ACSI Research Fellow Program

Spiritual formation is central to the mission of Christian schools. Yet in a culture marked by declining religious participation, institutional distrust, and increasing secularization, questions about whether schools meaningfully shape graduates’ long-term faith trajectories have become more pressing. Can schools cultivate patterns of belief and practice that last beyond adolescence and into adulthood?

A new Cardus report, Enduring Faith: Patterns of Religious Practice and Values Among Religious School Graduates, explores those questions by examining nearly a decade of data from the Cardus Education Survey (CES). [Note that downloadable figures, along with all references, are provided in the full report.] The CES involves nationally representative samples of American adults ages 24–39 who attended public schools, Protestant Christian schools, Catholic schools, or nonreligious independent schools or were homeschooled. The survey examines a broad range of outcomes, including educational attainment, civic engagement, mental health, and faith formation, while controlling for key demographic variables to estimate school-sector effects.

This new report focuses specifically on religiosity across time by comparing data from the 2014 and 2023 surveys. It examines three common indicators of religious practice: prayer, Bible reading, and religious service attendance. Together, these measures offer a window into both the private and communal dimensions of faith.

Results for Christian School Graduates

The most consistent finding across nearly a decade of data is that Protestant Christian school graduates continue to report the highest levels of religious engagement in adulthood. Compared with graduates from Catholic, nonreligious independent, and public schools, Protestant Christian school graduates are more likely to pray regularly, read Scripture, and attend religious services on at least a weekly basis. Importantly, these patterns remained even after controlling for a broad range of demographic characteristics, including family background and religious upbringing. In other words, the findings suggest that the school experience itself contributes meaningfully to graduates’ enduring religious practice.

At the same time, the report also reveals signs of broader cultural change. Between 2014 and 2023, graduates from all school sectors evidenced declines in religious service attendance. Protestant Christian school graduates still attended religious services at higher rates than peers from other sectors, but they too experienced significant declines, particularly in religious service attendance.

These findings likely reflect larger societal dynamics. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted congregational life and accelerated already existing trends toward digital participation, social isolation, and institutional disengagement. Broader patterns of secularization and declining religious affiliation also continue to reshape the religious landscape for young adults across the U.S. The CES findings suggest that even communities with strong traditions of faith formation are not immune to these pressures.

School Practices and Spiritual Outcomes

Yet the report also points to something hopeful: not all religious schooling appears to shape graduates in the same way. One of the most intriguing analyses in the report moves beyond comparing school sectors and instead examines differences within religious school sectors themselves. Specifically, graduates were asked how well their high school prepared them for “having a vibrant spiritual or religious life.” Those graduates who reported “strong preparation” were compared with those who described their preparation as weaker.

The differences were striking: graduates who believed their schools prepared them well spiritually were far more likely to engage regularly in prayer, Bible reading, and religious service attendance as adults. They were also more likely to report strong belief in God and life after death, to experience God’s presence regularly, and to identify religion, marriage, and family as very important personal values. And again, Protestant Christian school graduates in the “strong preparation” group reported the highest levels across nearly all measures.

Spiritual formation occurs through the habits, relationships, practices, and communities that shape what students ultimately love and pursue. Schools participate in that work alongside families, churches, peers, and the wider culture. The CES findings do not suggest that schools determine graduates’ faith outcomes entirely. They do, however, suggest that schools can play a meaningful and lasting role. Schools that more intentionally and coherently integrate their formational mission into the life of the school appear more likely to cultivate enduring patterns of faith among graduates.

Faith That Endures

The results of this new report should prompt important reflection for schools. How intentionally are schools cultivating habits of prayer, worship, service, and community that can sustain graduates into adulthood? Are schools helping students integrate faith into the whole of life, or are spiritual experiences remaining largely compartmentalized within formal religious activities? What does it mean for students to leave feeling genuinely prepared for a vibrant spiritual life?

In a cultural moment marked by declining institutional trust and religious engagement, that possibility matters deeply. While Christian schools cannot control every force shaping young people, they can cultivate communities where faith is practiced, embodied, and woven into the daily life of learning. And according to the CES data, when schools do this well, the lasting effects endure far beyond graduation.