When two English monarchs established the College of William and Mary 303 years ago, one of its missions was training young men to become Anglican Church ministers.
Apparently, the school retained its piety even though it lost its official ties to the church long ago. A recent survey of students at 310 colleges and universities found William and Mary is the most religious state-supported school in America.The Princeton Review surveyed 56,000 students on various questions for its 1997 guide to "The Best 310 Colleges." The spirituality rankings were based on responses to a question asking whether students thought their peers at their school were very religious.
Most of the schools in the Top 20 were church-related schools, such as Notre Dame.
Edward Custard, co-author of the guide, attributed William and Mary's inclusion on the list to its location in the South.
"The South historically is one of the most religious areas of the country, and that is reflected on its college campuses," Custard said.
Jim Garas, 19, a pre-med student from Boston, agreed.
"I'm from up North, and people up there aren't as religious, especially when you go to college and you're discovering other experiences," said Garas, who identified himself as a Roman Catholic.
Sam Sadler, the school's vice president for student affairs, questioned the survey's accuracy.
"Our student body tends to be fairly traditional and therefore probably has fairly traditional values," Sadler said. "But I don't know how anyone could conclude it's the most religious public institution. It's hard to know that without doing some kind of controlled study."
Founded in 1693 by King William III and Queen Mary II, the College of William and Mary is the nation's second-oldest university after Harvard. It became public in 1906. It has an enrollment of about 5,500 undergraduates and 2,200 graduates.
Some students were surprised at William and Mary's ranking as the most religious state-supported school, but they figured it would rank pretty high.
"About 40 percent of the people I know (at school) are religious and go to church regularly," said Chavonne Lenoir, 19, who put herself in that category as well. She is a Baptist.
"There are a lot of churches around, and they're pretty accessible," said Lenoir, a pre-med student from Centerville in northern Virginia.
Bruton Parish Church, where seven of the school's early presidents were rectors, gets about 100 new members from the incoming freshman class each year, said the Rev. Martin J. Bagay.
About 50 students attend services at the church each Sunday, Bagay said. Most students attend the latest service at 5:30 p.m.
"We affectionately say the 5:30 service is directed at students because they are busy Saturday night studying," Bagay said, laughing. "That gives them a lot more time to sleep in and recover from studying."
Indeed, it's not unusual for students to party on Saturday and pray on Sunday.
"Yes, it's a good party school," said Jason Naef, 20, a business student from Albany, N.Y. "There are a lot of dances."
But, he added, most parties are tame, partly because the fraternity houses are on campus.
Several students noted there are a lot of religious clubs on campus. In fact, there are 32 organizations devoted to various religions as diverse as Christianity, Islam and Judaism.
Ahmed Zaki, faculty adviser for the Student Muslim Organization, said the university is supportive of the various religious denominations on campus. That makes it easier for students to practice their faiths, he said.
For example, the Muslim group uses a room at the university's student center for prayers. About 25 students gather there every Friday afternoon.
Zaki attributes the students' religiousness to their overall sense of responsibility.
"Everything they do, they take it seriously," including religious practice, Zaki said.