I think most Christian parents realize that college in general in not conducive to a Christian worldview. I think they realize that their children need to be strong Christians in order to keep their faith intact. However, I strongly believe that most Christian parents have no clue of the intensity and pervasiveness of the anti-Christian spirit that prevails on today’s college campuses, both in the classroom and out.
I feel ill-equipped to speak into this area. I haven’t had the typical college experience. I didn’t go straight to college out of high school. I didn’t move away from home and immerse myself in social life. Yet, even as an older commuter with strong family ties and accountability, I found myself struggling intensely when I started college. If this is my experience, I can only imagine what others face.
Ungodly Influences
When I began college, I plunged into a secular atmosphere of curse words, innuendos, and raunchy jokes. Images of lustful relationships or scantily-clad people were suddenly much more difficult to avoid. Sex and alcohol became normal topics around me, even though I wasn’t in the party scene.
Some of the influences were more subtle. Complaining about professors and assignments felt normal and was a quick way to connect with peers. When others bonded over their strained family relationships, I felt awkward expressing thankfulness for my family. College continually told me that this part of my life is about ME—my degree, my life choices, discovering who I am (as if I had no clue who I was for the first 18 years of my life), and living my dream. It was easy to forget that as a Christian, my life belongs to God and is never about me.
Everything that had seemed normal and right to me was suddenly uncool or at least in the minority.
Rethinking Society
This one deserves its own category because it has been one of the biggest pressures for me in college.
It is not tolerated to express that you believe marriage exists between one man and one woman, not because of society’s definition, but because of God’s design. If you don’t end up with disciplinary or grade repercussions, you’ll at least lose friends.
In college, I consciously seek to treat those who are different from me, or with whom I do not agree, the same way I treat others. I absolutely believe that every individual deserves loving and kind treatment.
As a side point, I feel that the conservative Christian community sometimes does our generation a disservice by making homosexuality the focal point of messages. Our focal point is Christ and His Gospel. While the effects of one sin may last longer than others, no sin is “worse” than any other. Homosexuality is not the ultimate crime against God.
But it is sin, just like my pride and my unforgiveness are sins.
I choose not to speak out on this subject often because it is not the focus of Christianity, and I think a true change will come from encountering Christ, not rules. But I have to consistently remind myself that these relationships are a sin, and I will love those around me without supporting their sin.
Dangerous Insulation
College is possibly the most insulated time of our lives. Most of us leave our parents and communities and build new relationships and community from the ground up with previously unknown peers and instructors. There is certainly benefit to be gained from being out on your own, and I believe independence has a way of forcing growth.
However, that insulation begins to create an echo-chamber environment. I knew that college would challenge my Christian beliefs, but I was not prepared for how extensive the lies would be. It’s what I experienced as described above—the majority of those around me seemed to hold a different worldview from mine, and I felt like the odd one out. Those who agree with the prevailing mindset speak up more loudly, while those who disagree keep silent.
If you want to fit in, you have to adapt… or at least pretend to adapt. Don’t speak up when you disagree. Act like your peers’ normal really is normal.
And in time, if we’re not careful, we start to believe it. I must be the only one who doesn’t feel comfortable with this activity. We don’t even realize it’s happening until our “old” lives feel strange and outdated.
This is why it is so important for college students to stay plugged into reality even while we’re in college. College is not the real world; it’s a bubble. We need to remember that.
I am grateful that I drove home every day and had frequent conversations with my parents about the pressures I was facing. I wanted their accountability. I shared with them when I felt like my Christian convictions were being eroded. Whether college students are living at home or not, we need strong accountability in our lives to hold us to the truth. That kind of accountability is both precious and difficult to find.
For the Parents
Parents, your child who is in college doesn’t need you to ask them about their grades. They need you to ask them how they are handling having their worldview turned upside down. They need you to ask how you can pray for them and speak truth into their lives. They need you to ask what solid, Christian accountability they are building into their new lives away from you.
If your child is still in high school, don’t act like college is the obvious next choice because everyone else is doing it. Weigh the risks and challenges—spiritual and otherwise—and decide if it truly benefits your child to pursue this path.
College does have benefits, but let’s not ignore the risks.
The Key to Resisting
As a student, I’ve had to resist an anti-Biblical mindset. It isn’t enough to go to church once a week or even join an on-campus Christian group.
There are two key ways I've learned to resist. First, the only way I can resist the anti-Christian spirit at school is by having a vibrant relationship with the Living God where His Spirit lives in me. Second, the only way I can resist the lies at school is by speaking the truth in my heart (Psa. 15:2).
I make my relationship with God a priority, and I consistently speak the truth to myself (out loud when appropriate). For example, if I find myself surrounded by sensuality, I speak the truth about God’s design for marriage and true sacrificial love.
Parents, you need to recognize the environment into which your child is entering. Growing up in a Christian family isn’t enough; your child needs a deep personal relationship with God and a good dose of truth and faith.
To the Christian Student
If you are in college or headed that direction, this article isn’t meant to make you panic. It’s meant to open your eyes to the spiritual warfare on college campuses and encourage you to seek God now while you are preparing.
There is a need for strong, authentic Christian witnesses in college. Maybe God isn’t calling you to college just for you. Maybe He’s calling you to be a humble voice of truth for Him.
