American adolescents often participate at parents’ behest, and tend to be less religious in more personal, private ways
[link removed]
------------------------------------------------------------
September 10, 2020
** Religion & Public Life
------------------------------------------------------------
A weekly digest of the Center's latest research on religion and public life in the U.S. and around the world · Subscribe ↗ ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed]
** U.S. teens take after their parents religiously and enjoy family rituals, but often participate at their parents’ behest and tend to be less religious ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
When it comes to religion, American teenagers and their parents tend to have a lot in common – though not quite as much as the parents may think, according to a new analysis of Pew Research Center survey data ([link removed]) .
We surveyed both U.S. teens (ages 13 to 17) and their parents (one parent for each teen), finding that most teens share the religious affiliation of their parents or legal guardians. (Catholic parents are likely to have teens who identify as Catholics, for example.) And on the whole, U.S. teens attend religious services about as often as their parents do: 44% of U.S. teens say they go to religious services at least once a month, almost exactly the same as the share of their parents who say they attend monthly (43%).
But when there are religious differences between adults and their adolescent children, however, it’s usually the teens who are less religious than the parents. And in some cases when parents' and teens' beliefs do not align, the teens say their parents are not aware of these differences.
* 10 key findings from the survey ([link removed])
[link removed]
** Half of U.S. Christians say casual sex between consenting adults is sometimes or always acceptable ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Many Christian traditions disapprove of premarital sex. And even though Christians in the United States hold less permissive views than religiously unaffiliated Americans about dating and sex, most say it’s acceptable in at least some circumstances for consenting adults to have sex outside of marriage, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey ([link removed]) .
For example, half of U.S. Christians say casual sex – defined in the survey as sex between consenting adults who are not in a committed romantic relationship – is sometimes or always acceptable. Six-in-ten Catholics (62%) take this view, as do 56% of Protestants in the historically Black tradition, 54% of mainline Protestants and 36% of evangelical Protestants.
** Media mentions
------------------------------------------------------------
Train up a teen: Young evangelicals mostly keep their parents’ faith ([link removed])
Sept. 10 - Christianity Today *
Half of U.S. Christians say sex is sometimes, always OK in dating relationship ([link removed])
Sept. 5 - The Christian Post
** In the news
------------------------------------------------------------
GOP attacks Harris amid battle for Catholic voters’ support ([link removed])
Sept. 9 - The Associated Press
Trump’s ex-lawyer Cohen links Falwell’s endorsement in 2016 to suppression of racy photos ([link removed])
Sept. 8 - Reuters
Thousands gather for Christian music concert at California Capitol, breaking COVID-19 rules ([link removed])
Sept. 8 - The Sacramento Bee *
‘Kill all you see’: In a first, Myanmar soldiers tell of Rohingya slaughter ([link removed])
Sept. 8 - The New York Times *
South Korea’s defiant churches face backlash for hampering COVID-19 response ([link removed])
Sept. 8 - Reuters
As Africa’s COVID-19 cases rise, faith is put to the test ([link removed])
Sept. 5 - The Associated Press
Sudan ends 30 years of Islamic law by separating religion, state ([link removed])
Sept. 4 - Bloomberg News *
Charlie Hebdo: Magazine republishes controversial Mohammed cartoons ([link removed])
Sept. 1 - BBC News
After Jerry Falwell Jr.’s departure, Liberty University faces questions about faith, power, accountability ([link removed])
Aug. 29 - The Washington Post *
Biden camp to expand faith outreach as election heats up ([link removed])
Aug. 28 - The Associated Press
** Support Pew Research Center
------------------------------------------------------------
In times of uncertainty, good decisions demand good data. Please support Pew Research Center with a contribution on the Center’s behalf to our parent organization, The Pew Charitable Trusts.
DONATE ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Newsletter preferences ([link removed])
View in browser ([link removed])
Unsubscribe ([link removed])
Facebook ([link removed])
Twitter ([link removed])
Instagram ([link removed])
* Some websites may require a paid subscription.
Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan fact tank. As a neutral source of data and analysis, Pew Research Center does not take policy positions.
© 2020 Pew Research Center
