On Campuses, Secularism Breeds Suicide
Oct 30, 2021 2:45:58 GMT -5
Post by Midnight on Oct 30, 2021 2:45:58 GMT -5
October 29, 2021
On Campuses, Secularism Breeds Suicide
By Patrick Chisholm
It’s no coincidence that mental illness among America’s younger generation is at an all-time high, while their religious practice is at an all-time low.
Last month (Oct. 12), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill canceled classes for a day for its 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students, who were urged to consider it a “wellness day” in the wake of two on-campus suicides and an attempted suicide.
Colleges and universities are in the midst of a full-blown mental health crisis. UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said as much during his announcement.
In a 2019 survey, an unbelievable 45 percent of undergraduate and graduate students “felt so depressed that it was difficult to function” at least once during the previous 12 months, according to the American College Health Association. Sixty-six percent of students “felt overwhelming anxiety” and 43 percent “felt overwhelming anger.” More than one in ten students -- 13 percent -- seriously considered suicide.
All those numbers were up substantially from several years earlier. And post-COVID, the situation is even worse. In a Jed Foundation survey, 63 percent of students said their mental health has declined since the start of the pandemic.
Pandemic-induced social isolation, of course, has contributed to the rise in depression and anxiety. On college campuses, another factor has got to be intense academic demands, negatively impacting sleep time. The proliferation of electronic communications, which discourage face-to-face interaction, also harms wellness.
Continued at link
On Campuses, Secularism Breeds Suicide
By Patrick Chisholm
It’s no coincidence that mental illness among America’s younger generation is at an all-time high, while their religious practice is at an all-time low.
Last month (Oct. 12), the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill canceled classes for a day for its 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students, who were urged to consider it a “wellness day” in the wake of two on-campus suicides and an attempted suicide.
Colleges and universities are in the midst of a full-blown mental health crisis. UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said as much during his announcement.
In a 2019 survey, an unbelievable 45 percent of undergraduate and graduate students “felt so depressed that it was difficult to function” at least once during the previous 12 months, according to the American College Health Association. Sixty-six percent of students “felt overwhelming anxiety” and 43 percent “felt overwhelming anger.” More than one in ten students -- 13 percent -- seriously considered suicide.
All those numbers were up substantially from several years earlier. And post-COVID, the situation is even worse. In a Jed Foundation survey, 63 percent of students said their mental health has declined since the start of the pandemic.
Pandemic-induced social isolation, of course, has contributed to the rise in depression and anxiety. On college campuses, another factor has got to be intense academic demands, negatively impacting sleep time. The proliferation of electronic communications, which discourage face-to-face interaction, also harms wellness.
Continued at link