University.
Brigham Young placed on top in the “Cancel the Keg” category for the lack of beer drinking at the school. It was followed by the College of the Ozarks.