Stated differently, the bad news is that nearly all human responsibility for the religious trajectories of children’s lives falls on their parents’ shoulders. The good news is that, among all possible influences, parents exert far and away the greatest influence on their children’s religious outcomes. Nonetheless, my years studying intergenerational family religious dynamics have produced clear findings, which suggest implications for parents interested in the religious formation of their children. As a sociologist, I sought not to produce a “how-to” book, but to understand how American religious parents approach the task of handing on religion to their children. That can be heartbreaking, and the worry that it may happen with one’s own children can be a burden.Īfter spending two decades studying the religious and spiritual lives of American adolescents and emerging adults, I turned to studying religious parenting. Every religious parent has heard stories about children of faithful parents who grow up to neglect or reject religion. They know that their culture valorizes autonomous self-definition, expects some degree of youth rebellion, and exerts forces they view as undermining religion. Most religious parents know that the number of non-religious Americans has grown in recent decades, especially among youth. The desire to pass on the faith to offspring in a world that does not seem to support that goal can put great pressure on religious parents not to “fail.” This is especially true of parents who are religiously traditionalist or conservative. The more religiously committed parents are, the more they want their children to grow up believing and practicing the family’s religion.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |