Southern Baptist teens rank high in religious beliefs survey

Southern Baptist teens rank high when it comes to holding religious beliefs and participating in religious activities, according to a recent study. 
   
“Portraits of Protestant Teens: A Report on Teenagers in Major U.S. Denominations” is based on the National Study of Youth and Religion (NSYR) survey data on Protestant adolescents in the United States and the role of religion in their lives. 
   
Written by Phil Schwadel, postdoctoral researcher with the NSYR, and Christian Smith, principal investigator of the NSYR and professor of sociology at the University of North Carolina — Chapel Hill, the report is a companion to Smith’s recent book “Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers.”
   
“While ‘Soul Searching’ provides an overview of American teenagers’ religious beliefs and activities, ‘Portraits of Protestant Teens’ focuses specifically on Protestant adolescents, clarifying how teens from various denominations approach religion,” Schwadel said.
   
The report lays out, in numerical terms, denominational differences in religious beliefs, religious activities, religious faith and practices, evaluations of church, moral views, risk behaviors and civic activities. 
   
The study shows that teens whose parents are affiliated with conservative Protestant denominations, such as the Southern Baptist Convention and Assemblies of God, are generally more likely than those whose parents are affiliated with mainline Protestant denominations to hold religious beliefs and to participate in religious activities.
   
Teens from mainline denominations, such as the United Methodist Church and Presbyterian Church (USA), on the other hand, are usually more civically active than conservative teens, and the mainline teens who attend church on a regular basis often resemble conservative teens in their religious beliefs and activities. Teens whose parents are affiliated with black Protestant denominations, such as the National Baptist Convention, USA; the National Baptist Convention of America and National Missionary Baptist, are likely to espouse traditional religious beliefs but not particularly likely to participate in most religious activities. 
   
The importance of religious faith in daily life is one of the almost 50 indicators of religious belief and activity in the report. It exemplifies the differences between conservative, mainline and black Protestant teens as well as the differences between teens whose parents are affiliated with specific denominations. 
   
Black and conservative Protestant teens are considerably more likely than mainline Protestant teens to say that religious faith is very or extremely important in shaping their daily lives. 
   
There is, however, substantial variation within these categories. For instance, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America teens are far more likely than Episcopalian teens and United Methodist teens to say that religious faith is important in shaping their daily lives, and all three of these denominations are considered mainline. 
   
Additionally mainline teens who regularly attend church more closely resemble conservative and black Protestant teens in their views of the importance of faith in daily life.
   
In addition to providing statistics about all Protestant teens, the report looks specifically at teens whose parents are affiliated with the Assemblies of God, the Disciples of Christ, the Episcopal Church in the USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Southern Baptist Convention, the United Methodist Church and the Church of God in Christ. 
   
Other groupings examined include teens from black Baptist homes, unaffiliated teens and the broad categories of conservative, mainline and black Protestants. 
   
The effects of church attendance on religious belief and activity are explored for four denominations that have large sample sizes — Assemblies of God, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Southern Baptist Convention and United Methodist Church.
   
The report is intended to help Protestant leaders and parents better understand the role religion plays in the lives of their youth. The report is available at www.youthandreligion.org/publications/reports.html. 
  
Lilly Endowment Inc., funds the NSYR. More than 3,350 teens participated with one of their parents in the random-digit-dial telephone study of parent-teen pairs. (NSYR)