US Colleges By Religion
Religion is an important aspect of higher education for many Americans. Of the 7,000 or so US colleges and universities tracked by the US Department of Education, there are more than 800 degree-granting institutions reporting a religious affiliation. Together, these schools represent about 1.5 million enrolled students. In addition many non-affiliated colleges offer courses and degrees in theology and philosophy.
The Department of Education recognizes over 50 different religious affiliations. As seen in the table below, the religious affilitations claimed by the most institutions are:
- Roman Catholic (221 colleges profiled on BrainTrack)
- United Methodist (94 colleges -- plus schools for other Methodist groups)
- Baptist (67 colleges -- plus schools for other Baptist religions such as Southern Baptist)
- Presbyterian Church (USA) (59 colleges)
- Evangelical Lutheran Church (USA) (34 colleges -- plus schools for other Lutheran groups)
- Jewish (USA) (21 colleges)
| Religious Affiliation | Number of Schools | Largest School |
|---|---|---|
| African Methodist Episcopal | 4 | Edward Waters College (843 students) |
| African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church | 3 | Livingstone College (994 students) |
| American Baptist | 10 | Eastern University (4,364 students) |
| American Evangelical Lutheran Church | 1 | Texas Lutheran University (1,432 students) |
| Assemblies of God Church | 13 | Southeastern University (3,075 students) |
| Baptist | 64 | Baylor University (14,541 students) |
| Brethren Church | 3 | Ashland University (6,200 students) |
| Christ and Missionary Alliance Church | 4 | Nyack College (3,041 students) |
| Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) | 16 | Columbia College (14,081 students) |
| Christian Churches and Churches of Christ | 18 | Cincinnati Christian University (1,058 students) |
| Christian Methodist Episcopal | 3 | Lane College (1,981 students) |
| Christian Reformed Church | 3 | Calvin College (4,171 students) |
| Church of Brethren | 4 | Elizabethtown College (2,311 students) |
| Church of God | 6 | The University of Findlay (5,761 students) |
| Church of the Nazarene | 8 | Point Loma Nazarene University (3,390 students) |
| Churches of Christ | 14 | Pepperdine University (7,614 students) |
| Cumberland Presbyterian | 1 | Memphis Theological Seminary (280 students) |
| Evangelical Congregational Church | 1 | Evangelical Theological Seminary (158 students) |
| Evangelical Covenant Church of America | 1 | North Park University (3,244 students) |
| Evangelical Free Church of America | 2 | Trinity International University (2,694 students) |
| Evangelical Lutheran Church | 32 | Augsburg College (3,898 students) |
| Free Methodist | 5 | Spring Arbor University (3,973 students) |
| Free Will Baptist Church | 2 | Free Will Baptist Bible College (317 students) |
| Friends | 7 | George Fox University (3,383 students) |
| Greek Orthodox | 1 | Hellenic College-Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology (190 students) |
| Interdenominational | 20 | Palm Beach Atlantic University-West Palm Beach (3,226 students) |
| Jewish | 21 | United Talmudical Seminary (1,626 students) |
| Latter Day Saints (Mormon Church) | 4 | Brigham Young University (34,244 students) |
| Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod | 12 | Concordia University-Wisconsin (6,549 students) |
| Lutheran Church in America | 3 | Valparaiso University (3,975 students) |
| Mennonite Brethren Church | 3 | Fresno Pacific University (2,436 students) |
| Mennonite Church | 5 | Eastern Mennonite University (1,387 students) |
| Missionary Church Inc | 1 | Bethel College (2,075 students) |
| Moravian Church | 2 | Moravian College and Moravian Theological Seminary (2,040 students) |
| Multiple Protestant Denomination | 5 | Fuller Theological Seminary in California (2,957 students) |
| North American Baptist | 1 | Sioux Falls Seminary (117 students) |
| Other Protestant | 18 | Bob Jones University (4,141 students) |
| Other Religion | 8 | Manor College (958 students) |
| Pentecostal Holiness Church | 2 | Emmanuel College (697 students) |
| Presbyterian Church (USA) | 57 | University of Tulsa (4,192 students) |
| Protestant Episcopal | 8 | Sewanee-The University of the South (1,562 students) |
| Reformed Church in America | 4 | Hope College (3,238 students) |
| Reformed Presbyterian Church | 2 | Geneva College (1,951 students) |
| Roman Catholic | 210 | DePaul University (24,352 students) |
| Seventh Day Adventists | 13 | Loma Linda University (4,040 students) |
| Southern Baptist | 25 | Wayland Baptist University (6,031 students) |
| The Presbyterian Church in America | 2 | Covenant College (1,343 students) |
| Undenominational | 14 | Azusa Pacific University (8,548 students) |
| United Brethren Church | 1 | Huntington University (1,230 students) |
| United Church of Christ | 19 | Elon University (5,628 students) |
| United Methodist | 94 | Duke University (14,060 students) |
| Wesleyan | 5 | Southern Wesleyan University (2,391 students) |
| Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod | 2 | Martin Luther College (842 students) |
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