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