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When it comes to raising the praise, black college students practice religion more than students of other races, according to a new study from the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California.

One-third of the black students contacted for the survey said that spiritual growth and following religious teaching are essential, compared with less than one-fifth of the white and Asian students polled. Black students also reported higher levels of church attendance, prayer and belief in God.

"It's just something that is a part of us," said Candice Howlet, a junior pre-nursing student at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

When she arrived in Birmingham from Town Creek, Alabama a few years ago, campus friends told her about New Hope Baptist Church located about five minutes from campus. She's been going there since 2003 on Sundays for worship and to Tuesday night Bible study.

"When I don't go, I just don't feel right," she told BlackAmericaWeb.com.

Of the 112,232 students surveyed, 76 percent were White, eight percent African-American, seven percent Asian-American, five percent Latino, two percent American Indian/Alaska Native, and one percent Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.

Blacks registered as the highest scorers on seven of the 12 overall measures of spirituality and religiousness studied -- religious commitment, compassionate self-concept, spiritual quest, equanimity, religious engagement, ethic of caring, and religious/social conservatism -- compared to all the other races.

Whites had the lowest scores on five of the 12 scales: ethic of caring, ecumenical worldview, charitable involvement, spiritual quest, and compassionate self-concept.

Latinos were the least likely overall to demonstrate high levels of religious engagement and, along with Asian-Americans, religious/social conservatism. Asian-Americans were the highest scorers on religious skepticism and the lowest on spirituality, equanimity, and religious commitment.

The study also found that:

95 percent of blacks believe in God, compared to
84 percent of Latinos, 78 percent of whites, and 65 percent of Asian-Americans.
91 percent of blacks pray, compared to 75 percent of Latinos and 67 percent of whites.
53 percent of blacks attend religious services frequently, compared to 42 percent of whites, 39 percent of Latinos and 35 percent of Asian-Americans.
47 percent of blacks have a high level of religious commitment, compared to 25 percent of whites and 22 percent of Asian-Americans.
32 percent of blacks have high levels of religious engagement, compared to 16 percent of Latinos and 19 percent of whites.

Phil Bowling-Dyer, director of Black Campus Ministries with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA, says he is not surprised by the findings of the study.

"Religion is something within the black tradition that has been passed down through generations," Bowling-Dyer told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Once students are away from home and on campus, they continue."

The Intervarsity Fellowships works to encourage spirituality among students across the country. Bowling-Dyer said at least 3,500 students from across the country are part of the fellowship.

Some students participate in formal religious activities, while others do it on their own. "There is more freedom to talk about spirituality," said Bowling-Dyer. "Students often get together and start their own Bible studies."

College gospel choirs are another avenue for religious and spiritual expression, he said.

"I think the college gospel choir is a hidden tool God uses to help take care of young college students," he said. "Sometimes you will find a gospel choir on a campus where there are only a few black students, like the University of Wisconsin. Still, they come together and bond through the choir. And there are some gospel choirs with non-black members."

The bonds formed in choirs and Bible study can sustain and encourage students as they matriculate, he said.

Victoria Williams, a sophomore majoring in Journalism at the University of Oklahoma, said the nearest predominately black churches to that campus in Norman, Oklahoma are about 30 miles away.

"Still, students find a way to get there. They carpool," she told BlackAmericaWeb.com. "Even if students have been partying the night before, they often will get up on Sunday morning for church.

"When you've grown up around it -- your dad's a deacon, your mom's on the usher board -- it's just a part of you," she said.