By Lynn A. Gladieux, published in "Central Penn Parent Magazine," March 2011.
A teenager’s life is fraught with hurdle and challenges. From struggles with peers to worries about acceptance and self-esteem, the teenage years can be the most complicated and difficult period in a young person’s life. Recent research suggests, however, that teens may be finding acceptance through their faith.
The Study and the Stats
According to a study conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, religion may be an important influence in the lives of many teens. The study, entitled the “National Study of Youth and Religions,” has concluded that religion matters to teens and that the majority believe in God, even if their religious knowledge is shallow and they have a difficult time expressing how faith impacts their lives.
The four-year effort was conducted by 133 researchers and consultants led by sociologist Christian Smith. Smith reports the full results in the new book entitled Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers (Oxford University Press), co-written with doctoral student Melinda Lundquist Denton.
The project involved a telephone survey of 3,370 randomly selected English- and Spanish-speaking Americans, ages 13-17, followed by face-to-face interviews with 267 of the respondents in 45 states.
The study found that although most teens are unable to fully articulate the role faith plays in their lives, highly religious teens are doing much better than their non-religious peers in emotional health, academic success, community involvement, concern for others, trust of adults and avoidance of risky behavior. Teens practicing their faith were found to be conventional in their belief system and were willingly attending weekly church services.
Why and How Teens Respond to Religion
Smith, an Episcopal layman and father of three, said in an interview that religion gives teens structure and provides them with moral framework and boundaries. “Instead of sleeping in, he said, “they get up and go to church on Sunday morning. And there are all sorts of other benefits from simply being connected to a religious organization that empirically make a difference. Highly religious American teens are happier and healthier. They are doing better in school, they have more hopeful futures, they get along with their parents better. Name a social outcome you care about, and the highly religious kids are doing better.”
The study bore out some other interesting, if not surprising, findings. For example, although America is becoming a more ethnically diverse nation, at least 80 percent of teens still identify themselves as Protestant, Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Mormon, or Jewish. Most teens adhere to their parent’s faith, with the most devout teens holding on to more traditional sexual and other values than their non-religious counterparts.
Those most engaged in practicing their faith were Mormon youth, followed in order by evangelical Protestants, black Protestants, mainline Protestants, Catholics and Jews. But in spite of having a strong affinity with their faith, the study also showed many teens lacked in religious knowledge, and most seemed hard-pressed to define their belief system and the difference it made in the lives of others.
This comes as no surprise to Rick Rhoads, Professor of Student Ministry at Lancaster Bible College. Rhoads says this generation of teens may be more open-minded than their predecessors, and willing to take more risks with their faith.
There’s been a real radical shift in the last 10 to 15 years of how we approach teaching doctrine and theologies,” Rhoads says. “While before we were really getting hard-core into the Bible almost – dare I say – to a degree where it was lopsided. Now it is more of a ‘How is it lived out in your life?’ kind of faith. It’s lopsided in the other way.”
“I find, especially with the students in Central Pennsylvania, that there’s almost no knowledge of scripture and doctrine, and it’s all experience-based. So, if you ask them if they’ve cared for a homeless person in the last month, they have. But if you ask them if they’ve ever read the Book of Amos, they are like, ‘What?’”
Smith thinks lack of exposure is to blame. “You learn a second language by listening to others who speak it well and having a chance to practice it yourself. I don’t know how much teens are hearing other people speak the language well, and it really struck us in our research that very few teens are getting a chance to practice talking about their faith. We were dumbfounded by the number of teens who told us we were the first adults who had asked them what they believed. One said: ‘I do not know. No one has ever asked me that before.’”
Parents Have More Influence than They Realize
Yet the evidence clearly suggests that the single most important social influence on the religious and spiritual lives of adolescents is their parents, something that Smith admits was somewhat of a surprise. “This is one of the things that hit us hard, that parents still have an enormous influence on their kids’ lives, even though I’m sure they find it very hard for them to believe at times. Adolescents are not routinely coming to their parents and saying ‘Thanks so much for steering me in the right direction. I really appreciate it. I want you to know that you are a big influence.’ They don’t say it, but it’s still a fact.
Parent, Smith says, have a lot more influence, and therefore responsibility, than they realize. Although teenagers will never admit that they look to their parents for guidance, most do. And even though some teens may seem like alien creatures at times, Smith encourages parents to remember they’re people like everyone else. “I think what’s really needed is to see the commonalities, to make connections, and to see what youth and adults have in common.”
Major Findings of the Study:
- Highly religious teens are doing much better than their non-religious counterparts in emotional health, academic success, community involvement, concern for others, trust of adults and avoidance of risky behavior.
- Teens who practice their faith were more conventional in their belief system and willingly attended church services.
- Most teens adhere to their parents’ faith.
- Those most engaged in practicing their faith were Mormon youth, followed in order by evangelical Protestants, black Protestants, mainline Protestants, Catholics and Jews.
- 82 percent of teens were affiliated with a local congregation.
- 80 percent had few or no doubts about their beliefs in the past year.
- 71 percent felt “extremely,” “very” or “somewhat” close to God.
- 65 percent prayed alone a few times a week or more.
- 61 percent “definitely” believed in divine miracles from God.
- 52 percent said they attended worship two to three times a month or more.
