the transfer of religion from one generation to another “hangs on the thin
thread of conversation” between parent and child, teacher and student.2
When conversations are few and far
between this thread is weak, but when
woven into the fabric of daily life it
becomes strong enough to survive the
challenges of adulthood.
Sociologists of religion have
demonstrated that a person’s religious
ideas are primarily shaped by family
and friends. Of these, family is the
most important. Children witness
parents practicing religion, and as
they grow up they are introduced into
Hoge, 1988
supportive religious communities and
protected from influences opposing
these views. Parents monitor
friendships, choose schools, take children to church or Sunday school and
encourage the development of devotional habits like prayer.
In studying how people acquire and fall away from faith
Marie Cornwall says: “The more central religion is in the
family, the more central it becomes in…a child’s worldview.”3
Statements such as this led me to investigate whether supporting parents
in teaching their children religion at home resulted in an increase in the
percentage of children who joined the General Church as adults. Although lack
of data prevented me from establishing a definitive answer, evidence pointed
to the program having a positive impact on General Church membership.
Friends are another important influence in the formation of religious
identity. As children become aware of different ways of thinking, they need
to know others who share their beliefs in order to see them as plausible
and to embrace them as adults. Adults continue to need friendships
with others who believe as they do. Sociologists use the number of friends a
person has in a church as an indicator of whether or not a person is likely to
remain a church member. The more friends a person has, the more likely it is
Decisions to disaffiliate
from a church often have
less to do with a church’s
doctrine than with a
person’s sense of social
belonging and his or her
recent experiences.
2 Berger, Peter L. (1967) The Sacred Canopy: Elements of a Sociological Theory of Religion, New York:
Doubleday and Company.
3 Cornwall, Marie. (1988) “The Influence of Three Agents of Religious Socialization: Family, Church,
and Peers.” In The Religion and Family Connection: Social Science Perspectives, ed. Darwin L. Thomas.
Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University. pp. 207–31.
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