Abstract
Based upon a national longitudinal dataset of 14,527 college students generated by the UCLA Spirituality in Higher Education Project, this study used structural equation modeling to test the applicability of a model of ecumenical worldview development for students of diverse genders, races, and worldviews. The model suggests that challenging co-curricular experiences and the salience of religion and spirituality in academic encounters tend to provoke religious/spiritual struggles, which in turn enhance ecumenical worldview. However, tests for model invariance revealed group differences in the applicability of the model. Differences by gender and race/ethnicity are minimal in comparison to differences by worldview.
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Notes
In the original model, controls for gender, race, and worldview were included. Gender, race, and worldview are not shown in Fig. 1 given that the intent of the analysis is to examine the applicability of the model to these different demographic groups.
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Acknowledgments
The author thanks UCLAs Spirituality in Higher Education Project and its directors, Alexander W. Astin, Helen S. Astin, and Jennifer A. Lindholm, for providing the data for this study. The UCLA project, which is housed at UCLAs Higher Education Research Institute, is supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the John Templeton Foundation.
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Bryant, A.N. Ecumenical Worldview Development by Gender, Race, and Worldview: A Multiple-Group Analysis of Model Invariance. Res High Educ 52, 460–479 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-010-9206-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-010-9206-z