REVIVALISM AND YOUTH RELIGIOUS MOVEMENTS: A STUDY OF CAMPUS FELLOWSHIPS IN AKWA IBOM STATE UNIVERSITY

Abstract

This study examines campus Christian fellowships as contemporary youth religious movements within a Nigerian public university, with specific attention to revivalism as an experiential and sociological practice rather than a purely theological construct. Using a convergent parallel mixed-methods design, quantitative survey data (n = 208) and qualitative interview data (n = 20) were collected concurrently from undergraduate students and fellowship participants at Akwa Ibom State University. Quantitative measures assessed religiosity and spiritual well-being, perceived social support, perceived academic impact, and perceptions of commercialization, while qualitative interviews explored meanings of belonging, revivalist encounters, leadership dynamics, and institutional negotiations. Findings indicate a moderate positive relationship between religiosity/spiritual well-being and social support (r = .524, p < .001), suggesting that fellowship participation functions as an important social identity and support structure, consistent with social identity theory. A weak but statistically significant positive association was observed between religiosity and perceived academic impact (r = .213, p < .01), which is interpreted cautiously as indicating limited academic influence rather than strong academic enhancement. Perceived commercialization showed a small negative association with academic impact (r = –.184, p < .05), highlighting emerging tensions linked to fundraising practices within campus religious spaces. Qualitative themes further reveal that revivalist experiences, emotional worship, and communal belonging constitute the primary attraction of fellowships, while concerns over commercialization and academic trade-offs reflect broader patterns described in religious economy and youth religiosity literature. Overall, the study demonstrates that campus fellowships operate simultaneously as spiritual, social, and institutional actors, offering moral refuge and identity formation while negotiating legitimacy, resource demands, and academic pressures within the university environment.