Children raised in homes where religion is regularly discussed are more than twice as likely to attend church and to say faith is very important in adulthood, according to a new study of more than 60,000 Americans.
The report, released this week by Communio and the Institute for Family Studies, found that parental religious practice and family relationships strongly predict whether faith is retained into adulthood.
Among key findings, 41% of children whose parents both attended church weekly went on to attend weekly as adults. That compared with 29% of children with only one parent attending church regularly.
The study also found that children reporting strong relationships with both parents were 97% more likely to believe in God as adults than those with weaker parental relationships.
The report, titled Passing the Torch: How Faith Moves Across Generations, draws on four national datasets, including the Global Flourishing Study and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. Researchers said it is among the most comprehensive analyses to date of how faith is transmitted across generations.
“Faith isn’t something kids are going to get from the culture,” said Jesse Smith, a co-author of the report and assistant professor at The Ohio State University. “Our study shows that parents are the most important figures for their children's spiritual formation. They're the key role models, teachers, and tone-setters.”
Researchers found that regular faith conversations at home, active parental involvement, strong marriages and close parent-child relationships were among the strongest predictors of continued religious practice.
The report also highlighted the particular influence of fathers. Children who experienced faith discussions involving their fathers were more likely to continue those conversations with their own children in adulthood.
Parents who reported high marital satisfaction also reported more frequent faith-related discussions with their children compared with those who reported lower satisfaction.
J.P. De Gance, founder and CEO of Communio, said the findings underscore the importance of the family environment in shaping religious belief. “The married home is the most impactful small group,” he said.
The report includes 10 recommendations for parents and church leaders, including encouraging parental role modeling, strengthening marriages, and making faith a regular topic of family life. It also urges churches to expand youth ministry efforts, involve parents more directly in religious education and engage fathers more intentionally.
Communio is a nonprofit ministry that equips churches to strengthen relationships, marriages and family life. The Institute for Family Studies is a nonprofit organization focused on research and public education related to marriage and family.
