Breaking With an Anticollege Tradition: Latinx Pentecostal Students and College Choice

The Pentecostal movement continues to expand throughout Latinx communities. Pentecostalism has traditionally held a hostile attitude toward college education and secular academic institutions. Conversely, Latinx churches have had a positive influence on academic success. This interpretive phenomenological study extends the College-conocimiento framework to consider the religious identities of Latinx students as grappling with other intersectionalities when making college decisions. In doing so, we provide voice to minoritized students forging college pathways associated with the unique subculture of Latinx Pentecostalism. By recognizing religious identity and detailing religious spaces as profound vehicles for cultural, spiritual, and socioemotional support, a window of understanding is provided as to how minoritized students with a high level of religiosity make college decisions.