6 Ways to Keep Your Faith in College

We know the statistics. A vast majority of those who leave the Catholic Church do so by the time they reach the age of 24. Most young adults are leaving college with a diploma, but without their Catholic Faith.

I attended a state university, one that provided a hostile environment for young people of faith. It was a difficult journey, one that had its fair share of obstacles and detours, but somehow, I made it through to the other side. Sadly, I’m the minority.

I share my experiences for the parents and grandparents who are terrified to release their children into the university environment that is notorious for distorting and confusing 18 years of spiritual formation. I especially share this for the students who are wondering how their Faith can possibly fit into the new life they are about to begin.

1. Start strong. When my parents dropped me off at my alma mater as an excited, overwhelmed, and nervous 18-year-old, they did two things. First, they helped me to move into my dorm room. Second, we walked to the university’s Catholic Newman Center. As a new student who was nervous to go out on my own on a brand new campus in a bigger city, this was comforting. I knew exactly how to get to Mass. I was astonished at how many friends and acquaintances didn’t go to the Mass simply because they didn’t know where to go.
2. Make Catholic friends. I had plenty of friends who weren’t Catholic. I also had several friends who were raised Catholic but were not practicing (a great opportunity to evangelize!). The thing that got me through the days when it felt like the world was out to get me were my faithfully Catholic friends. These were the people who walked with me to Mass on Sunday morning and encouraged me to keep fighting when the battle seemed to be unwinnable.
3. Carry your faith into every aspect of life. If you check your faith at the door of the gym, your dorm room, or your classes, you’re likely to lose it. I didn’t always speak up when a professor spoke incorrectly about the Faith or presented a position that opposed my Catholic morals, but in the moments that I felt compelled to speak out, I was surprised at how many people voiced their support for my views.
4. Know what groups are welcoming to Catholics. I was often invited to a weekly Christian worship night on campus, but I only went once. The group was overtly anti-Catholic. On the flip side, I joined and became a student leader of our Catholic Student Newman Association, where I met great people and grew in faith by sharing it with others.
5. Pray. Ask the Lord to grant you the grace each day to bring His Good News to your campus. Meditate on the first Christians who were faced with opposition and violence when they had the courage to embrace their Faith in the midst of great persecution. When your Philosophy lecture starts to feel like the Coliseum, ask the martyrs to pray for you.
6. Remember the words of Our Lord in the Sermon on the Mount: “Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward in heaven is great; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Holding onto your Faith won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

Did you struggle to keep your Faith in college? Did you fall away from the Church as a college student but find your way home? Share your advice in the comments below.