Faithwire
  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • SCOTUS
  • Life
  • Religious Liberty
  • News
  • Politics
  • Faith
  • Opinion

Religious Conservatives Are Better at Passing Faith on to Their Kids. New Study Explains Why

Photo: Vince Fleming/Unsplash
Share Tweet
By Billy Hallowell
Editor

January 14, 2022

New research might bring some encouragement and inspiration to Christian parents looking to pass on biblical values to their children amid an increasingly chaotic society.

Despite the mounting secularization in culture and the generational replacement that yields less faithful cohorts as time progresses, it seems religious conservatives are among the best at passing on their faith.

Listen to today’s podcast and subscribe:

A new study titled, “Transmission of Faith in Families: The Influence of Religious Ideology” from Jesse Smith that was published last fall in “Sociology of Religion,” an academic journal, offered an in-depth exploration of the issue.

“The primary finding is that religious transmission is stronger among children of religious conservatives than for any other group, while the other groups do not differ significantly from one another,” Smith wrote in the abstract.

He continued, “These differences in transmission are largely explained by religious conservative parenting approaches, congregational involvement, and most importantly, more intensive religious socialization.”

The author further explored his findings in an article for the Institute for Family Studies, noting that the kids of religious conservatives have a 19% chance of going to weekly church services, compared to 15% for kids from liberal or moderate families.

While the differences aren’t monumental, they’re certainly notable.

Furthermore, Smith wrote that “an estimated 43% of the children of religious conservatives report no worship attendance at all in young adulthood, compared to 52% for everyone else.”

The data points don’t end there either, as kids from conservative religious families are also more likely as young adults to say faith is “extremely important” to them. One-fourth of this cohort stressed the importance of faith compared to less than a fifth of young adults in other groups.

“Children of religious conservatives are more likely to match the religiosity of their parents, and when they stray, they tend not to stray as far,” Smith noted.

Still, challenges abound. Religious conservatives might fare better than others but cultural trends are still pressing in on individuals and families of all religious and nonreligious stripes, and, in the process, recasting hearts and minds to sway away from the gospel.

National surveys show the rise of the “nones” — individuals who describe themselves as atheistic, agnostic, or who have no religious affiliation. The majority of this cohort falls in the latter category, but with such rising numbers in this camp, socializing children in the Christian faith and making it a daily part of life seems to be key.

Twenty-nine percent of Americans report having “no religion,” down from just 16% in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center. Regardless, hope still abounds, and being devout as parents is key.

Proverbs 22:6 (NIV) proclaims, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” It seems this eternal truth is now emerging in research into the matter.

Read more about Smith’s research here.

As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.

Latest

  • News

    All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’

  • News

    ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit

  • News

    ‘Thank You, God, For Saving Me’: Blac Chyna Removes ‘Demonic’ Image From Her Body After Announcing Baptism

  • Entertainment

    Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’

  • Faith

    UK Preacher Reported as Terrorist After ‘Disturbing’ ‘Misgendering’ Arrest Wins BIG After Legal Nightmare


Sponsored
Sponsored

Newsletter
Signup

Sidebar

Recent Posts

  • All-American Swimmer Blasts ESPN for Promoting Transgender Athlete in ‘Celebrating Women’s History Month’
  • ‘Dear Jesus, Please Help Them’: Meteorologist Credited With Saving Lives After Viral, On-Air Prayer to God as Deadly Tornado Hit
  • ‘Thank You, God, For Saving Me’: Blac Chyna Removes ‘Demonic’ Image From Her Body After Announcing Baptism
  • Blac Chyna Quits OnlyFans, Changes Lifestyle After Becoming Christian: ‘Let Me Let God Lead Me’
  • UK Preacher Reported as Terrorist After ‘Disturbing’ ‘Misgendering’ Arrest Wins BIG After Legal Nightmare

Archives

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016

Categories

  • Christian Persecution
  • Coronavirus
  • Culture
  • culture
  • Entertainment
  • Faith
  • Faith
  • Family
  • George Floyd
  • Go!
  • Israel
  • Life
  • Life
  • Lifestyle
  • Media
  • Men
  • Mission Haiti
  • News
  • News
  • Opinion
  • P.O.V
  • Politics
  • Politics
  • Roe
  • Sponsored
  • Sports
  • Virtue
  • Women

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Navigation

  • Watch
  • Go!
  • Podcasts
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
  • Staff
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Service

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Sign up to get our newsletter your inbox every day.

Newsletter Signup

Do you want to read
more articles like this?