A new phenomenon is happening in prominent American divinity schools: the student body increasingly includes secular, non-religious individuals.

According to the New York Times, this shift is not driven by atheist students seeking to invade and overtake the realms of religiosity, but is rather by students seeking “a language of moral discourse and training in congregational leadership.” Many of these students are tired of the “relativism” offered in normal degree programs and are “attracted to the search for social justice and for spiritual meaning,” which “they recognize … as the fruits of religious tradition.”

One student in particular, found herself searching for answers and “slowly came to recognize that the people she admired most – Gandhi, King, Emerson, Tolstoy and Alcott – had deep religious or spiritual lives.” 

Such a development is quite interesting and causes one to wonder: Are more young people today longing for a clear set of principles and beliefs from which they can gain stability and true purpose in life?