![]() ![]() Moreover, having children does not appear to affect religious involvement. They also strongly disagree with the majority of religious Americans, who believe in the importance of raising children in a religious faith. Disaffiliated Americans express significant skepticism about the societal benefits of religion, even more than those who have never identified with a religious tradition. First, the age at which Americans choose to give up their families’ religion-most well before they turn 18-suggests that they have not established a deeply rooted commitment to a set of religious beliefs and practices. There is little evidence to suggest that Americans who have disaffiliated will ever return. Without robust religious experiences to draw on, Americans feel less connected to the traditions and beliefs of their parents’ faith. If someone had robust religious experiences growing up, they are likely to maintain those beliefs and practices into adulthood. For as long as we have been able to measure religious commitments, childhood religious experiences have strongly predicted adult religiosity. We have long known the importance of formative religious experiences in setting the trajectory of faith commitments throughout life. Many childhood religious activities that were once common, such as saying grace, have become more of the exception than the norm. The parents of millennials and Generation Z did less to encourage regular participation in formal worship services and model religious behaviors in their children than had previous generations. Young adults today have had entirely different religious and social experiences than previous generations did. But new evidence paints a much more complicated picture than the traditional narrative of generationally driven disaffiliation. The story of religious change in America, especially religious disaffiliation, is often cast as the result of independent decisions made by a rising generation living by a different set of values. In addition, the author would like to thank Beatrice Lee, Dana Popky, and Grace Burns for their research assistance and support with the design of the report figures Sarah Burns and Josh Delk for their strategic insights and communications support Abigail Guidera for her detailed oversight and administrative assistance Sarah Bowe for her careful and efficient editing and Danielle Curran for her design and aesthetic expertise. Knight Foundation for its generous support of the American National Family Life Survey. The Survey Center on American Life of the American Enterprise Institute is grateful to the John S. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |