School & District Management

Does Majoring in Education Make You More Religious?

By Debra Viadero — August 06, 2009 1 min read
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My colleague Sean Cavanagh, over at Curriculum Matters, yesterday highlighted an interesting working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research on links between the choice of a college major and one’s religiousness. One finding that caught my eye: Very religious people tend to choose education as a major, stick with it, and become more religious over time. In comparison, students who major in the physical sciences or social sciences become less religious.
I’m not surprised. I suspect that many teachers feel the need to turn to prayer quite often in the course of a day. What’s the old saying about “no atheists in foxholes”?

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A version of this news article first appeared in the Inside School Research blog.