Jesus and the Urantia Book
Blog Stories
The Wisdom of Marriage
Who Was the First Man?
"Charter for Compassion"
Contemplative Prayer
  Home Page
  Quote Of The Day
  Search the Urantia Book only
  The Urantia Book
  Jesus And The Urantia Book
  Urantia Book Video
  Urantia Book Audio
  The Gallery
  Heartwarming And Humorous Stories
  Discussion Forum
  Answers To Life's Toughest Questions
  News + Blogs
  How The Urantia Book Changed My Life
  Spiritual Studies
  Get Involved
  FAQ
  Links
  About Us
  Store
  Buscar solo en El libro de Urantia
  El Libro De Urantia
  Procure apenas no Livro de Urântia
  O Livro De Urantia
TruthBook Religious News Blog



Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Study affirms family influence on faith of young

A Christian Research Association survey has found that family is a much bigger influence on teenagers than peers, and that the militant secularism of 30 years ago has given way to a new openness to spirituality among young people.

However, The Age reports that the survey also found that most do not rank religion as important, according to the association's chief researcher, Dr Philip Hughes (pictured).

"What surprised me was the high proportion of people who just don't know. Well over a third say 'we are just unsure'. Most young people (almost three-quarters) think there's something out there, some sort of greater force," Dr Hughes said yesterday.

Many teenagers were surer when they were younger, but as they moved through high school the degree of uncertainty about belief increased.

The survey of 809 teenagers builds on a study last year of more then 3600 American teenagers, who are considerably more religious in their personal belief and church attendance.

It also finds that family is a much bigger influence on teenagers than peers. Hannah Day, a year 9 student at Strathcona Baptist Girls Grammar School, says her parents and grandparents are Christian.

"It's something I grew up with and accepted till I could understand what it was. Then I completely accepted and believed in it, and it's a big part of my life," she said.

Year 10 student Mark-Henry Decrausaz believes in a higher power but does not go to church. He thinks religious prejudice has been "wrung out" of his generation, but fears they can be left bereft when trouble strikes.

Dr Hughes agrees. "There's been a decline in clarity about belief in God," he says, and it is linked to a postmodern loss of confidence in the idea of truth. "These beliefs do affect how people live, the way they deal with crises. To the extent that there's a great deal of vagueness and uncertainty, it doesn't give people much to stand on when life is difficult."

He believes religious education needs to help the young develop a "spiritual literacy" so they can think through issues.

The survey also rejected the common assumption that young people are interested in spirituality rather than traditional religion. Spirituality ranked with riches at the bottom of what was important, with deep friendships and an exciting life at the top.

Permalink | Link to External Source Article

Monthly Archives - Previous Articles
03/01/2003 - 04/01/2003 04/01/2003 - 05/01/2003 05/01/2003 - 06/01/2003 06/01/2003 - 07/01/2003 07/01/2003 - 08/01/2003 08/01/2003 - 09/01/2003 09/01/2003 - 10/01/2003 10/01/2003 - 11/01/2003 11/01/2003 - 12/01/2003 12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004 01/01/2004 - 02/01/2004 02/01/2004 - 03/01/2004 03/01/2004 - 04/01/2004 04/01/2004 - 05/01/2004 05/01/2004 - 06/01/2004 06/01/2004 - 07/01/2004 07/01/2004 - 08/01/2004 08/01/2004 - 09/01/2004 09/01/2004 - 10/01/2004 10/01/2004 - 11/01/2004 11/01/2004 - 12/01/2004 12/01/2004 - 01/01/2005 01/01/2005 - 02/01/2005 02/01/2005 - 03/01/2005 03/01/2005 - 04/01/2005 04/01/2005 - 05/01/2005 05/01/2005 - 06/01/2005 06/01/2005 - 07/01/2005 07/01/2005 - 08/01/2005 08/01/2005 - 09/01/2005 09/01/2005 - 10/01/2005 10/01/2005 - 11/01/2005 11/01/2005 - 12/01/2005 12/01/2005 - 01/01/2006 01/01/2006 - 02/01/2006 02/01/2006 - 03/01/2006 03/01/2006 - 04/01/2006 04/01/2006 - 05/01/2006 05/01/2006 - 06/01/2006 06/01/2006 - 07/01/2006 07/01/2006 - 08/01/2006 08/01/2006 - 09/01/2006 09/01/2006 - 10/01/2006 10/01/2006 - 11/01/2006 11/01/2006 - 12/01/2006 12/01/2006 - 01/01/2007 01/01/2007 - 02/01/2007 02/01/2007 - 03/01/2007 03/01/2007 - 04/01/2007 04/01/2007 - 05/01/2007 05/01/2007 - 06/01/2007 06/01/2007 - 07/01/2007 07/01/2007 - 08/01/2007 08/01/2007 - 09/01/2007 09/01/2007 - 10/01/2007 10/01/2007 - 11/01/2007 11/01/2007 - 12/01/2007 12/01/2007 - 01/01/2008 01/01/2008 - 02/01/2008 02/01/2008 - 03/01/2008 03/01/2008 - 04/01/2008 04/01/2008 - 05/01/2008 05/01/2008 - 06/01/2008 06/01/2008 - 07/01/2008 07/01/2008 - 08/01/2008 08/01/2008 - 09/01/2008 09/01/2008 - 10/01/2008 10/01/2008 - 11/01/2008 11/01/2008 - 12/01/2008 12/01/2008 - 01/01/2009 01/01/2009 - 02/01/2009 02/01/2009 - 03/01/2009 03/01/2009 - 04/01/2009 04/01/2009 - 05/01/2009 05/01/2009 - 06/01/2009 06/01/2009 - 07/01/2009 07/01/2009 - 08/01/2009 08/01/2009 - 09/01/2009 09/01/2009 - 10/01/2009 10/01/2009 - 11/01/2009 11/01/2009 - 12/01/2009 12/01/2009 - 01/01/2010 01/01/2010 - 02/01/2010

News Archives Predating March 2003



RSS Feed

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?
Blogroll Me!

Blogarama
The Urantia Book : Pictures of Jesus : Angel Pictures: Inspirational Quotes : Life After Death : Story of Jesus : Truthbook.com : Urantia : The Urantia Book

EXPLORE TRUTHBOOK

The Urantia Book

Jesus in the Urantia Book

Quote of the Day

Urantia Book Video

Urantia Book Audio

Discussion Forum

Art Gallery

Heartwarming Stories

Humorous Stories

Life's Toughest Questions

FAQ

Spiritual Studies

About Us

News and Blogs