Religious university grads lead more fulfilling lives, new research reveals

Graduates of Catholic universities report greater satisfaction in life, a new survey finds.

The study, commissioned by St. Mary’s University (SMU) and conducted by YouGov, found Catholic college graduates were 13-15% more likely to feel fulfilled in their social lives and community involvement after college.

“Education is about more than just earning potential,” says SMU President Winston Erevelles. “It should be about developing leaders, thinkers and citizens who value and contribute to their communities.”

“I have become increasingly concerned that the national conversation on the value of higher education is being reduced to a single metric: earning potential,” added Jason King, director of SMU’s Center for Catholic Studies. “We set out to explore the long-term impact of higher education on the whole student, not just their future salary.”

Catholic college graduates also reported higher rates of purpose and of living their ideal life. And they were 19% more likely to say morality was very important in making decisions.

Similar benefits have been found among graduates of K-12 Christian schools.  

Meanwhile, people are losing confidence in higher education. Less than 30% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in colleges and universities, reports a poll from The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. 

Between the summers of 2023 and 2024, the number of people reporting very little or no confidence rose from 22% to 30%.  

The decline was particularly stark among 18–34-year-olds (from 42% to 22%) and college graduates (from 48% to 38%) and Democrats (from 59% to 42%).  

Those groups had previously reported the most faith in higher education.  

While some skepticism can be attributed to the rise in antisemitism on college campuses, college enrollment rates also have been declining since 2010. The nationwide university population shrunk dramatically in the past four years, a total loss of 770,000 students, National Student Clearinghouse reported.  

In fact, since 2020, the only sector that grew was private, for-profit institutions.  

And Catholic colleges are gaining in popularity, too. Last fall, Benedictine College in Kansas boasted an all-time high for undergraduate enrollment, and others – such as The Franciscan University of Steubenville and University of Mary in North Dakota – welcomed their largest freshman classes on record.  

Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina even saw a 10% increase from the previous year’s enrollment.