‘Loving’ top favored parental trait; ‘religious’ not valued as much

‘Loving’ top favored parental trait; ‘religious’ not valued as much

What would you list as the mandatory traits for mothers and fathers?

“Loving” topped the charts in a recent LifeWay Research survey — 85 percent for mothers and 79 percent for fathers — but religious convictions did not carry much weight.

The survey was conducted in March to gauge opinions of the expected roles of parents at a time when Americans typically begin giving thoughts toward Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.

Those surveyed were asked to select from the following list of characteristics:

Loving, Supporting, Protecting, Encouraging, Understanding, Involved, Trusting, Teaching, Tender, Providing, Consistent, Fun, Admitting Mistakes, Generous, Religious, Committed Christian.

Following the No. 1 “loving” characteristic, “supporting,” “protecting,” “encouraging” and “involved” showed up near the top in both lists.

Being religious (mothers, 35 percent, and fathers, 31 percent) or being a committed Christian (26 percent for both) came in much lower, however.

“Clearly Americans who are not Christians themselves would not be expected to value a Christian commitment among parents today,” said Scott McConnell, director of LifeWay Research. “However, three out of four Americans indicate their religious preference is Christian, Catholic or Protestant. This means only a third of these people appear to value parents modeling a commitment to Jesus Christ to their children.

“For many who indicate a Christian-type religion, this preference simply reflects something they were born with rather than something they feel they must nurture in the next generation,” McConnell explained.

LifeWay Research conducted the online survey of 1,054 adult Americans on March 25, among a sample of an online panel representing the adult population of the United States. 

To read the full survey, visit www.lifeway.com/Article/research-religious-convictions-not-among-most-desired-parent-traits.

(LifeWay)