Religious Influence of Parents on Children

Parents’ religious practice benefits not only their children’s faith but also their well-being. This has become increasingly apparent over the last decade as research on religious practice has increased.  David Briggs of the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) illustrates five benefits of religious belief and worship on parents and teens:

The family that worships together supports one another: Youth who go to church with their parents appear more likely to experience higher psychological well-being throughout adolescence. The study analyzed data on 5,739 young people from the 1992–2006 waves of the Child and Young Adult Sample of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

Building social skills and parental trust: Adolescents who converted from no religion to affiliating with a religious group were more likely to have higher social skills than those who left their faith. The study of 209 adolescents and their primary caregivers also found youth who held on to their faith scored higher than those who gave it up on measures of parental communication and trust as well as social competence.

Developing healthy relationships offline: College students who reported high levels of religious belief and practice were more likely to form strong relationships with peers and less likely to search online for porn or watch pornographic movies.

Finding ecstasy in all the right places: Young men who believe in God and practice their faith were less likely to abuse alcohol, smoke or take illegal drugs, according to a study analyzing data from a sample of 5,387 Swiss men approximately 20 years old. Being affiliated with a religion also predicted healthier choices in most cases.

Developing compassion amid privilege: Even young people fortunate enough to have all their material needs met can find resources to overcome the psychological malaise often associated with affluent teens, according to a new study.

Well-off adolescents who were highly religious and spiritual at age 18 were likely to hold on to a strong spiritual and religious life at age 24. This in turn was associated with fewer signs of depression, higher life satisfaction and greater compassion for others.

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