Contrary to perception, study finds today’s youth just as religious as their parents

By Henry Zhu

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Though today’s teens are generally perceived as less religious than previous generations, junior Heather Cunningham said she believes herself to be just as religious as her parents.

“Religion is really important in our family, and I feel like I am just as strong in my faith as my parents are,” Heather said.

According to a recent report by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Cunningham is part of a growing number of teens who follow the religious beliefs and practices of their parents. The study noted that, though a quarter of all youth describe themselves as irreligious and few consider religion as “very important” in their lives, those who are religious have very similar beliefs to their parents.

Though the Cunningham family is not affiliated with a particular denomination according to Heather, she said her family has always been Christian as far as she can remember and attends church on a regular basis. Heather said she feels there are few religious differences between generations in her family.

“My parents and I are pretty much identical in what we believe,” Heather said. “Since they were the ones who raised me in my faith and we do religious things as a family, we all believe in the same things concerning doctrine and everything. They know a lot more about the Bible and are more solid in their beliefs, but we all consider our religion to be a central part of our lives.”

Heather’s mother Nancy Cunningham said the family’s beliefs are largely similar, with any differences because of age rather than doctrinal agreements.

“We believe in the same God and we go to the same church, so we have the same views on a lot of spiritual matters,” Mrs. Cunningham said. “We discuss our faith from time to time and try to answer any question the kids might have, so I would say we as a family are very similar. Of course, there may be differences because the kids are at different stages in their faith than my husband and I are, but we are very open about discussing any differences in our family. I would say any differences are probably more knowledge-based than anything else.”

Heather’s youth pastor Josh Reidy said he has found many of the teens and pre-teens he has worked with are as religious as their parents, if only in a different manner.

“I would disagree with the common perception that youth today are less religious than those before them, it’s more that they might look at things from a different perspective,” Reidy said. “A lot of students now don’t necessarily want to believe in a religion just because their parents do, they want to explore their faith and learn about it rather than blindly committing. Students today are asking more questions than previous generations, and they’re not afraid to ask the really tough questions.”

For Mrs. Cunningham, she said her children are just as religious as her husband was in his youth and more religious than she was at that age. The differences, she said, were largely because of each generation’s distinct upbringing.

“In comparison to me at their age, I would say my children are definitely more religious,” Mrs. Cunningham said. “I wasn’t really raised to go to church and didn’t come into my faith until after my marriage, whereas the kids have grown up with God their entire lives. Compared to my husband, who grew up going to church, I would say that they are about the same as when he was young.”

The situation of the Cunningham family, according to the Pew study, has become increasingly common in recent years. Findings from the study show that similar numbers of teens believe in the existence of a god and read religious texts as their parents did at a similar age. On other issues, like life after death and the existence of heaven and hell, youth today demonstrate similar if not higher levels of faith than previous generations.

In contrast to Heather’s situation and the study’s findings, sophomore Leslie Noe said she identifies herself as atheist and believes in no God or anything supernatural.

“I don’t believe in any kind of god or supernatural or afterlife as an atheist,” Noe said. “I used to believe in some form of a God, but over time I just rationally excluded the supernatural and felt it was too much of a stretch for me to commit to.”

Though she said she is an atheist, Noe said her parents do believe in some form of a god. However, any religious differences between Noe and her parents were resolved a long time ago and religion (or the lack thereof) has never played a large role in the life of the Noe family.

“When I first told my parents about my beliefs, they kind of just blew it off and thought I was just going through a phase,” Noe said. “We eventually talked about it and, when I told them that it was really what I believed in they learned to understand my beliefs and were okay with it. They just try to help me be more open-minded to the religious point of view, and we have a really close relationship despite any religious differences. I wished I could believe in something because it would be a lot more optimistic, but it’s too far out there for me to comprehend or understand.”

As for Heather, she said her faith is one of the most important parts of her life.

“My religion is really the foundation of my life and everything else is based off of that,” Heather said. “It’s my faith that keeps me going on a daily basis despite any challenges I face.”