In this survey study, we examined the effect of Christian music with lyrics versus secular music with lyrics (written as “Christian music” and “secular music”) on the moral competence and spiritual well-being of college students. These students were taken from the population of Cedarville University and were aged 18-25. We hypothesized that Christians who listen to mostly Christian music have higher moral competence and spiritual well-being than those who listen to primarily secular music. Tested through an online survey using the Moral Competence Test (MCT) and the Spiritual Well-Being Scale (SWB), this study found no gender differences, therefore the subsequent analyses combined both genders.

A Pearson Correlation test revealed significant positive correlations between the percentage of time participants listened to Christian music, religious well-being, and existential well-being (p < 0.05). However, the correlation between percentage of time spent listening to Christian music and the moral competence score was negative (p < 0.05). The two groups were defined as those who reported listening to Christian music 50% of the time or less (“less” group), and those who reported listening to Christian music 60% or more (“more” group). An independent-samples t-test showed a significant difference between the religious well-being of the two groups, t (306) = -3.265, p = 0.001 (less group n=199, M=51.75, SD=8.42; more group n=109, M=54.42, SD=5.86). A significant difference was found between the existential well-being of the groups, t (304) = -2.641, p = 0.009 (less group n=202, M=46.47, SD=7.21; more group n=104, M=48.63, SD=6.56). There was no significant difference on the two groups’ moral competence.

Overall the results indicated that students at Cedarville University who listened to secular music and who listened to Christian music were significantly different on their spiritual well-being and moral competence. Students who listened to Christian music have higher spiritual well-being scores than those who listened to secular music, but both group were in an average range for spiritual well-being. Both groups scored exceptionally high on their moral competence.