I grew up in a religious home. We went to church every Sunday, read scriptures, and said prayers as a family. We were expected to live certain standards, including no drugs or alcohol, no pornography, no immoral or illegal behavior. We were encouraged to say our own prayers and develop a personal relationship with God.
All three of my siblings and myself, now adults, actively participate in the religion we grew up in. We did not engage in any delinquent behaviors as teens. We are all happily married. Three of the four of us have graduated, or will this spring, from college. My brother is going on to law school. We have great relationships with each other and our parents. My husband often says that the family I grew up in should be the poster family for our church. I tell him that I hope our family now is the same way.
But how important is religion in helping teenagers make good choices? In a study completed in 2002, over 5,000 teenagers were surveyed from a wide range of religious denominations. The results of the survey were published in the book “Faith Matters: Teenagers, Religion, and Sexuality”. The results found that only 31% of 12th graders involved in faith-based institutions have had sexual intercourse compared to the national average of 60%. The number even drops further, to 16%, among teens who are especially involved in their church and have a deep personal faith.
A similar study done by the LDS church in 1999 found the delinquent behavior of LDS high school seniors to be significantly less than their non-religious peers. The table below shows the results of the study.
| Percentage who have ever done the following activities | Boys, LDS | Girls, LDS | Boys, Nationwide | Girls, Nationwide |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smoked cigarettes | 24% | 18% | 64% | 60% |
| Been drunk | 17% | 12% | 63% | 59% |
| Been suspended from school | 21% | 6% | 31% | 16% |
| Had sexual relations | 10% | 17% | 77% | 66% |
Many other studies have found direct correlation between religion and the lowering of delinquent behaviors in teens. According to the Childs Trend DataBank, which offers the latest developments in social data related to children and teens, teens that frequently attend religious services are:
· less likely to take risks or enjoy danger, engage in violent behaviors, or to get in trouble with the police,
· less likely to skip school and to be suspended, expelled, or sent to detention,
· less likely to drink alcohol and to use illicit drugs,
· more likely to volunteer in their communities, participate in student government, and play sports or exercise regularly,
· more likely to have lower levels of sexual experience,
· more likely to attend four years of college.
Of course being active in a religion doesn’t guarantee your teen will make good choices. Your teen needs to develop their own religious faith. But what these studies show is teenagers that have personal religious beliefs are more likely to make good choices.
See my related blogs on “Teaching Children to Live Moral Lives” and “Teaching Teenagers To Be Sexually Abstinent.”