Christian faith runs deep among Cal Poly students. Some let it seep into their political beliefs

The stress was intolerable.

As the thought of college, relationships and jobs surfaced all at once in his mind, Andrew Jones was overwhelmed behind the driver’s wheel one night.

He turned off the radio in his car, and began to speak to the one person he could rely on most in his life: God. 

As the mechanical engineering graduate student kept driving, he prayed to God for guidance. His stress eventually subsided, and he began to understand that his faith in this all-knowing figure was bigger than himself.

This trust in God is felt among many Christian students like Jones at Cal Poly, where faith tends to dictate all sectors of their lives, including politics. 

The university has 25 registered student faith groups on campus, 8 of which are explicitly affiliated with Christianity, according to Cal Poly Now, a website that houses all student clubs at Cal Poly.

Cal Poly’s Turning Point USA, or TPUSA, chapter is a group registered under religious and political affiliation, according to Cal Poly Now. Jones serves as the vice president of the conservative student group on campus that saw a small growth in membership last fall following the assassination of its Christian founder, Charlie Kirk.

The chapter hosted a Kirk-style Prove Me Wrong event on May 6, where speaker Shane Winnings, a political and religious influencer, used the Bible and Christian rhetoric to justify many of his debates around politics with Cal Poly students who came up to the microphone.

Recent survey data from Pew Research shows the Christian faith has become more closely associated with right-wing political beliefs, and some political groups at Cal Poly have prioritized Christian representation this year.   

Jones, a conservative Christian who helped organize the TPUSA event, said many members of TPUSA are also Christians themselves, but while the group is political in essence, it’s a space that brings together both policy and faith.

It is a sentiment an increasing number of undergraduates have shown over the last decade, according to David Albertson, professor of religion and philosophy at the University of Southern California. The notion of “Christian nationalism,” Albertson said, goes back to Jimmy Carter’s Christian, evangelical background as a conservative in office. 

President Donald Trump has furthered this alliance between Christianity and politics at a recent prayer event hosted by the White House to celebrate the country’s 250th anniversary, where thousands of people were in attendance. Critics said the event was an effort to hijack American history with Christian nationalism, according to AP News.

Finding faith in God at college 

At dusk, students in San Luis Obispo can be seen walking alone or in groups to the corner of Osos and Pismo Street most Tuesdays during the academic year. Many bring a Bible, along with a notebook and pen.

They are greeted by the smiling faces of other college-aged students at the steps of the local Christian church. Each person is handed a flyer upon entry that reads “Grace College,” which includes talking points for the sermon ahead.

Grace Central Coast, a Christian church located downtown, hosts these “Grace College” nights on Tuesdays for students attending Cal Poly and Cuesta College. It’s among the several churches found in corners of certain neighborhoods of the college town, and students like Jones attend the service to discuss and study the gospel with College and Young Adults Pastor Darren Nelson.

While Grace Central Coast is rooted in the gospel, the church does not shy away from talking about politics and other uncomfortable subjects, according to Kylie Schierfle, a materials engineering junior at Cal Poly who also leads the choir at the church.

As the speakers overhead in the worship room signal the start of the sermon with music, students pour into the church pews and are greeted by others on stage with microphones and instruments. Then walks in Schieferle, who leads the group in songs of worship alongside a band.

Last fall, Kirk’s assassination was an event that started conversations around faith and politics at Grace Central Coast. On the first Sunday after Kirk’s death, Schieferle, who identifies as libertarian politically, said the church had been full of people for and against the political activist, questioning what he believed in and wanting to learn more about his faith.

“Our college pastor always hangs up front at the end for anyone that’s new, and there was a line of students waiting to ask him questions,” Schieferle said.

While there is mixed data highlighting the relationship between Gen Z and religion — as Pew Research survey data showed younger adults were less religious than older adults, and separate Gallup polling found more young men turned to religion — media coverage on religious revival has also gained traction since Kirk’s death. 

As a freshman, Schierfle discovered Grace Central Coast after what she and other girls in her Week of Welcome group at Cal Poly deemed a “church rush,” or trying out new churches in sorority terms.

Schieferle’s grandmother, a Christian and Cal Poly alumna, said she remembered Grace church when she was enrolled at the university.  

While Schieferle did not grow up in the Christian faith, she believes it offers an interesting perspective while serving on the Grace College leadership team. 

“It’s kind of rare to come across someone that wasn’t raised in the faith,” she said. “But most of the time, it comes with gentle love. It’s just loving like Jesus does, because we’re not the ones to judge.”

Students find their own political standing outside of Grace College

While religion feels involved with politics for some students, for others it isn’t that way at all. How they practice their religion typically determines what party they align with most, according to Pew Research, one of the largest organizations conducting research on a wide range of topics around the world. 

The nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization stated that 75% of Republican respondents showed a positive view of the influence of faith, as well as 45% who believed the Bible should hold more influence over the will of the people. 

For conservative Christian Aubrey Perez, neither political party has perfectly followed the Bible or what Christianity is supposed to be, although she is registered Republican when it comes time to vote. 

Perez, a mechanical engineering senior, grew up in a Christian household. The majority of her family are “hard core Republicans,” with the other side being more left-leaning. Politics was always argued over the dinner table and at special gatherings, Perez said.

When deciding where to go after high school, Perez was torn between studying at California Baptist University, a Christian-based university in Riverside, and Cal Poly. She ultimately chose the Central Coast school for its engineering college, but was unsure if she would find a Christian community here. 

“I was kind of on edge coming here because I didn’t really know about the faith-based communities around here at all,” Perez said. 

But to her surprise, Perez was able to find Grace Central Coast along with many other clubs and churches around the area centered on the Christian faith.

While she was raised to vote for the party the majority of her family aligned closest with, Perez said her time away from home and her worship for Jesus at Grace Central Coast made her step away from partisanship.

Some of Perez’s friends who attend Grace Central Coast are also part of Cal Poly’s Turning Point USA club, including Jones, the mechanical engineering graduate student, and Ryan Rundle, the president of the conservative group on campus.       

Community in Jesus Christ at Cal Poly

Rundle said his senior year of high school was when he began to learn more about his relationship to God.

He recalled passing by three separate car accidents on a road trip with friends, realizing any of those accidents could have happened to them. This moment made Rundle feel more strongly connected with his faith, he said.

“I realized I needed to be intentional with, like, the direction I was taking my life,” said Rundle, who then began studying the Bible and becoming closer with Jesus.

When Rundle stepped into the role of TPUSA president, he made it a priority to bring Christian representation into the club.

“I don’t like saying Republicanism or Conservatism is Christianity, but I do think if it is going to be seen as Christian representing, I want it to be a good representative of Christ,” Rundle said.

In the past, Rundle has also been associated with other student organizations affiliated with the Christian faith on campus, like Cru, an organization in partnership with Campus Crusade for Christ International.

Cru Central Coast has established chapters across the county, but most fall within Cal Poly’s borders, according to its website.

On April 26, nearly 200 people attended a Christian prayer and worship event hosted by multiple Cru organizations at the Chumash Auditorium in the University Union on campus, according to Josh Woo, organizer of the event and a member of one of the Cru chapters at Cal Poly.

Woo believes Christianity can also be represented in political organizations, and he said the Bible shapes his personal views on governance.

“I think those political groups can definitely reflect Christian values very well,” Woo said. “It honestly just depends on what they are, I guess arguing for, or standing for.”

Among the students who stood together to praise their lord and savior Jesus Christ at the prayer and worship event was Jones, the vice president of Turning Point USA. He stands for conservatism, but ultimately, his life is now and forever dictated by his faith in Christianity.