Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Religious Identity Remains Constant Through High School

A new study finds many American teens maintain their religious identity through high school, even though their participation in church and other religious activities declines.

This was true of teens in all three groups studied -- from Asian, Latin American and European backgrounds -- according to University of California, Los Angeles psychiatry professor Andrew J. Fuligni and colleagues.

The study of 500 teens in the Los Angeles area also found that those from Latin American and Asian backgrounds had higher levels of religious identity, and teens from Latin American backgrounds had higher rates of religious participation.

Changes in religious identity that did occur among some teens were associated with changes in ethnic and family identities. This suggests important links in the development of these social identities during the teen years, the researchers said.

The study was released online recently in advance of publication in an upcoming print issue of the journal Child Development.

"Greater change likely occurs at prominent points of transition, such as the upcoming transition to adulthood," Fuligni said in a UCLA news release. "Moving away from home, encountering new work environments, attending college, developing long-term romantic relationships -- those markers in our lives -- are all features of the period after high school that may cause more significant change in religious identity."

Source: U.S. News & World Report
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/boomer-health/articles/2011/07/07/religious-identity-remains-constant-in-teen-years-study

Survey: 72% of Millennials 'More Spiritual Than Religious'

Most young adults today don't pray, don't worship and don't read the Bible, a major survey by a Christian research firm shows.

If the trends continue, "the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships," says Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources. In the group's survey of 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds, 72% say they're "really more spiritual than religious."

Among the 65% who call themselves Christian, "many are either mushy Christians or Christians in name only," Rainer says. "Most are just indifferent. The more precisely you try to measure their Christianity, the fewer you find committed to the faith."

Key findings in the phone survey, conducted in August and released today:

•65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either.

•65% rarely or never attend worship services.

•67% don't read the Bible or sacred texts.

Many are unsure Jesus is the only path to heaven: Half say yes, half no.

"We have dumbed down what it means to be part of the church so much that it means almost nothing, even to people who already say they are part of the church," Rainer says.

The findings, which document a steady drift away from church life, dovetail with a LifeWay survey of teenagers in 2007 who drop out of church and a study in February by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life, which compared the beliefs of Millennials with those of earlier generations of young people.

Source: USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2010-04-27-1Amillfaith27_ST_N.htm