Santa Clara University

The Lecture:

Sex and the Soul: Juggling Sexuality, Spirituality, Romance, and Religion on America's College Campuses

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Today's college students are fascinated by religion but they are also more sexually active than previous generations. How do these young  people reconcile their spiritual longings with sexual freedom on campus? This talk explores the sexual and spiritual lives of today's college students--from public to private, Catholic to evangelical. Many campuses, for instance, are dominated by hookup culture. Moreover, a surprising number of students see little connection between sex and religion. Indeed, these observations hold true even at Catholic schools. This talk will foster information and discussion/exchange about the findings of this study at Catholic, private-secular, and public schools in particular, where hookup culture is thriving, even as students wish for alternatives to it.  

Download a flier for the event here.

The event was co-sponsored by Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Campus Ministry, Office of Student Life, Residence Life, and RLCA.

The Lecturer:

Donna Freitas is Associate Professor of Religion at Hofstra University, and Writer in Residence in their Honors College. Her most recent nonfiction book is Sex and the Soul (Oxford University Press) and she has two novels out, The Possibilities of Sainthood (FSG) and This Gorgeous Game (FSG). She has written for many newspapers and webzines, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Christianity Today, and she is a contributor to The Washington Post/Newsweek's panel "On Faith."