Do college-educated people become liberal or conservative?

When it comes to moral and religious issues, does a college education create open-minded and tolerant citizens, or citizens who are aligned with their often-liberal college professors?

In politics, do Americans follow their internal moral compass, or are they highly influenced by academics and popular culture?

Those questions are prompted by a recent Intercollegiate Studies Institute survey titled "The Shaping of the American Mind." The report says college graduates likely favor same-sex marriage and abortion on demand, and are less likely to favor prayer in public schools or believe the Bible is the word of God.

While those findings won't surprise anyone attuned to the nation's political trends, the reason "why" does say a lot about independent thinking in American culture.

The ISI's survey of 2,508 U.S. adults shows that graduating from college "does not significantly impact a person's views on economic issues," nor does it significantly influence a person's "civic knowledge" — their understanding of American history, government or foreign affairs.

But it does conclude that a college degree tends to result in a more liberal political outlook. Greater "civic knowledge," however, tends to result in a more conservative political stance and influences thinking on several hot-button topics.

Elaine Englehardt, distinguished professor of ethics at Utah Valley University, has taught thousands of students about the wide continuum of thought on moral issues.

Because Utah Valley is one of the most highly conservative areas of the country, she said, "Many of our students come to the university with a very strong political point of view. We ask them to read a variety of sources on political topics like business ethics, abortion, war and nuclear war and to understand that there are numerous points of view."

She said education has long threatened a sector of the population, noting "Socrates died for that," after Greek rulers decided he was corrupting the youth of Athens by teaching them theories that didn't align with prevailing beliefs.

At UVU, "we don't encourage them to change their point of view, just to be well-educated on the issues. When someone asks a student their view on abortion, for instance, the student should be able to say more than 'I'm against it just because.' They should be able to give a reasonable argument that would defend their point of view." That's the essence of education, she said.