TRANSFERRING BELIEFS
“I’m going to look at what they do and decide what I need to do, and
what is right.” Meghan Johnson/Age 16
“For once in your life, answer me!”
Sixteen-year-old Meghan Johnson stands on-stage and delivers
her lines.
“Do you pray for me?”
Meghan has the lead role in her church play. After rehearsal,
she and her family attend a congregational dinner at the church. It’s
a Wednesday night tradition for them.
For Meghan, religious life comes almost naturally. Meghan says
it’s the way her parents raised her.
“That has made it a lot easier for me to find what I believe
in,” she says.” And find what my faith should be and how I should live
my life.”
Earnest Johnson, Meghan’s father says, ” We talk about religion
quite a bit. And we pray together every day.”
According to a study at Purdue University, regardless of religious
affiliation, children are more likely to adopt their parents’ beliefs
when they have a clear understanding of what their parents believe in.
And what their parents expect of them.
Rabbi Andrew Vogel says kids need parents to set boundaries.
“Even though they may explicitly want to be pushing away the
boundaries,” Vogel says,” my experience is that teenagers very much want
to know ‘what’s the perimeter? What’s allowed? What do I believe in?'”
So how do parents communicate their religious beliefs to their
children?
The Purdue study found that it has to be through a combination
of words, actions and activities. Activities that parents and children
do together. For Meghan Johnson, growing up has been a combination of
all those things. “When I was little, they’d teach me,” Meghan says. “But
then as I got older we started doing things together. And now, it’s more
like their actions. ‘Cause they know that, being a teenager, I’m going
to look at what they do and decide what I need to do, and what is right.”
Top 5 U.S. Religious Affiliations and Their Membership
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Denomination
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Adherents Number
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Catholic (Latin)
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52,900,126
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Southern Baptist
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18,940,682
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| United Methodist |
11,091,032
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| Black Baptist |
8,737,667
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| Jewish |
5,982,529
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Socialization of Religious Beliefs Study
A study conducted through Purdue University addresses
parental influence of religious beliefs on children. The purpose
of this study was to 1) better understand factors that influence
young adults’ desire to embrace their parents’ belief, including
developing accurate perceptions of their parents’ beliefs and 2)
to enhance knowledge about the socialization of religious beliefs.
Study Findings:
- The relation between young adults’ beliefs and their parents’
beliefs are mediated by the young adults’ perceptions of their
parents’ belief.
- Parents’ socialization effects are related to the accuracy
of their young adult offspring’s perception of their beliefs.
Source: Socialization of Religious Beliefs, Authors:
Lynn Okagaki, Kimberly A. Hammond, and Laura Seamon
My Beliefs – Your Beliefs
Factors that affect children’s desire to accept their
parents’ beliefs:
- The quality of the parent-child relationship
- The young adults’ perceptions of the importance of religious
beliefs to their parents
- The degree of mother-father agreement
Source: Socialization of Religious Beliefs, Authors:
Lynn Okagaki, Kimberly A. Hammond, and Laura Seamon
How Important Is Religion?
A national survey conducted in the late 1980’s shows:
- 54% of Americans reported that religion was “very important”
to them
- 32% indicated that religion was “fairly important”
- 14% of Americans say that religion was “not very important”
to them
Source: Socialization of Religious Beliefs, Authors:
Lynn Okagaki, Kimberly A. Hammond, and Laura Seamon
Religious Involvement of High School Seniors
The proportion of high school seniors
who attend religious services every week showed little change between
1976 and 1980, but then declined from 43% in 1980 to 32% in 1987.
There was little change after that. This pattern was mirrored to
some extent by the changes in the proportion who felt that religion
was “very important” or “pretty important” in their lives, which
dropped from 65% in 1980 to 57% in 1987. The percentage was 58%
in 1994.
Source: National Center for Education
Statistics
Resources
Direct all correspondence to:
Lynn Okagaki Department of Child Development & Family Studies.
Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-1267 okagaki@purdue.edu
National Center
for Education Statistics
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