1. MAKING YOUR FAITH
YOUR OWN

2. CURRENT RESEARCH

3. National Study of Youth & Religion
3290 adolescents (13-17 yr old)
267 personal interviews (45 states)
3 waves of interviews ( )
Respondents in 3rd wave were yr old
What happens to religious faith during the transition from adolescent age to adulthood?

4. Church Attendance
Emerging adults (18-23 yr old) are the least religious adults in the U.S.
Emerging adults have not become less religious since 1972 (two exceptions)
Little evidence of massive secularization among America’s emerging adults in the last quarter century

5. Beliefs More than 60% identify as religious
General trend toward disaffiliation from religious tradition
Fewer than 1 in 10 attends religious service weekly

6. Beliefs
Belief in God and importance of faith declines less dramatically
Majority still believe in God, Jesus Christ, divine judgment, miracles, and life after death
Most seem positive about organized religion in the United States
“The vast majority also have positive feelings about the religious tradition in which they were personally raised.”
“At the same time, most think that too many religious people are negative, angry, and judgmental, and nearly half say that mainstream religion is irrelevant to people their age.”

7. Cultural Factors that Influence Religious Life
Disruptions
divorce, death of family member, leaving home, job loss
Distractions
school, work, play
Differentiation
independent identity

8. Cultural Factors that Influence Religious Life
Postponed Family Formation & Childbearing
Keeping Options Open
Honoring Diversity
Self-Confident Self-Sufficiency
Self-evident Morality
Partying, Hooking Up, and Cohabiting
Religion as a Resource for Stability and Recovery
Ongoing Relations with Parents

9. 48%
51%
52%
54%
40%
45%
28%
Parental Religion
Personal prayer
Importance of religious faith
Reading scriptures
Supportive religious adults
Religious experiences
No doubts about beliefs

10. 60% Parental Religion Personal prayer Importance of religious faith
Reading scriptures
Supportive religious adults
60%
Religious experiences
No doubts about beliefs

11. 84% Parental Religion Personal prayer Importance of religious faith
Reading scriptures
Supportive religious adults
Religious experiences
No doubts about beliefs

12. 7% 8% 9%
10%
16%
Parental Religion
Personal prayer
Importance of religious faith
Reading scriptures
Supportive religious adults
Religious experiences
No doubts about beliefs

13. 0.8% Parental Religion Personal prayer Importance of religious faith
Reading scriptures
Supportive religious adults
0.8%
Religious experiences
No doubts about beliefs

14. 0.4% Parental Religion Personal prayer Importance of religious faith
Reading scriptures
Supportive religious adults
Religious experiences
No doubts about beliefs

15. IDENTITY & FAITH

16. Daniel 6:10 When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem.

17. Daniel 1:8 But Daniel resolved that he would not defile himself with the king's food, or with the wine that he drank.

18. Daniel 2:17-18 Then Daniel went to his house and made the matter known to Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, his companions, and told them to seek mercy from the God of heaven…

19. 1 Peter 3:3-5 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

20. 1 Peter 3:3-5 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.

21. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…
1 Peter 5:6