Religious Teens: The Majority Of American Teens ...

Religious Teens: The majority of American teens believes in God and worship in conventional congregations, but their religious knowledge is remarkably shallow, finds The National Study of Youth and Religion funded by the Lily Foundation. Devout teens hold more traditional sexual and other values than their nonreligious peers and are better off in emotional health, academic success, community involvement, concern for others, trust of adults and avoidance of risky behavior. 82% of teens are affiliated with a local congregation and 80% had few or no doubts about their beliefs in the past year. 71% felt “extremely,” “very,” or “somewhat” close to God and 71% prayed alone a few times a week or more often, while 65% believed in divine miracles from God. 52% attended worship 2-3 times a month. (Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers, Melinda Denton, [Oxford Univ. Press, 2004)

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