Engaging Disagreement Survey Results
This month, CACE sent a survey to Wheaton’s student body on the topic of “Engaging Disagreement.” The survey was designed to gauge how Wheaton students interact with those of different stances amidst an especially polarizing season in American society.
When asked to what extent they interact with those who disagree with them whether politically or theologically, 26% of those surveyed responded “quite a bit”; 55% responded “somewhat”; 17% answered “not much”; 2% said “not at all.”
To the multiple choice question “What disposition should be most prominent for Christians amid disagreement?”, 52% of respondents selected “Be respectful” while 38% selected “Tell the truth.” The remaining 10% of those surveyed variously answered: “avoid conflict”; “loving the other party as Christ does”; “prioritize love & individual friendships”; and “attentive listening.” Similarly, in response to the question, “Which is the most important characteristic amid disagreement?”, students mainly answered “love” (47%), “kindness” (18%), “truthfulness” (18%), and “personal integrity” (16%).
A sizable majority of students surveyed (71%) answered that their Christian faith is the primary influence in how they engage disagreement. The remaining body of those surveyed said that their faith is either “one influence among others” (28%) or does not impact their engagement with others at all (1%). When asked what factors influence them besides their faith, students cited personal experiences (37%), family background (29%), cultural commitments (20%), or political commitments (13%). Most students (60%) answered that they were very aware of how these other factors influenced their engagement with others.
When asked, “What approach by others has allowed you understand their perspective better?”, 26% of students cited their interlocutor’s active listening, 18% answered that the other person “asked lots of questions,” 18% cited the other person’s tone of voice and non-verbal expressions, 14% answered “they stated my position truthfully,” and others cited persuasive argumentation or friendliness (11% each).
Students also gave reasons for why they might feel disinclined to engage disagreement: conflict avoidance (23%), the potential for offending someone (18%), the effects of personal anger and frustration that arise from the engagement (14%), lack of confidence in stating one’s position effectively (14%), and fear (10%) all made appearances among the responses.
In the end, most students hold a positive estimation of their ability to engage disagreement, with 25% answering that they do so “very well,” and 53% answering that they do so “somewhat well.”
This data set forms an interesting compliment to the January survey sent out by CACE—the results of which were published in last month’s ejournal—asking Wheaties about their reactions to the Trump administration’s flurry of executive orders. There, though all respondents cited their Christian faith as a major influence in their evaluation of the new administration, students disagreed on the conclusions to which their faith led them, as well as how to view others who disagreed with them. As the Wheaton student populace continues to hold contrasting opinions on how to respond to the current trajectory of American politics, its ability to engage disagreement Christianly will be essential to the flourishing of our campus community.
Steven Preston, CACE Student Fellow