One of the four key findings, in case you didn't already know, is that parental influence is still the single greatest influence on their children's faith. Here is a recap of this research written by the Fuller Youth Institute:
There is a common belief in our culture that parents wield less and less influence over their kids these days, and that those kids are increasingly abandoning the beliefs and values of their families of origin. It is not true. It probably never has been. What is true, according to Bengtson’s study, is that young adults today are just as likely to share their parents’ faith as they were in 1970. This is true whether you’re looking at religious affiliation (What religion are you?), religious intensity (How religious are you?), religious participation (How often do you attend?), Biblical literalism (What’s your view of the Bible?), or civic religiosity (How important should religion be in public life?). Across all these markers, parental influence is just as high as it was a generation ago.
In other words, parents continue to be the single greatest influence on their children’s faith. (A quick aside: Grandparents, interestingly, are a close second. The study found that grandparents, especially grandfathers, who are highly religious were more likely to have grand kids who were also highly religious. It turns out that grandparents might be an underutilized asset in many churches and youth groups, not to mention families themselves.
The bottom line: Parents matter. They matter a lot.
Questions to Consider:
1. Take a look at the faith that you're passing on. What practices and/or beliefs do you hope your kids will inherit from you?
2. How do your children see your faith naturally and consistently displayed in your own life?
3. Where could you be more intentional about passing faith on?
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