Kesher Talk

Survey says - American youth think religion is an important part of life: Eighty-six percent of Americans aged 11 to 18 believe that religion is an important part of their lives. Reknowned sociologist Richard Gelles, in collaboration with Ram Cnaan, ran a University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work national survey of 2,004 randomly selected households in 2000. They say that new-millennium American youth are very much like previous generations, despite some people’s views that today’s youth are less religious than previous generations.

Gelles said, "Teenagers are enormously stereotyped; yet, there are very little data on their actual religious habits."

Sixty-seven percent of youth interviewed in the Penn survey said they attended a place of worship in the past month, and 42 percent said they belong to social programs or social groups within their congregations. The survey also found that the parent’s education level plays a significant role in determining young people’s view of religion. The more educated parents are, the more likely they are to want to provide positive influences in their children’s lives, Cnaan said.

posted by Howard @ 3/13/2002 02:23:55 PM