Half of Protestant teens attend religious camps

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Nearly 40 percent of American teenagers have gone to a religious summer camp, according to research by the National Study of Youth and Religion.

Teens with Mormon parents are most likely to have attended a camp run by a religious organization, with 78 percent of Mormon teens saying they have attended such a camp. Catholic teens are least likely to have attended religious summer camps. Only a quarter said they have in the past. About half of Protestant and Jewish teens said they have attended a religious summer camp.

Factors that increase the likelihood of a teen attending religious summer camps include high parental religious faith and high family income. Teens of any faith whose parents go to religious services more than once a week are the most likely to have attended a religious summer camp. Among teens in non-Christian and non-Jewish religious traditions, nearly one-quarter (24 percent) have attended a religious summer camp, the report said.